Sarah and I woke up on Sunday to discover that Cascais had been taken over by some sort of children’s festival for the day. All the streets were shut down, there were hordes of screaming children everywhere and at least four “bouncy houses” – so we decided to head back to Lisbon early in the day rather than competing with all the kids for a spot on the beach.
We spent the afternoon strolling around Lisbon’s beautiful streets, popping into a few shops and eventually eating another delicious meal at Time Out Mercado da Ribeira. With so many choices, it’s hard to go wrong there!
Sarah loved the art deco feel of this brightly colored building.
Afternoon sun overlooking São Jorge Castle.
Panoramic views of Lisbon
Looking out on the 25th of April Bridge from one of Lisbon’s many hills.
Fortunately the city also has numerous streetcars to help pedestrians get up and down the hills - though nearly $4 for a 3-minute ride is a little "steep!"
We woke up on Monday and headed back to the train station to catch a quick train to Belem, a small historic town just outside Lisbon. Our first stop: lunch at Pão Pão Queijo Queijo. The line was out the door and the ordering process was a bit chaotic – all the locals knew the unspoken, unwritten procedures and basically no one spoke English – but the delicious sandwich I got was worth the hassle! (Sadly, Sarah’s falafel was pretty lousy…but I dutifully shared my sandwich with her.)
One we were finished with our lunch, we set out to see Belem for a few hours (with a gelato stop along the way) before the heat tired us out and we headed back to Lisbon.
Intricate handiwork on the Jerónimos Monastery.
By the marina in Belem. So similar to San Francisco! (Well, except for the giant Jesus statue in the distance.)
Belem Tower, one of several defensive towers built around Portugal in the 1500s.
Afonso de Albuquerque Square near the center of town.
Once back in Lisbon, we decided to power through the day and headed directly to Alfama, Lisbon’s oldest neighborhood, on our way up to São Jorge Castle. The sun was beginning to set so the heat died down a bit and once we got up higher above the city the wind was pretty strong. Lisbon seems to have the widest range of temperatures during the day – we were hot in Belem, then practically freezing for sunset at São Jorge!
We stopped a few times on our walk up to São Jorge, once at a small garden and once at an outdoor café, to break up the walk and take in the views. By the time we made it to the top the sun was just about to set over the mountains – it was a tiring walk after a full day in Belem, but we’re so happy that we did it!
Sarah posing for picture in the garden we stopped at on the way up.
The National Pantheon.
This bird paused to take in the views too.
Taking in the sunset over Lisbon.
Sunset in Lisbon. Definitely worth the walk!
One of the best things about Lisbon is that there are many great destinations close by that are easily accessible by train. Sintra had been recommended to us as a day trip by multiple friends so we blocked off all of Tuesday to explore the area. After an easy train ride, we figured out the bus schedule – there is a bus that specifically runs to take tourists from the train station to the main attractions in town – and grabbed a bite to eat. Our first stop was the Castle of the Moors, which sits high above town and served as an important military stronghold for Portugal during Medieval times. It was so high and the walls so low (at some points) that we passed many tourists having minor panic attacks along the way.
Looking out to the Atlantic Ocean from the Castle of the Moors.
Sintra looks like a tiny town from up here!
The extremely windy conditions probably contributed to some of the other tourists’ anxiety up there.
After we explored the castle for an hour or so, we walked a little further uphill to Pena National Palace. Now the Palace is a museum and UNESCO classified it as a World Heritage Site, but prior to the Portuguese Revolution in 1910, the royal family resided here (and clearly lived quite well!). We were both blown away by the colors that decorate the outside of the Palace – each part is styled in bright, bold colors, giving it the effect of something you might see in a Disney movie.
Pena National Palace.
The parts that aren’t painted bright yellow, red or blue are tiled beautifully.
You can see how much higher we are here – that’s the castle down to the right.
Had to clear a few tour groups out of the way for this shot, but definitely worth it!
One more shot of the Palace.
We took the bus back down to the center of Sintra and headed over to Quinta da Regaleira, another recommendation from our friends but a little more off the beaten path (few group-tour itineraries include a stop here). We wandered through the lush gardens and explored the old buildings scattered throughout for a couple hours before heading back to the train station.
Sintra looks a little different from down here!
The palace at Quinta da Regaleira.
The Terrace of the Celestial Worlds.
There are a few wells throughout the Quinta da Regaleira grounds which we were able to climb down. Sarah opted to wait safely outside but I headed down the Initiation Well to snap a few pictures.
One more looking up out of the well.
The view from the observation deck of the palace.
The trip back to Lisbon didn’t take long but we were both starving by the time we arrived. We headed to Taberna Anti-Dantas for a truly local dining experience. The small restaurant was run by one guy, there were only a few tables and basically no English was spoken. But we understood enough to order some delicious food off the menu…and Sarah was even bold enough to try the grilled octopus!
Not something she would typically order, but she loved it!
Having seen most of the major sights in and around Lisbon, we decided to head back to the beach for a relaxing day on Wednesday. Carcavelos is closer to Lisbon than Cascais but still had a great beach to sprawl out on for a few hours. Once we were tired of the sun (and all the teenagers who clearly just got out of school here!) we took the train back to Lisbon and had one final dining experience at Time Out Mercado da Ribeira. Seriously, go here if you visit Lisbon!
Tomorrow we fly to Paris to resume the last part of our originally planned France itinerary. Hopefully we don't have any more run-ins with thieves there!