Arriving in the Lisbon airport we took a taxi to our hotel. During the ride it was interesting seeing everything written in Portuguese from being used to Spanish and looking similar but different. The hotel was nice we arrived around noon. From there we went exploring Lisbon, Heading down towards the River Tejo, we were kind of following our travel guide and kind of just walking and exploring. We walked passed plazas and cathedrals and climbed up the endless hills to lookout points above the entire city. Hiking around the city all day, even up to the castle, we saw all of the Lisbon sights. Exhausted from walking so long with countless hills. We decided to take the train back to the hotel. Taking the metro back to the Hotel we bought a pass for 10 trips and thought it would be fine to just pass it back so we could both use it. That did not pan out; I went through the turnstile then handed the pass back to Brom and it would not work again and let him through. Luckily a nice local man was walking by and saw our troubles and swiped his card so Bromsky could get through. After that we bought separate passes for the rest of our metroing. Back at the hotel we took a break before heading back downtown for dinner. It was past 11 o'clock so a lot of places had stopped serving food. We wandered around for a bit, but it was still raining, so we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was nice to have some American food, a good old fashioned veggieburger. Bromley had some macaroni and cheese. Classic. The next day we woke up and it was raining again. It rained in Portugal everyday, but always just a light sprinkle and never lasting for more than an hour at a time. Kind of annoying, but could have been worse. We decided to head out by the airport to "Parque das Nacoes" or Park of Nations, where the 1998 World Fair was hosted. The complete opposite of downtown Lisbon, the buildings, museums, arenas and aquarium there are very modern architecture. Big, white, lots of windows, right on the Rio Tejos, it was a nice change. To escape the rain, we went to the aquarium first. It has a huge central tank the size of four olympic swimming pools and home to hundreds of sting rays, sharks, tunas and schools of random little fish. The four quadrants of the building are spilt up into more tanks and exhibits featuring different oceans- arctic, tropical, mediterranean, Caribbean, everything. Bromley was into the photography and got some killer pics. (see picasa web..)
In the park we walked around the water gardens, rode the cable cars over the promenade, ate some Pizza Hut, and checked it all out.
After a layover at the hotel, we went out to the Barrio Alto, Lisbon's nightlife district. We saw some interesting folk, walked around, checked out some of the local establishments and ate seafood at a cute little place. We didn't stay long because we were tired and the neighborhood is a little sketchy, honestly.
The next day we took a day trip to Sintra, only a 40 minute train ride away from Lisbon. Arriving, we took the bus from the city center up to the Palacio de Pena Parque, the oldest palace of European Romanticism. It was the summer residence for the Portugese royal family. The last queen of Portugal, Amelia, spent her last night in the palace before leaving the country in exile in 1910. Since then it has become a major tourist attraction and has been declared a UNESC World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal.
We bought the double pass for the entire palace and the moorish castle close-by. Definitely a bargain, we got to go inside the entire palace and see many of the original decor and furniture used by the royal family. Of course, no photography allowed, but it was beautiful.
The palace is surrounded by a huge park with many lakes, giant trees, old relics and hills everywhere. The climate is warm and humid, with ferns and flowers everywhere. The park was beautiful and deserted, so it was fun to walk around and explore.
From there we went over to the medieval castle, built by the Moors in the 9th or 10th century. It reminded me of Alicante's castle, but was slightly more ruined. Again, it was on top of a giant hill with breathtaking views.
From Sintra, we took a local bus to Cabo da Roca, the western most point of mainland europe. It was beautiful--the rocky cliff shore with the Atlantic splashing against it. There wasn't much there besides a little monument, a lighthouse and meadows of wild flowers. We got there right at sunset and missed the rain; everything worked out perfectly.
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