Cabo de Roca, Cascais to Coimbra

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Geo: 40.2115, -8.4292

Today was a long day with several stops along the way. We set out at 8am and with Sandra as the guide we first drove to the westernmost point in Europe, Cabo de Roca. It was very windy and cold when we stopped so it was a brisk walk to the monument and back again. By the time we arrived at our second site, Sintra it had begun to warm up a bit. Sintra is the summer residence of many Lisbonites and certainly was the home of the Royal families. We walked to the Royal palace and started our visit. This is a beautifully decorated dwelling with elaborately painted ceilings and echoes of the Moorish mosaic decoration. Wonderful ceramic tiles on the walls. There was the swan room and the magpie room both named after the paintings on the ceilings of the respective birds. The main reception room was amazing. the tiles and paintings combining to make a fantastic impression.We went down to the kitchen where the cool cabinets were intriguing and the warming cupboard very large, It was a very modern place even though it was from the 16th century. The kitchen morphed into two huge chimneys which funneled the heat and the smoke away form the cooking area.

We were then given 30 minutes of free time which after looking into some of the little shops we used to have a coffee and a custard tart. We walked back to the bus and then we were off , travelling towards the seaside city of Cascais. This is evidently a popular seaside holiday town, on the Atlantic coast. We walked down to the seaside and the harbour. There was a small beach where a few hardy souls were swimming, however, the actual harbour sea walls extended a fair way into the ocean. We stopped at a local restaurant, the Flamingo and ordered a fish lunch, sea bass for me and sole for Fletcher, Unfortunately when the dishes arrived Fletcher was presented with salmon. The waiter apologised and so I ate my very tasty bass while Fletcher waited another twenty minutes to get his sole. When it cane it was very tasty and Fletch really enjoyed it but it did mean we spent too much time there so did not have enough time to look around the town.

Our next stop was the small hillside town of Obidos. This reminded me of he towns in Tuscany. It was a heritage listed place and the small street climbed up the hill towards an imposing castle which dominated the skyline. We walked up hill enjoying the little shops and the narrow lane ways. The specialty here was the cherry liqueur served with chocolate cups but we decided not to try. At the top the original castle is now a boutique hotel and the church of St James has been turned into an interesting bookshop. There is an outdoor theatre space and the small chalet buildings are very modern toilets. There was also a long medieval aqueduct which still serves the town.

We drove on to the coast and the town of Sitios which overlooks the Atlantic . It is perched on a cliff edge and overlooks the very popular tourist resort of Nazare. We walked from the bus to the lookout area. It was now very cold so I bought a cardigan from the local traders for 23 Euros, hand knitted and washable. There were sellers of nuts dressed in traditional costumes and a couple of our group precipitated a verbal fight because they tasted at one and then bought from another!!
From here we drove the final few kilometres into the town of Coimbra. This had once been the capital of Portugal and the main claim to fame is their very ancient University This dominates the skyline and as we drove in we saw many students dressed in black skirts or trousers with a tie and cloak. It was graduation time and so many were dressed in the traditional garb, We were told that it is optional for day to day lectures. We were taken to our hotel, the Dona Ines and after checking in we went out in search of dinner. Lucy told us of a restaurant called the Nacional and after some walking we found the place. In an upstairs roonm we had a good meal. Fletcher had veal scallopini while I opted for a veal loin in red wine
sauce. Both were great when they came though Fletcher's serve was double
what he needed. My veal loin was a tender piece of steak in a red wine
jus. Very delicious. We finished the meal by ordering a Creme Brulee each which was very yummy and completed the night perfectly. Most of the restaurant had been booked out by family groups celebrating the graduation of a family member, We wandered back through the streets to our hotel and were glad to rest after a busy day.

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