From Lisbon we took a 40 minute train ride to the fairytale town of Sintra. The difference in temperature for such a short distance away was remarkable. Being in the mountains it was much colder, especially at night. The town is very charming to walk around in, it is almost like being in a giant park. There are castles hanging off mountainsides everywhere you look. The city is broken into 4 distinct sections. The old town, the new town area around the train station, another section of new town, and a village area which is higher up in the hills.
We stayed for 4 nights and took in as many castles as possible. We also wandered through the old town section. It is full of little shops that can empty your pockets in a hurry.We decided to eat lunch here as it had been a long time since we ate. We looked at a menu on the outside of a restaurant and it looked good and kind of cheap. Once we sat down we got our menu and couldn't find the same cheaper stuff on it. We were told that that menu was for the four tables to the side of us that were the " cafe ", this was the restaurant side. They allowed us to stay seated here and choose off of the cheaper menu. We were not the only ones looking for cheaper eats. Every couple of minutes someone would sit down then get their menu, kind of laugh and get up and leave. I guess the town figures that it is a tourist destination and off the beaten path so they have the right to gouge the tourists. The main castle in Sintra is known for being painted in a mixture of pastel colours. It is really stunning to see from a distance. It sits on a huge estate, with both manicured gardens and forested walking trails. We went inside the castle and viewed many different rooms. They were full of original furnishings used by the royalty that once lived there. The view was amazing. We could see all of the different areas of Sintra as well as the ocean and back towards Lisbon. For the best views of the outside of the castle you have to go for a 30 minute walk, up hill of course, through the forested area of the grounds.
Our first hotel was across from the train station. The town is sprawled out and quite hilly so we didn't feel like dragging our stuff every where trying to find a room, so we settled for this one and went looking for a different place for the rest of our stay. This place ended up having ants crawling all over it during the night. We had ordered a pizza to bring back to the hotel earlier in the evening. I guess it was a big mistake to leave the empty box on top of a dresser in the corner of the room. Hundreds of tiny ants came through a crack in the window sill during the night. We woke up with some of them crawling on us in the bed. They were even starting to get into our bags. We went downstairs at about 2 a.m. to see about changing rooms. There was nobody around to speak to. A note was on the front counter with a number for emergencies. I guess they don't have any staff on at night for such a small place. The room across the hall was vacant and the door was open. We took the liberty of moving ourselves into it.We snuck the pizza box out to the garbage on the street so that we didn't get blamed for the ants, or charged extra for using 2 rooms. In the morning we checked out and went to the hotel that we had found which was much nicer and at a better rate.
From Sintra we took a bus to a city called Cascais on the coast. We were told it is a very scenic route. It would have been if the driver wasn't driving like we were on Mr. Toads wild ride at Disneyland. He was going around the curves at such a pace we were sliding out of our seats. Jack was very nauseous and I usually never get travel sickness, but was not doing too well by the end of the trip either. This was the worst bus ride we have had on the entire trip. The driving was worse than what we experienced in Africa and Asia. A lot of the driving here is erratic. They come whipping through narrow little streets at race car speeds. When we slowed down in a small village, the driver stopped along side a stone wall. A dog stretched up to reach the top of the wall from the other side and the driver handed him a biscuit through the window. This obviously happens all the time and the dog knows the bus schedule by heart. This was the only amusing part of the trip.
We passed by an area called Caba da Roca, it is the most western point of Europe. You could stare at the horizon far off into the distance. There was nothing but ocean to look at. It was funny to think that at one time people assumed this was the end of the land and the rest of the world was just water. I guess, because of their lack of knowledge and the view from here, we could understand their thinking.
In Cascias it was again a large difference in temperature. We had only traveled about 1 1/2 hours. It was back to being 25.C in the day and the night time was cooler, but still comfortable enough to walk with just a light jacket. It was a nice town, some cobbled streets gave it a charming feel, yet it had some modern shopping and restaurants. There is a walkway along the ocean that goes all the way from Cascais to the next town of Estoril. It's about 1 to 1 1/2 hours walk. It was a very nice walk. There were cafes along the side and different play areas to entertain the kids and of course beaches. Cascais is the playground for the Lisbon rich. There were many beautiful old mansions hanging off the cliffs overlooking the walkway as well as hidden within the old part of the city.
We stayed in a hotel called Residencial Solar D Carlos. It was a former royal residence. There was an old wooden staircase that took us up to our room. The breakfast was served in what would have been a grand dining room.
We decided to try our luck again on some haircuts while in Cascais. We spotted a salon that looked modern. My haircut was okay, Jack came out with the Portuguese Mohawk look that is so popular there. The hair on top of the head is left longer and swept up into a big fin on top. Some guys add to the look by also wearing their hair in a mullet style in the back. We asked what the price for the haircuts would be before agreeing to them. It was 25 euros for men and 35 euros for women. We have to add 50 percent to that to get Canadian dollars, but it sounded fair enough. I guess this was one of those live and learn situations. They neglected to tell us that this was literally just for the haircut. We were charged extra for the shampooing, another additional amount for the conditioner that went into my hair, then for the styling for both of us and for the gel they put in Jack's hair. Totally ridiculous. The extra amount for the conditioner was over the top, I think it worked out to $5 Canadian. The whole bill ended up coming to 120 euros instead of the 60 euros we thought it was going to be! Convert that into Canadian dollars and we just paid $180 for two haircuts!!!
We walked through a large public park while in Cascais. It was full of families enjoying their Sunday. Most shops and even a lot of restaurants close on Sunday. It is a real family day still in Portugal. There were peacocks and chickens running loose around the park.
We then took a train from Cascais back to Lisbon. It went all along the coast and was very scenic. At least this was a nice smooth ride and we could enjoy the scenery. From Lisbon we immediately took a train to Porto. We stayed overnight in the same hotel we had when we first arrived in Porto. It was hard to believe that was nearly 2 months ago. The lady who owns the hotel recognized us right away. She could not believe we had stayed in Portugal all that time. People must not expect tourists to spend so much time here. We got the same response from many locals when they asked how long we had been in the country.
The next morning we headed to the airport for our 1 cent flight with Ryan air to Dublin, Ireland. Yes you read correctly, 1 cent. You still have to pay the tax. So in total it came to about 50 euros for the two of us, (about $75 Canadian)
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