Wow! What a massive day! Almost midnight and we’re just back from dinner, to our lovely apartment in Cascais, outside of Lisbon.
Had a easy start this morning in Porto, cooking brekkie, packing up and waiting for our host, Jose, to arrive to check us out. He was particularly chuffed that he and I share the same date and year of birth...! He also gave us a recommendation for stopping enroute to Cascais/Lisbon which we immediately followed. Hence our first stop was Aviero... only about 60kms away.... and classified as the “Venice” of Portugal. It surely did not disappoint! What a delightful town. Found some underground parking then, after coffee, wandered the cobblestone streets, over bridged canals.... with colourful gondolas of course! Great buildings all embossed with the colourful intricate tiles so typical of Portuguese architecture. Found a church, fish market, knife sharpener and abundance of lovely shops. Shame we didn’t have longer to explore. The drive was not so intensely undulating in this region, and between hilly areas were expanses of plateaus of farming - olives, vines and other vegetables. All very lush. Naturally our first of several toll payments had us anxious (or at least me...) ... but all good!
Next stop about 100kms south off the motorway was Nazare...an old fishing village area now a tourist beach resort location. Certainly a chaotic tourist spot with our first experience of local women on the street advertising rooms to rent... and so many of them! Regardless we enjoyed the beach side atmosphere made unique by the beautiful coloured old fishing boats lining the esplanade - each with a story to tell; the locals drying the sardines and octopus in the sun; and the decent sized Beach volleyball stadium erected on the beach.
We enjoyed our rolls on the beach, Roh had a swim the we headed off again.
The countryside depicted more forests over the hillsides as we decided to include a visit to Sintra on the way to Cascais ( especially after speaking to
our Cascais host, Paulo). It was after 4.30pm by the time we arrived and parked in the town area then found our way (thanks to google maps!) to the bus station. Naturally our 434 bus running late but we chose this option as we had been advised that parking at the summit to visit the Pena Palace is incredibly difficult if not impossible. The trip up in the large coach on the narrow winding road was hairy to say the least! Awesome driver! Took about 20 minutes through little villages. Obviously with more time you could get on and off - plenty to see and other attractions to visit. With time restrictions we just focussed on The Palace and it’s grounds (which had been advised to me anyway - thanks Maryanne!)
Wow! Just overwhelming. The grounds are stunning - and we only saw a tiny part - but the palace itself that we could walk all around is unbelievable! The colours, tiles, turrets, gargoyles, arches...mind blowing. Again more time would have been great... but this is a whirlwind tour....and by the time we were waiting for our (very late again!) bus it was 7.30pm! Needless to say it was somewhat overloaded on the descent! Once back to our car it was only a 20 minute drive to Cascais where Paulo was waiting to show us our apartment on the first floor of a 14 storey complex. From the rooftop pool are amazing views over Cascais and the beaches. Looks a lovely area.
By the time we settled in it was late - probably 9.30pm by the time we walked 20 minutes down to the town restaurant area. Selected a pleasant looking Portuguese restaurant which ended up a really lovely meal- Octopus stew, grilled cuttlefish and chicken and rice. All yum! Needless to exhausted by the end and the walk back!