Elizabeth & Jeremy

We knew before leaving for Portugal that we would hopefully be returning for a special event in June!!

Elizabeth and Jeremy were engaged in November, but that was not sufficient time to plan a wedding before our report date in February. The hopefully part was not about them -- we had to receive permission to leave the mission to attend the marriage.

We advised the mission president of the need before we left home and in our interview on the day we arrived in Portugal, we expressed our desire to be in Oregon for the wedding. He agreed and said when we had specific dates to let him know and he would initiate the approval process.

When Elizabeth called to confirm the wedding date of June 20, we immediately sent our email with the dates to President Fluckiger who sent it on to the Area Presidency who quite quickly returned to him the approval and he sent it on to us!! Yea!! We already had a flight chosen and with the approval granted, purchased the tickets! We only had to wait for June.

Waiting in the Alverca station for the 7:30 train to Lisbon

Tuesday, June 16! 

The day for our departure had finally come!! We didn't want to drive to the airport and leave the car in expensive parking for a week. So, we walked 15 minutes to the train station, glad that the suitcases weren't that heavy and rolled easily. We then took the train to Lisbon, Oriente station where we caught the red Metro line that took us directly to the airport. In all it was about an hour's trip.

We were very thankful for a family who were also going to the airport to leave for Prague, Czech Republic on a vacation. They helped us find our way, helped us figure out the Metro ticket purchase and got us to the correct train! There are so many good and kind people in this world!! 

We arrived in good time at the airport, checked in and went to the gate.

And here I am on a bus!!


??? a BUS!!!

Where is the airplane?

Well, the airplane is in the repair shop. After 2 hours sitting on the plane and 2 more hours waiting in the gate area, the flight was canceled due to mechanical problems.

It was pretty crazy! They had us cancel our passport stamp, pick up our luggage and offered to anyone who needed it, a hotel room and dinner. They would take us to the hotel and pick up up again.

I didn't want to do the Metro/train/walk 2 more times and then go home to an empty frig, so, we took the hotel option.

We were surprised that they bused us down to Évora, an hour and 20 minute drive south of Lisbon! the scenery was beautiful, gentle hills, green trees. One new thing was seeing cork trees for the first time. I wondered about the trees we were passing that had their bark stripped on the trunks, but looked very healthy. They were cork trees and they get stripped about every 12 years -- that is how long it takes to regenerate the bark. It is hard to see the stripped trunks above with the picture through the bus window.

The Vila Galé hotel was brand-new. It had been opened only for 2 months or so. It was very beautiful, modern and the rooms were very nice.

The dinner was delicious.

And we slept in a nice bed.

And they had a delicious hot breakfast buffet that started at 5:00 a.m. just for us (it normally opened at 7:00). The buses would be leaving at 6:00 a.m.!!

And we made a new friend!!

Cory Jeffers was traveling home after visiting his parents, Elder & Sister Jeffers who were serving in our mission about an hour south of Évora.

When the flight was canceled, he came up to us, introduced himself and we became a trio. It was good because he didn't speak Portuguese, didn't have any euros (he was going home to the US!), had no telephone that worked in Portugal and wasn't sure where he would stay. The airline took care of the stay, but it was nice to have some friends along. He wasn't feeling well, so we helped him get some medication. His mother was particularly glad we were there!! They had just dropped him off at the airport and returned home. It was good I had my mission phone with me and we could communicate with her!

Does this seem like a long trip!! It sure is.

Wednesday, July 17

The next day!! Instead of arriving in Portland, OR, we reboard the plane, same time, same gate, but different airplane. And we took off!! We were actually leaving Portugal!! 

Portland, here we come!

Our first stop was Philadelphia where we went through customs and I had to surrender the chorizo I had purchased to give to Sarah to make real cachupa. Sigh.

After a 4 hour layover, our flight was delayed another hour and a half as a flight attendant had called in sick and they had to get a replacement before they could take off.

Will we ever get there??

YES!! We arrive in Portland at 10:30 p.m. Sarah picked us up and she brought us some hot chili and cheese scones AND chocolate chip cookies!! On the 6 hour flight from Philadelphia, you had to buy your meal. And she knew, as true Broderick's, we wouldn't! She was right, but we did have some snacks that got us through!!

She dropped us off at Elizabeth's home, we quietly crept upstairs to the designated bedroom, and went to sleep. It had been about 24 hours since we had slept in a bed and it was a very welcome sight.

 Thursday, July 18

P-day!! P as in Prepare-for-wedding-reception the next day!!

