This day I love.......: ice cream

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We have recently returned for an amazing holiday in the Algarve. Whilst there we stayed in a James Villa and although we could have spent the entire week by the poolside in the villa we opted to explore and make the most of our time in Portugal. I have to admit that Portugal has stolen a little bit of my heart and I would love to go back there.

I wanted to capture a few of the activities we did whilst we were there that the kids enjoyed.

1. Visit the Marina at Lagos

It may not seem an obvious place to take children but there was so much to see and do. The girls would have happily watched the boats in the marina. We had a walk around the marina and opposite the marina is a lovely shopping area with plenty of restaurants and shops to visit.

2. Zoomarine

We spent one day at Zoomarine but it was not enough. The park has two very distinct areas the first is animals. Here there are dolphin shows, seal shows, parrot shows and a 3D animated movie. We didn't have time for the movie. There is also an aquarium and mini funfair. There were plenty of rides for the girls to go on at 3 and 4, and they thoroughly enjoyed the shows.

The second part of Zoomarine is the beach and water park. If we had known we would have taken swimming things. The beach area was fantastic and the girls spent a good hour playing in the sand. There were only a few slides but more than enough to keep the girls entertained and a few for older children too. If we had had more time we would have certainly gone back and it was worth the visit.

3. Slide and Splash

When we visited in May/June the water was a little chilly. It was also very quiet. There is a large grassed area that we could put our towels on to sit, however we could imagine during peak season it could get busy. The park was easily laid out with plenty to keep any age occupied. The children's area had lots of slides and adventure equipment to play on and although they were too small to go on most of the slides they could go on the odd one or two. We spent a full day and could have easily gone back for a second visit.

4. Ice cream at Praia da Luz

The ice cream factory is in a little shop on your right as you walk down the road towards the beach. The staff were so friendly and welcoming and spoke to us in English. We went past later and heard them speaking French, German and Spanish. The staff clearly make their customers feel welcome. Serving a wide variety of home made ice creams, we could not believe the choice. Delicious and refreshing. Perfect for sitting on the beach with.

5. Beach

Portugal has lots of amazing beaches and we spent a whole day there. Our favourite was the one at Praia da Luz as it appeared to be very family friendly. Toilets near by and lots of places to eat. The girls loved it and there were plenty of rock pools to explore too

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One of my first posts when I started this day I love, was about our visit to Stockeld Park. I have longed to take the girls back as we had such a lovely day out. I saw that Mr Bloom would be visiting this bank holiday weekend and I knew the girls would want to go.

My youngest was around 5 months old last time we went and I don't think she really took much in. This time she was amazed by everything. Normally she eats everything but she was so interested in watching the skaters she forgot about lunch

My eldest loved the skaters too, although she did find it funny when people fell over.

The girls were very intrigued by the huge inflatable air pillow, if I am honest so was I. It wasn't long before we were all on there and having a rather good time.

It was almost 2pm, which meant we had to leave the giant air pillow to go and see Mr Bloom. I have had a chat with the husband to see if we have the space for a giant air pillow and he is looking into it.

We headed over to the large field for the show and it was packed.

Not to worry, it was a lovely day and so we got ourselves comfy. The girls got on our shoulders and whilst we waited, I thought it would be a good idea to test the flip out screen of my Panasonic Lumix TZ55 and take a family picture. Well it sort of worked

So I tried again only this time my youngest decided she wanted down, right at the moment I pressed the button.

She is a little cheeky chops!

I got the zoom ready on the camera, not expecting much but was totally amazed by the pictures I took.

The girls loved watching Mr Bloom, although my youngest calls him Mr Tumble [she gets them mixed up!], they are both huge fans and haven't stopped talking about Mr Bloom and his Vegetables.

Last time we came I don't remember seeing the play area, which was absolutely fantastic. The girls wasted no time in having some fun

It took some convincing/bribing the girls to leave the playground but the Enchanted forest was calling. I love the magical walk around the forest. There is so much to see and do and its truly magical.

We could not come all this way to Stockeld Park without visiting the Maze.

We actually did the maze quite quickly even if we had to stop and say hello to all the gnomes on the way round.

We reached the centre and stood to watch the globe and listen to the facts about the world. I tried to take a family picture with our reflections in the globe.

I think it kind of works? We had such a lovely time today, the girls have seen and done so much. I don't think anything can summarise today better than my youngest in her Mr Bloom hat eating ice cream

This Day I love a blooming good time

I have not been asked by Stockeld to write a review. I paid our entry fee into the park and have not received any compensation to write this post. All images taken in this post are with the Panasonic Lumix TZ55 which I am testing as part of my Panasonic Mum Ambassador. Opinions on the photos and camera are my own.

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