Travel Tales: A day in Portugal

After two days at sea we arrived in Lisbon and docked right at the foot of the city. It was a beautiful sight to see the broad Tagus River, long bridges spanning the water and many beautiful buildings in front of us. Because the city was devastated by a huge earthquake in the 1700s much of the construction is “new” and of a similar style of Gothic Revival.

I had arranged a tour through a group called “We Hate Tourism” and had a young tour guide called Marcos. We sat in the front seat and had a wild ride through Lisbon and a very old district called the Alfama Quarter, the oldest section of Lisbon. We went to a high point and enjoyed the beautiful view of the city overlooking the river below.

On to Sintra from there and a visit to the village for a quick walk then up to Monserrat. This was a castle built by a count who then created beautiful gardens around it with a huge variety of plants brought from all over the world by sea captains. The cobblestone walks were slippery but worth the hike. Inside the castle was amazing Moorish decoration covering every surface. It was all white and so beautiful. Even some walls of marble had the surface roughed so it was white with only faint coloration.

Lunch was at a small family restaurant on a winding street of Sintra. Only this tour group goes there so we were spared the bus loads of tourists…we hate them of course!! Food served was a series of small plates of local favorites. Little pockets of shrimp, or beef; chorizo sausage, tuna and beans, tomatoes, bread, a sausage made of meet and bread were very good to taste. We drank local red and green wine, green because it is new…like white Beaujolais I would guess. That was my favorite.

On to the farthest point west in Europe. The view was amazing!!! Marcos said most of the tours do not come here…but many did!

Driving on to Cacais we passed many porches, jaguars, and other posh cars on the road to this luxurious seaside town. This is the playground of the rich here in Portugal. Estates were vast and beautiful with lush grounds and expansive views of the sea. While walking the streets we enjoyed a wonderful ice cream cone from Santini’s. I bought a bottle of Port to enjoy on the trip across the Atlantic and a tile to add to my collection.

Now we sail for six days to Bermuda relaxing aboard ship. Today the Hand and Foot players will meet for the first time. We’ll play in the afternoons. The pickleball players met for the third time and George is happy to have some good players. He played for three hours, part of it singles, the other day and was pretty sore yesterday…..but he loves it! I walk the track to do my bit. This one has a staircase at the bow end to add another dimension to the exercise.

Hope all is well in the US and no more hurricanes are in sight!!!!

Cacais Beach