Our first job: Go to airport and pick up Dennis' mom, Joyce Broderick!! Anna and Mathias came with us and while Dennis waited in the park-and-call lot, we went to the security exit to greet her!! A wonderful reunion!

We delivered Mom to Sarah's home where Anna gave up her bed for her great-grandma!!

This was a day of work!!

Lots of food to prep, to have ready for the party the next day. Sarah's kitchen was a beehive of activity.

 

Thanks to friends from Sarah's ward who came to help -- both inside and out.

 

Sam's Job: mow all the lawn, front and back, and include a nearby empty lot to be used for extra parking space. I think he had 10 layers of dust on him by the time he finished.

But the day wasn't ALL work -- at least for us!

We had a new baby to get acquainted with (again!)

Grandma, could you hold the baby??

Yes!!

Grandpa, she's smiling! Can you take a picture!

Of course!!

Grandpa and Eleanor went on a walk and picked some beautiful flowers. 

The ones Eleanor are holding are from friends along the route.

Friday, July 19

Time to have a party. And there is still lots of work to do!!

Getting ribbons on the potted plants Elizabeth has been watching over for 2 months!! They were in full flower and made a wonderful summer flower garden on each table.

We made a team with me glue gunning the ribbons on, Sam glue gunning the bow, and Anna bringing pots to us and then placing them on the tables. 

 

Carol, Karl's mother did most of the flowers and they were beautiful. All the flowers were from friends' gardens and were wonderfully arranged.

Carol was thankful for help from the Brodericks, also experienced corsage makers. 

We took an hour off party preparations to go watch Anna dance in her dance recital dress rehearsal. 

She is so beautiful. And she danced wonderfully. 

It was nice to be a dress rehearsal. They had to do the dance twice. So, we got to watch her twice!!

You can see the entry way decoration that Joyce and I did before the recital. We aren't quite finished with the arch. It will have lots of white flowers over it.

YEA!! Adam and Bethany and kids arrive from Michigan. Thank you to Pete and Ramona Bogardus (Bethany's parents) who picked them up at the airport and brought them to Sarah's. They will be staying at Sarah's -- a full household.

Important: entertain the kids so the adults can work!!

One form of entertainment is finding ripe (and maybe not so ripe) berries, strawberries and blue berries. Sarah's garden is a rich treasure of delicious fruits.

Grandma & grandpa's twins -- cousins born 1 month apart and are best friends when they can be together. With one in Michigan and another in Oregon, that doesn't happen very often. They take advantage of every moment together.

 It's Party time!!!

The food table is ready!! Yummy!!

The photographer has arrived!

The Bride & Groom are ready

 

Elizabeth with 4 of her siblings

Note: John and Bre were not able to come. AND we are so happy and grateful to announce the safe arrival of Mary Florence Broderick, born June 29, 8 pounds, 11 ounces. Mother and daughter are doing wonderful. June was a very blessed month for us!!

Granted this is 9 days after the wedding, but I am a grandma and I love my grandchildren. Welcome Mary Florence! We love you!

Elizabeth and all her nieces and nephews who could come to the wedding.

Elizabeth and Jeremy cutting the cake.

Elizabeth and Jeremy with his children.We hope we can be another set of loving grandparents.

We were so glad that Julie and Rand (not shown) and 3 of their daughters came to the reception and wedding. 

We appreciated so much their support.

We were so glad to have Diane and 3 of her children come to celebrate with us (Jennifer not in photo)!

Van and Sarah came with their Daughter Doris, her husband James and all their children. Our grandkids had a wonderful time playing with cousins and second cousins. 

It was a real family reunion!!

Saturday, July 20

A new eternal family is created!!

The newlyweds come out of the temple. Such happiness and joy.

The bride and groom with their parents and Elizabeth's grandmother

Thanks, Mom, for having the courage to travel alone to share this wonderful event with us.

Thank you, Sam and Kat. We loved having you here. And thanks for all the work. And thanks for taking us everywhere!

Our family is such a blessing to us.

Yes, I have said "blessed" many times in its several forms. It is hard to contain the feelings of joy and gratitude we feel and hard to express it in simple language.

Elizabeth and Eleanor

Two very happy and joyful parents!!

We went back to Sarah's house for a wedding lunch of homemade lasagna, homemade garlic bread and salad. It was delicious..

After a ring exchange, Elizabeth threw the bouquet!!

Jeremy and Elizabeth tell the group how they met! 

