Our trip was Tuesday to Saturday. Just like Paris we rented an apartment. This apartment was in the Alfama district which is one of the 2 districts not damaged in the 1755 earthquake. Lots of old homes (apartments?) all attached. Sun each day; 15C never felt so good (around 60F) the weather was quite pleasant (a little chilly in the mountains but we still made it work in shorts...)
The Portugese love tiles, and the building facades were covered with them.
The buildings are amazingly colorful, pinks, purples, yellows, blues. Tiles and no tiles.
and due to the hilly nature of the region there were tons of places with amazing views, the Castelo de Sao Jorge, The Monument to the Discoveries, The pantheon, etc... a few panos from said locations
We arrived on Tuesday night so only had time for check in and dinner. Wednesday we went to the Castelo de Sao Jorge. We then tried the recommended tram 28; however, it seems like every guide book says this so while the tram was cheap it was packed and with no seats we couldn't see out the windows...
Thursday we were off to Sintra. If we had known what Sintra had to offer we would have spent more time there. A beautiful Moorish castle on one hill and the Pena National Palace on another. There was one more palace we didn't see plus parks, museums, etc... We had decided ahead that we were going to try and get to the beach in Cascais. Unfortunately, it turns out the bus from Sintra to Cascais is slow especially as you close in on rush hour. We did briefly stop at Cabo da Roca (westernmost point in Europe). Eventually we did make it to Cascais, but it was just before sunset. The kids still troopers played on a beach for an hour before the sun went down and bladders gave way.
A nice fish dinner in Cascais and then back home.
Friday, our last full day we walked the town, went to see the Santa Justa Elevator, had some Portugese pasties. Then a tram ride to Belem to see Padrão dos Descobrimentos (monument of the discoveries) which has 33 explorers on it with Vasco de Gama at the front. The view from up top is great .
Saturday was the last day, Stacey had an early flight , and we had a late one We went to the Fiera da ladra (flea market , which supposedly translates as thieves market). We loaded up on momentos - charms, tiles (from 1880s), backpack, linens,... then went to the National Pantheon. Another tall structure with great views of Lisbon.
and so ended our Portugal vacation.
I quizzed Audrey on her rating and she said 9 out of 10 then 10 out of 10.
She says so far 10/10 Wales and Portugal and 9/10 for Paris
I will upload a plethora of pictures soon
https://plus.google.com/photos/103368911484787026594/albums/5993962619475722465?authkey=CNzZ-IakzMPQMg
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