Highlights of Portugal

Drove into Lisbon from southern Portugal and only went down a few wrong roads. Eventualy found our hotel, a very modern highrise on the coast in Estoril. Our room was small, but upscale and brand new.

The next day we ventured out in the car and stopped on the cliff edge at the westernmost point in Europe, Cabo da Roca, then inland toward Sintra. Stopped in the forest in the Siera de Sintra at the Convento dos Capuchos, an abandoned cluster of buildings founded by friars in the 1700s. It was nestled among moss covered rocks. Some of the rooms still had frescoes, hand painted tiles and cork covered walls. The individual cells were no bigger than 6 X 8 feet with doors too small for me to enter. I just peeked in. It was here that I chatted with a German gentleman who knew the town where my mother´s ancestors came from. Small world. There were only three tourists on the whole property at the time. Had a great lunch at a taverna up a hill on a small lane in Sintra, known for the beautiful palaces that were summer residences for royalty and the wealthy. The town is picture postcard perfect, with flowers and manicured gardens. That evening we wento to the Casino in Sintra, one of Europe´s largest.

Instead of trying to drive into Lisbon, we took a tour bus. We were picked up at our hotel and driven into town to join the larger group on a larger bus. Saw the cathedral in Belem (Bethlehem in English), the Alfama with its narrow streets and exposed Moorish wall circa 1400, a museum with royal coaches, tasted port wine, and saw more monuments than I can remember. The King of Norway was in town and his yacht was anchored near the marina. He had placed flowers at a poet´s tomb in the cathedral in Belem (which all visiting royals and heads of state do). There is a tomb in the cathedral of Vasco da Gama, who opened routes to India, the beginning of Portugals` wealth.