It was nice to have a relaxed time to talk and rejoice together as a family.

Sunday, June 21

After church in our various places, most of the family returned to Sarah's house for a barbeque and more fun and talking!! Elizabeth & Jeremy joined us as well. 

Thank you Sarah and Karl for months of work and preparation and cooking and cleaning and taking care of all of us for several days. It was marvelous and you were key to the success of the weekend!!

Second cousins get to know each other and become good friends!! All in 24 hours.

Families are wonderful.

Grandma and Grandpa's twin cousins enjoying a rootbeer float together! 

Families have fun together!

Grandma getting all the baby time she can get!!

Yummy food. Our family together. It doesn't get much better.

The grandchildren were interested in Grandma's counted cross stitch project -- little Christmas ornaments. Mathias and Carston try their hand with some stitching. They were quite focused until play time called!! They were doing a good job but cousin time was definitely more important.

Anna began and finished an ornament. Even so, she took time to play with cousins as well!!

A Four-generation picture!!

Monday, July 22

Sigh. Monday morning and our plane leaves Portland at 2:30 p.m. We enjoy breakfast with Sarah and kids. It is a little quieter as Adam & Bethany and kids have left for the coast to experience low tide then travel to Lassen to spend time in the California mountains. All the visiting family has gone. Great-Grandma Joyce has a flight about the same time as ours, so we will travel together to the airport. There we will have some more time to visit before leaving for our various destinations. Joyce will arrive that night. We will get into Lisbon at 6-7:00 p.m. the next day, June 23, which is just under 24 hours of traveling when you factor in the 8 hour time zone difference.

It was a wonderful time with our family. Our joy is full!!

And it is time to go back to Portugal and continue our work there. On our arrival we will become the new, part-time office couple and will welcome a new mission president. We will be busier!!! The blogs may become a little further between!!! We are excited about the work here in Portugal and feel blessed to serve. We have so many blessing on both sides of the pond!!

Sintra 2

We were in the mission office one day talking to Elder and Sister Ransom about various places to go. Elder Ransom suggested we go together to Sintra the next Saturday and see more of it!! We had only seen the one area with the missionaries and they had not seen much of it as well. Saturday is their P-day, as they are in the mission office Monday through Friday. The Saturday before they had spent moving some sister missionaries to a new apartment in Torres Vedras. They were ready for a day off!!

Sure! Let's go!!!

This was a very different experience from our Sintra 1 trip with our missionary district!! First, we drove to the mission office and from there we traveled together in the Ransom's car. No trains to catch!! And we could drive right to the site, saving probably a mile of walking!

And that also meant no schedule. No end of P-day looming at 6:00 that also had to include letter writing and shopping. We were free for the whole day!!

 We were at the Pena castle entrance by 10:30 a.m., well before the large crowds arrived and were able to get a parking space right at the entrance of the Moorish castle, just down from the Pena Castle and grounds which was our first destination! We realized what a blessing this was when we were ready to go home, many hours later. The roads were lined with cars and if we had just arrived, we would have had quite a hike just to get started.

Here we are on the grounds of the castle, hiking up to Cruz Alta (high cross), erected on the highest point on the Sintra mountain.  The trail was very green and lush and with few people.

We are fresh and ready to hike!! Fortunately, the trail was paved and never really that steep.

It was a very quiet and peaceful place!

Here is the cross up close!!

Everything goes down from here!! As usual, I am securing myself on the base of the cross. Don't want to fall!!

This is just down a bit from the cross, looking out over the countryside.

See the castle on the top of the next hill??  That is our next destination, the Pena Castle.








But first we have to hike down -- and then back up!!

Looking back up the mountain to Cruz Alta

Like most of the grounds of the various estates in Sintra, there are gazebos or other structures scattered throughout.








This is the Templo das Colunas (Temple of the Columns). It had a nice view of the Pena Castle.

Ah, ha!! We were together.

Well, we made it down the hill and then back up to the castle.

To the right is a basic diagram of the castle.

The red part is the old monastery that was originally built in the early 1500's. It served as a peaceful place for up to 18 monks for 200+ years. In the 18th century it was damaged by lightening and then the Lisbon earthquake in 1755 demolished it with the exception of the chapel.

In the 1840's King Ferdinand transformed it into a summer palace. He restored the red part and build the New Palace (painted yellow).  When the 1910 revolution deposed the king, it was turned into a museum. So, there you have the simple history. Let's see what it looks like!!

It is pretty impressive as you make the final climb to the castle. There are no extensive gardens -- it is built on  a big rock.

