Advertisement
Published: October 5th 2017
Edit Blog Post
As it was to be very warm again today we decided to go to Cascais, a town about 20 miles from Lisboa, and 40 minute scenic train ride away. We had thought we would avoid the crowds since it was Thursday, but after seeing so many families heading to the beach, we realized that it must be a holiday, and it was!
We walked about 15 minutes from our apartment to the Gloria Elevator, which carries people up and down a very steep hill. Since the fare was about $4.00/each, we decided to walk down; a good decision! We then went to the subway, where we bought cards that can have money added to them (it's called "zapping" here) that give you a lower fare on public transportation. We successfully took the correct subways to the train station and then had nice ride out to Cascais.
Although there were crowds due to the holiday, we didn't have any problem getting to a beautiful beach, renting a paddle board (for me..Bill walked the promenade instead), and getting lunch later right on the Promenade, where the people watching was excellent! The crowds were a mix of ex-pats, foreign tourists, and Lisbon
I saw Chris and his wife!
You all will be happy to know that they apparently made up....we did tell our landlady who reported them to the owner of the upstairs apartment...
residents on a day trip.
Cascais has been a fishing village since the Paleolithic era. The Romans as well as the Moors were here at different times, and Cascais supplied Lisboa with fish as the city grew. It was also a strategic defense point, and a fortress was built in 1488.
It became a popular place for the wealthy when King Luis I decided to make it his summer residence 1870. Up til then, the wealthy made a point of staying out of the sun to keep their skin lily white (as opposed to the under classes who worked in the fields and on the sea and had darkened skin...). Now sun bathing was popular! By 1889, there was train service from Lisboa, and beautiful mansions were built along the sea. Many of these are still standing, but several we saw were abandoned.
Due to Portugal's
neutrality in World War II and the town's elegance and royal past, Cascais became home to many of the exiled royal families of Europe, including those of Spain,
Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria.
King Umberto II of Italy, the last Italian monarch due to the result of a
referendum ending the Italian monarchy in 1946,
Sidewalk paving stones
They are each about 2 inches square, and sometimes in black and white patterns. Beautiful, but slippery even when it's dry... lived the rest of his life here in
exile following his being deposed as king. (Wikipedia)
There is still a strong fishing community along with the wealthy residents and tourists, thus the nickname, "The Town of Kings and Fishes".
We had bread and cheese at home for dinner..still not over jet lag!
Maybe museums tomorrow?
Advertisement
Tot: 0.072s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 6; qc: 24; dbt: 0.041s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb