March 1
Turns out the problem we had yesterday with the blog was the browser, so we switched from MS Edge to Firefox and we’re up and running again. We managed to upload one picture this morning. This is a picture of the street our flat is on taken from our bedroom balcony.
Today was our day trip to Sintra, Cabo da Roca and Cacais and except for taking the wrong bus and misplacing Peter’s train ticket we had no major issues. The train ride to Sintra was about 40 minutes and the train was very crowded. Luckily we managed to find seats so at least we were comfortable. Sintra is known for its palaces and castles. Once we arrived we bought a bus ticket that makes a loop around the area so we could get on/off wherever we wanted. Our first stop was at the beautiful Pena Palace, on top of a mountaintop. According to Wikipedia, on a clear day it can be seen from Lisbon but, unfortunately, today was so not clear; we could barely see it from the Sintra train station. We’ll upload some of our pictures when we can but they don’t do the palace justice. Here’s a link to a google search page that has several pictures. Pena Palace
The original part of the palace started in the middle ages as a chapel, then it became a monastery. The great earthquake of 1755 destroyed it and it wasn’t until the mid-19th century when King Ferdinand II (distant cousin to Prince Albert of England) decided to rebuild. It’s easy to tell which part of the palace was the monastery as the ceilings are fairly low (about 12 feet) and the decorations are pretty subdued. The new part of the palace has 20 foot ceilings and is much more ornate. The entire palace is quite beautiful. We got some good pictures of the inside so we’ll upload them as soon as we can.
Of course just as we headed outside to tour the terraces, it started to pour and because the wind was crazy strong the umbrellas were virtually useless. In addition to being wet and windy, the temp was only in the low 50s to it was pretty miserable. The good news is that it didn’t rain for too long so after having hot chocolate in the coffee shop, we headed back out spending a few minutes wandering in the garden. If it had been a nicer day we could have walked quite a bit as the park is huge but it was just too cold so we headed back to the bus. Once down off the mountain, we stopped for lunch at a small cafe. Lynn had cod, which is pretty much a national dish in Portugal. Peter ordered a hamburger, ignoring Lynn’s warning that hamburgers in Europe aren’t even close what we have at home. He should have listened….what he got was a burger made out of cod. It wasn’t bad but certainly not what he was expecting. Lynn’s fish was delicious.
Then we wandered around a few shops, buying a few gifts and a warm scarf for Lynn. We also tried Ginja, a cherry liqueur that is a Portuguese specialty. It was delicious. The sun actually came out for about 5 minutes but by the time we got on the bus for Cabo da Roca and Cascais, it was raining again. Cabo da Roca is the western most part of Europe and has a beautiful lighthouse on a hill. The ride was about 30 minutes but, unfortunately, Peter didn’t get a seat. The trip was beautiful and by the time we arrived the sun was actually out. We walked a short way to the cliffs, got our pictures, and headed back to the bus. The wind was even stronger than in Sintra so it was pretty cold, even with the sun.
The plan was to get back on the #403 bus and head to Cascais for dinner then take the train home from there. Well, you know what they say about best laid plans. What we didn’t realize is that the bus is not a circuitous route so when the bus came we got on it without a second thought. But, we got on the bus that was going back to Sintra…oops. We figured it out fairly quickly (the bus turning toward Sintra instead of Cascais was a big clue) but short of getting off, going back to Cabo da Roca and waiting for the next bus, there wasn’t much we could do about it. So, we didn’t get to see the small fishing village but we have one on the agenda for tomorrow so we don’t feel too badly.
Our second misadventure came at the train station in Sintra. We didn’t realize that the train ticket we bought in the morning was also good for a return trip. We asked for one way so there was no reason to think we’d need it on the way back. Lynn found her ticket right away but Peter’s was no where to be found. He’d given Lynn everything in his pockets during the day which she dumped into her bag. As a result her bag was filled with receipts, maps, guide books, etc., etc., etc. The line was growing quite long behind her so after a few seconds of looking we finally gave up and bought a new ticket. Of course, as soon as we left the window she found the ticket….oh well.
Once back in Lisbon Peter finally got his hamburger as we found some at the grocery store and made them for dinner. Of course they didn’t taste anything like our burgers but they were okay.
Tomorrow is another day trip, this time with Grey Line tours. We’re heading to Fatima and two other nearby towns. We could have gotten to Fatima on our own by taking the bus, but we wouldn’t have been able to see the other towns so we decided on the tour.
It’s almost 8:30 here and we’re still a bit jet lagged so we’ll close for now. Take care everyone and we’ll talk again soon. Hopefully we can get a couple of pictures uploaded in the morning when the internet connection seems a bit faster.
Love to all…..Lynn and Peter