The main entrance.

They built the castle around the existing rock. You can see exposed rock at the base of the wall.

It was an amazing place to walk around. You kept going up another level and the views were more incredible!!

Looking down from a parapet!!  The columns are basically a continuation of the picture just above this one.

Looking down on a courtyard from a higher one. You can almost see forever here!!

Some pretty impressive stone work!!

The stairs lead you to the highest view point and the entrance to the monastery chapel.

The stained glass window in the chapel (this is the original!!)

This shows the impressive tile work and other architectural features of the chapel.

Then it was time to go inside and see the palace of the King!!

This is the inner courtyard of the old monastery. All the tile work (except for some replacements) on the walls and floor are original.

The monks' cells were little rooms off the corridors surrounding the courtyard. When it was remodeled, various cells were combined to make one larger room -- mostly bedrooms and studies.

This was King Carlos' bedroom. He was the last king of Portugal who was assassinated in 1910, ending the rule of the kings.

This was his own furniture, but from another palace in Lisbon.

Ready for tea!!

The intricate carving of the wood was very impressive!!

The Great Hall, part of the new addition to the palace, was the reception room in the palace.

An interesting way to hold your lamps up!!

At least his arm doesn't get tired.

The last stop on the tour was the kitchen. It was pretty impressive.

Well, it is time to leave the castle. One last shot of from a courtyard. If you look to Elder Broderick's right (your left), you can see the top of the nearest hill which is our next destination, the Moor's Castle.

But first we need to walk back down and then back up!! They always seem to put castles on high points!!

An interesting view of the old monastery part of the palace as we walk down behind the castle.















We have arrived at the walls of the Moor's castle! This castle was built in the 8-9th Century during the Muslim occupation of the country. For a look out, it is perfectly situated. You can see for miles in all directions. The castle over the centuries deteriorated and was significantly damaged in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In the 1840's King Ferdinand (the same that remodeled the Pena Castle), began restoring this castle.

Elder Broderick and Elder Ransom are at the lower end of the castle.

The pathway to the other end and higher end of the castle. There are some tall, sheer walls.

Getting close to the top!

We made it to the top!! And looking over to the back side of the Pena Castle.

Back down in the lower part of the castle, there is a large cistern. Having a supply of water inside the castle was important for survival in case of attack or siege

These are underground animal stalls.

 

We had a wonderful day with Elder and Sister Ransom!!  They are an amazing couple and we have learned so much from them. We will miss them when they go to Porto when the Lisbon Portugal splits into 2 missions on July 1. They will be the new office couple in the new mission bringing 18 months of experience and knowledge with them. They are trying to teach us what to do as we will take over some of their duties as a part-time office couple. They will get many calls from us!! I am glad we have a few months before they leave for home to pester them with questions.

But, wait, the day isn't over. Remember we have a car.

And we don't have a schedule!!

 Next stop: Cabo da Roca

And here I am, standing on the most western point of Europe!! It is as close as we can get to the United States without jumping in the water and swimming west!!

The landscape and coast, like much of Portugal, reminds us of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Looking up the coastline from Cabo da Roca to the beach and cliffs.

The lighthouse on the cape.

These are Explorer Scouts (similar to the Boy Scouts of America). They are doing a team challenge -- with everyone holding a string, they pick up the ball and walk all around the monument without dropping the ball. It was fun to watch them problem solve. After many abortive attempts, one scout figured it out: Put tension on the strings while the ball and platform is still on the ground and then carefully, evenly lift it up. It worked!!



Leaving Cabo da Roca, we drove down the coast towards Lisbon. The coastline is very beautiful!

And the day is not done yet!! We had had a small snack for lunch and the Ransom's wanted to introduce us to a wonderful Sushi restaurant near Lisbon. To get there we had to drive over the 25th of April Bridge -- the cousin to the Golden Gate Bridge!

We enjoyed the restaurant very much. The sushi was very good. It was my first time to try it and it helped to have experts show us how to eat it correctly! And they had some grilled shrimp that I couldn't stop eating. It was all you can eat for one price and we ate!! I think Elder Ransom was surprised how much Elder Broderick could eat and still stay so thin. The only caveat for the restaurant was if you left anything on your plate, you had to pay extra!

Not a problem for the Broderick's!!

Yes, the day is now over. The sun has set. We drive back over the bridge to the mission office, get in our car and drive home. It has been a GREAT day!! Sintra 2, though different from Sintra 1, was just as fun and memorable!