Day 4 - Tuesday 1 September 2015
Tuesday got off to a slow start. I woke up early but without a voice, my cold had caught up with me and I felt pretty terrible.
We struggled out of bed and decided that we wanted to go to Cascais (pronounce Cash-Kyshe) because we had been given various tips about it. We got ready to go but Jazz rolled her ankle immediately after we left so we came back in to the apartment to ice it as it was the one she has had surgery on so we didn't want to make it worse when we are only a few days in to our holiday.
After a bit of a rest we set off again and made our way to the metro station. We had to catch two metro trains and then switch into an actual train.
Once we got on the Cascais train line we got off after a few stops because Jazz wanted to go to a bakery that was supposed to be the best one in Portugal.
It was called Pasteis de Belem. We were wandering up the street using our map and wondering where it was. When we saw the crowd of people we knew we'd found it. The place was established in 1837 and today sells 20,000 custard tarts per day! The line out the front was for takeaway so we decided to sit inside and find a table. The place was massive and a sign said it sat 400 people. There were all these smaller rooms joined together by hallways and there were people everywhere. Everything came out very quickly and the tarts were amazing, well worth the trip.
After we finished our snacks we walked back to the train station and got back on the train.
There were lots of tourists going to Cascais, they probably all got the same tips that we did.
Once we arrived we followed the crowds and found the beach. It was beautiful but quite small & crowded. We were keen to have a look around so went for a walk down the beautiful streets and had a look in a few shops.
It was a beautiful little area.
We wanted to get lunch so Jazz suggested we walk a bit further out and find somewhere without so many tourists. This was a really good idea. We walked down and around to the marina and found a nice strip of restaurants there. They all looked nice but we chose a place called Mercearia Vencedora. It was really good, great food and service.
After lunch we walked past a shop that rented out bikes, buggies etc. We hired a go-kart type bike that had two seats and one set of peddles. Jazz's ankle was still sore so I peddled and we rode around the marina laughing and being silly. The handles were really high so you felt like "chopper" riding it.
After we returned the bike we went on our way again and came across an old style carousel. We jumped on and rode that around too.
We thought we'd stop somewhere so we could rest & use the bathroom so went to a rooftop bar Jazz had seen earlier when we were walking around. The guys working there were all hippies, we ordered some drinks and took a seat. Literally everyone there was smoking except for us so we didn't stay long.
We were both tired and my cold was giving me grief so we decided it was time to head home and rest up. We jumped back on the train.
I had gone into a chemist earlier to buy something for my cold and took a tablet that they suggested. I think they must have been drowsy tablets because once on the train I could barely keep my eyes open. I could feel myself falling asleep so rested my head on Jazz. By the time we got off the train I was feeling very disorientated. We had to buy more metro tickets and then when we went to go into the station my ticket didn't work so I had to go back and buy another one while Jazz waited on the other side of the barricade. It was all very confusing because I was so tired but we managed to get home.
When we got home we both rested for a few hours, I read my book and caught up on social media. Jazz watched some TV.
At around 8pm Jazz said that we should go have dinner so we could get home early & go to bed. We went to a restaurant about 40 meters down the road from where we were staying that Tiago had recommended. The menu was all in Portuguese but we could make out a few things.
We ordered some starters and mains. I got my sangria, Jazz got some wine. The glasses they brought out were massive. Even the wine glass would have had at least 2 normal sized glasses in it.
The restaurant was very tiny, with only around 9 tables down stairs where we were. The gradually filled up a little and we found ourselves between 2 French couples. One younger & one older. We started chatting to both. Lucky for us they both spoke a little English. At times they spoke in French over the top of us (as we were in the middle) but that was ok. The young couple told us that they like to do 'Tim Tam slams' with Tim Tams & milk which we thought was funny.
We had ordered so much food that we were already full when the mains came out but we felt bad not eating it so we forced ourselves to eat some. It was a really nice meal and very reasonably priced. All in all it was a great dinner. We paid then headed back to the apartment to have an early night.
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