Day 3 (Lisbon):
We woke up around 8 AM, went downstairs for breakfast and then we had a private driver/tour guide for the day who met us at the hotel lobby around 9 AM. Our first stop for the day was at the top of the hill that looked down on Lisbon. There was a monument there and gave us a good view of the city.
From there we drove about an hour outside of the Lisbon to a city called Sintra. In Sintra, there were a couple of very old palaces but we went to a spectacular one called the Pena Palace. This place was amazing with the size, architecture and colors.
It was too bad that there was overcast and off/on rain, since it sat on the top of a mountain and had wonderful views of the surrounding area. We toured the palace for a couple of hours and then drove back down the mountain. Our next stop was the western most point on continental Europe. There is a monument there (no surprise) to mark the spot so we played tourist and took some pictures.
Since it is right on the coast, there were some major cliffs around that area and it was very, very windy (as you can see in the pictures).
We took some more pictures and then drove to another spot along the coast called the “Mouth of Hell”. This was a place where the water had eroded sections of the rocky coast and created this “mouth” where the water rushed in.
It was lunch time so we stopped in Cascais (a very nice port town) with some high end residents. We were told many wealthy people live there and commute to Lisbon.
Our tour recommended a restaurant that specialized in Chicken Piri Piri (which Al and Hannah had) as well as fresh grilled Sea Bass (which I had, along with a cold beer). It was a solid lunch. We walked around the shops for a little bit and Hannah wanted some chocolate, so we found a place where Al had a coffee and Hannah had a chocolate tart. We met back up with the tour guide and started driving back to Lisbon. On the way, we went through Estoril where they happen to have a Casino. Of course, I ran in and got my souvenir poker chip for the collection. We were told that Ian Fleming stayed at the hotel across the street from the casino and got his inspiration for his James Bond series while staying there. It was a nice drive back along the coastline and pulled over once to watch the surfers and take a few pics.
Since we had a driver, we decided to have them drop us off in Lisbon at the Castle at the top of the mountain. There wasn’t much to do at the castle but it had awesome views of the city (especially because of sunset).
We walked around there for an hour or so before they closed the castle and we had to leave. We started heading down the windy road and stopped at a store that only sold canned eel. The cans came in two sizes: small and large. I had a sample of the eel which was ok, but we were surprised at how popular this place was. We also found out that Portugal is the number producer of Cork in the world. They have many stores that sell cork products including hats, bags, umbrella’s, etc… The Iberian Pig is also very popular in Portugal which eats acorns from the cork tree. We got back to the hotel and Hannah and I used the Sauna at the hotel to relax for a little bit before dinner. After the sauna, we chilled out in the chairs there and Hannah passed out. I woke her up and then we got ready for dinner. We weren’t very hungry so we picked a restaurant close to the hotel where we got a salad and pizza (I had a beer also). For dessert, we had a waffle with ice cream. We walked back to the hotel and passed out.
From there we drove about an hour outside of the Lisbon to a city called Sintra. In Sintra, there were a couple of very old palaces but we went to a spectacular one called the Pena Palace. This place was amazing with the size, architecture and colors.
It was too bad that there was overcast and off/on rain, since it sat on the top of a mountain and had wonderful views of the surrounding area. We toured the palace for a couple of hours and then drove back down the mountain. Our next stop was the western most point on continental Europe. There is a monument there (no surprise) to mark the spot so we played tourist and took some pictures.
Since it is right on the coast, there were some major cliffs around that area and it was very, very windy (as you can see in the pictures).
 |
| Hannah and Al blowing away |
It was lunch time so we stopped in Cascais (a very nice port town) with some high end residents. We were told many wealthy people live there and commute to Lisbon.
Our tour recommended a restaurant that specialized in Chicken Piri Piri (which Al and Hannah had) as well as fresh grilled Sea Bass (which I had, along with a cold beer). It was a solid lunch. We walked around the shops for a little bit and Hannah wanted some chocolate, so we found a place where Al had a coffee and Hannah had a chocolate tart. We met back up with the tour guide and started driving back to Lisbon. On the way, we went through Estoril where they happen to have a Casino. Of course, I ran in and got my souvenir poker chip for the collection. We were told that Ian Fleming stayed at the hotel across the street from the casino and got his inspiration for his James Bond series while staying there. It was a nice drive back along the coastline and pulled over once to watch the surfers and take a few pics.
Since we had a driver, we decided to have them drop us off in Lisbon at the Castle at the top of the mountain. There wasn’t much to do at the castle but it had awesome views of the city (especially because of sunset).
We walked around there for an hour or so before they closed the castle and we had to leave. We started heading down the windy road and stopped at a store that only sold canned eel. The cans came in two sizes: small and large. I had a sample of the eel which was ok, but we were surprised at how popular this place was. We also found out that Portugal is the number producer of Cork in the world. They have many stores that sell cork products including hats, bags, umbrella’s, etc… The Iberian Pig is also very popular in Portugal which eats acorns from the cork tree. We got back to the hotel and Hannah and I used the Sauna at the hotel to relax for a little bit before dinner. After the sauna, we chilled out in the chairs there and Hannah passed out. I woke her up and then we got ready for dinner. We weren’t very hungry so we picked a restaurant close to the hotel where we got a salad and pizza (I had a beer also). For dessert, we had a waffle with ice cream. We walked back to the hotel and passed out.
No comments:
Post a Comment