31 October 2017 – Lisbon, Estoril, Cascais, Cabo da Roca, Sintra, Pena Palace

 

                                                HALLOWEEN GREETINGS!!

Actual Carved pumpkins!

We had a wonderful tour of outskirts of Lisbon as well as some of the sights in town.  It was warm and sunny, high of 74 deg.!!

As we left the ship and met Ricardo, our tour guide and Fausto, our driver, we merged into the morning rush hour traffic and drove west along the Targus River, seeing the 25  April bridge, built by American Bridge who built the Golden Gate, which is why it looks so much like it and was built to withstand earthquakes which destroyed Lisbon 01 November 1755.

As we continued towards Estoril, we saw many forts that were built in the 15^th and 16^th centuries to protect the entrance to Lisbon.  There are some 80 forts along the shores and in the river.  One such is the Tower of Belem below.

Estoril is also famous for its large casino, from which Ian Fleming got the inspiration for the James Bond novel, “Casino Royale”.

Then on to Cascais were the rich and famous of Portugal and retirees from Europe reside.  It was and still is a large fishing port and has a thriving crab and octopus fishing industry there.  This is the end of the Targus River and the entry to the Atlantic Ocean.

From there we began our climb to Cabo da Roca, which is the westernmost tip of all Europe.  As you can see be the photos, it is quite picturesque.

Sintra was our next stop high in the mountains and a resort area for the people from Lisbon in the summer.  It is very old with very narrow winding roads, which leads to much congestion even though this is their off-season.  We slowly made our way to the Pena Palace, up, up, up…!  The palace and grounds, built in the 19^th Century by the King and Queen of Portugal, and are the finest examples of Portuguese Romanticism and today a UNESCO World Heritage site.  You cannot begin to imagine how the construction was done and materials were bought to that high elevation at that time!!  Truly amazing!!

Notice the tiled walls

 We then went back down to the old, central part of Sintra, where we had a small lunch and a walk around of all the tourist shops. Back on board the bus, we made our way back to Lisbon, using the expressway this time!!

We stopped at the Monument to the Discoverers which is dedicated to the people who helped discover ports and places around the world in the 15^th and 16^th Centuries. 

We crossed the main avenue to the Monastery of St. Jerome, where Vasco De Gama and Camoes, the famous poet, are entombed along with other known people of Portugal

We arrived at the Praca de Rossio which is where all the rich shops, boutiques, etc. are and walked through a walking street down toward the river to the famous Praca de Comercio, which was where the royal palace once stood before being destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami of 1755.

It was a long 10-hour day, but well-worth the trip and it’s 3 hours later, a nice meal, and shower has  revived us, and now we’re getting ready for a Flamenco (dance)  and Fado (typical Portuguese old music) show onboard the ship.

Our friend below says “RIBBIT, RIBBIT” and we’ll be ready for a walking tour of Lisbon tomorrow.