Saturday, April 9, 2016

Cascais and Sintra and back to Lisbon, March 17,2016



After a busy morning in Belem in Lisbon we headed west out of the city.  Our first stop



was Cascais.


Cascais was a very pretty town on the beach.  It was a wealthy enclave, once where the royal family used to vacation in the 19th century and early 20th century.  But in the 12th century there was already a castle there and of course the Romans and Moors were there before that.




We had a nice lunch


and enjoyed strolling the streets.











I loved the wavy pavement.




















We had a bit of confusion about when we were to be back at the bus, the only time this happened.  Our local expert didn't check we all had the right time and was not happy when three ladies returned for 2:30 instead of 2:00.  According to our itinerary we were supposed to go to Estoril as well but didn't.  Oh well...








Our next stop was into the mountains, Sintra.







What immediately caught my eye was this shop window above.



It was a very pretty town all white and yellow and red and blue.


Sintra has so much history.  It is again a UNESCO world heritage site.  And Romans, Moors, even an attempt by a Norwegian to recapture the castle from the Moors on his way to the Crusades.  When it was recaptured by Alfonso Enrique and crusaders, a church was built within the walls of the Moorish castle to prove his success.











But I was interested in the pottery





It was very spring like.


I also liked the donkeys.





A nice view

















I also liked the popcorn man and the popcorn.







Sardines anyone?








A postcard perfect to send to my first grade friends back in Vancouver.




After a pleasant afternoon we were on our way back to Lisbon to our hotel.





I discovered the top floor bar and lounge had quite a magnificent view of Lisbon, a perfect place to enjoy a glass of wine






and later dinner!




Not enough time in Lisbon but we certainly enjoyed being here.











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