Blogs from Cascais, Lisbon & Tagus Valley, Portugal, Europe

We woke early, gathered up our stuff and headed out. The train station was too far for walkkng, so we caught a taxi. We got there pretty early, but we had wanted to make sure we left enough time to find a ride. The train seats were spacious, and the ride was uneventful. We had to switch trains once arriving in Lisbon, and then after our train stop, we walked about 30 min to where we caught an urban train to Cascais. The walk was really nice, along the waterfront. We got the urban train and then followed google maps. For this stop, we have a private room at Ljmonade Eco Hostel. The hostel is very nice, it looks like maybe an old home that has been converted. We got settled, then went for a walk ... read more

Returning to Lisbon, there are multiple giant nests built into trees, and even electrical towers. White heads pop out, and as the birds take flight, we spot our first storks, but no babies in sight. Unfortunately, Chris now has caught something so we decide to lay low for a bit......... but not for long and we are off! Off to see Pink Street which is .......... a street painted pink. It appears to be the signature for a night life gathering spot with clubs and bars. Close by is the Time Out Market in an enormous building that showcases the best restaurants of Lisbon. It is like a tapa’s buffet of 40 different markets. Whatever you want to eat or drink, it is here. Strangely, there do not seem to be any Portuguese people in attendance, ... read more

We have had a very comfortable stay at the Air BnB apartment of English couple Jane and Steve. It’s interesting how, when we haven’t been around English speaking people for a number of weeks, that it is very easy to strike up conversation with people who speak and understand the same language as ourselves. Jane and Steve have built themselves a business that suits their lifestyle and as they mentioned it is just a 2 hour flight back to their children and grandchildren every 3 months or so. Sticking to the coast we headed west to Peniche, which sits on a peninsula, and we will do the circuit to take in the scenery. Although we had only travelled a little further south on the coastal plain it was apparent that the land seemed to be able ... read more

Last night we once again had a bit of trouble getting to sleep on account of some man screaming outside. At first I thought, how nice, some late-night Fado! Nope, just repeated yelling of the same unintelligible, though somewhat lyrical thing. We still managed to get up a bit after 8 and head down to our gourmet breakfast of assorted breads, yogurt, and sliced cheese. Once showered we started to make our way West toward the Museu Nacional do Azulejo, the National Azulejo Tile museum. Lisbon's azulejos are iconic and ubiquitous throughout the city, so it was interesting to see their history and evolution. The word itself comes from the Arabic 'azzelij' or 'az zuleycha' which means small polished stone. It was cool to see the various styles and influences, from Arabic geometric patterns to Eastern ... read more

We woke early, really really early ….. Woolly says – dawn was breaking more like, Ian told us it was half seven so with the kettle boiling we all went about our morning wake up rituals, checking Jo’s phone I found that it was actually 6.30am!!!! What a time to wake me up!! For some reason Ian’s roaming time was still on Spanish time but in our cross over into Portugal we had gained an hour and were now on BST again. Not to be downhearted, it was a lovely morning and the sun was coming up along with the temperature, 15 degrees by the time we were packed and ready to go. Woolly says – I was down hearted! But putting my grumps away I sat eagerly looking around me as we headed down the ... read more