Sintra- Lisbon- Day 2

Unlike yesterday's blue skies, we were greeted with clouds and a light rain.  No matter-an adventure awaited.  We caught the train to Sintra and arrived about 10:30.  Sintra is about 45 minutes away from Lisbon by train and a very beautiful city.  The mixture of architecture and nature gives the city a very old world mystic.

     Our first adventure took us on a 1hour hike to the top of the mountain to the Mouros Castle.  As you wind your way through the nature, you realize that you are out of shape.  How people did this on a regular basis is beyond me.  According to my pedometer, the 30,000 steps I took that day, I think a majority of them were used to get up and down the mountain.

     The castle ruins are amazing.  It almost feels like you are walking on the great wall of China.  Luckily we got there early enough so there weren't many other people there.  It was perfect to take pictures because there were not random tourists in my shots.  After the castle, we walked around Sintra and had lunch at a little cafe.  The was ok and definitely over priced.  In Portugal, waiters will put olives, bread, cheese, etc on your plate as an appetizer but it is not free.  You get charged a lot of money for what you eat.  Luckily I knew that before we arrived so I always declined the pre meal.

     Our adventure hit a snag when it started to down poor but luckily we had our umbrellas and good walking shoes to high tail it back to the train station.  It was 4:30 by the time we got back to Lisbon and it was a long day of walking sight seeing.  We decided to make pasta and chill at the hostel for the night.  I have been in the Czech Republic for over 4 months and have never gotten sick UNTIL Dec. 25th.  The 25th, 26th, and 27th were miserable.  My nose wouldn't stop running and I don't think there was any skin left on my nose but I wouldn't let it ruin my trip.  Being able to just chill at the hostel was just what the doctor ordered.

historic area

view of castle at top of hill

architecture in Sintra

 Never made it into this building but I would recommend it to everyone else

 just the local bus stop.....pretty nice and the tile work is brilliant

ha....a Portuguese giraffe...couldn't resist taking the picture

 downtown historical area

on our walk to the castle from the train station

view from our walk from the train station

Cascais-Lisbon-Day 1

With new enthusiasm, Brock and I set forth to explore Lisbon.  The day was beautiful, not a cloud in sight.  We took the local train to Belem and I climbed the Monument of Discoveries.  From the top, I had an amazing 360 degree view of Lisbon.

New we went to the Tower of Belem.  The Tower of Belem is what the Effel Tower is to Paris.  The large structure jets out into the bay and use to be a look out tower for potential invasions.  You feel like you are stepping back in time, into a world of kings and queens and battles.

After the Belem Towers, we set off to be spies.  The train took us to Estoril which was the inspiration for Ian Flemming's James Bond.  Apparently during WW2, he frequented the Casino Estoril where spies and secret agents filled the room.  He used to sit in the casino surrounded by the secret agents and it inspired him to create James Bond and Casino Royale was born.

Brock and I had to pose in front of the casino and we even attempted to go into the casino and have a vodka martini, shaken, not stirred but it was closed.  Oh well, my secret life as a spy would have to wait another day.  It was cool to be standing at the muse for Casino Royale and the location for the wedding in Her Majesty's Secret Service.  Only thing that could have made it better, would have been if my dad was there with me and we could have our picture taken together in front of the casino.  My dad owns every James Bond movie and since I was a little girl, I grew up watching everyone with him over and over.

Back to reality as the train took us to our final stop at Cascais.  There isn't much to do there except walk the windy streets, have lunch at a sidewalk cafe, and play on the rocks at the beach....that was enough for me.  The day was perfect and listening to the waves and taking photos was a perfect way to spend the day for me.  Not much could have made it any better.

We made it back to Lisbon and found dinner at a great side street restaurant.  I had a chicken burrito and we ended the night at the hostel drinking wine and port.