Day 4 - Tuesday, October 22, 2024 - Lisbon and Sintra

 We are on our own this morning.

We walked down to one of the historic funicular that goes up the steep slopes saving a lot of exercise. The control panel shows it was made by General Electric in 1905! It is so steep that the back of the car is raised up in order to keep the floor level as it travels up. There is quite a spectacular overlook of the city from there.

We used Google Maps to find the bus route up to Sao Jorge Castle which overlooks the city. It is quite a bus ride up narrow winding streets - I give the bus drivers a lot of credit! We thought we could walk around the castle grounds to view the city without a ticket but unfortunately we could not and hundreds of people were in line so we didn't go in. Strangely, Google Maps only showed the way back as walking all the way down but we were able to go back to the bus station by the castle and take it back down.

We stopped for lunch at a little shop and had the strangest salmon sandwich which had coal-black bread. We were surprised that it wasn't particularly strong tasting. The bread is Broa de Avintes, made with  corn and rye, with a touch of malt flour, a loaf cooks for no less than 5 hours. It looks absolutely burnt but isn't.

In the afternoon we had a bus tour to Sintra and Cabo da Roca. We visited the National Palace in Sintra which dates back to Moorish times although the current structure is from the 14th century which many additions in subsequent centuries. Many of the walls are decorated with ornate tiles and the ceilings are painted with themes like swan, magpies, ships and stags. We were able to enjoy the delicious pastries that Sintra is famous for.

From there we went to Cabo da Roca, the western-most point of continental Europe although there seems to be some contention with Spain as to which country is western-most. It is known for being exceptionally windy and is the area where surfers challenge 100+ foot waves.

We had a delicious seafood dinner for two with crab, lobster, mussels, clams and other seafood in a rich sauce. I had "Portuguese Camel Drool" for dessert. I was wondering if they meant "caramel" but it tasted mostly like mocha. A guy from the restaurant was trying to convince people to come in and at one point I chimed in and told the visitors how good the food was. They decided to stay to eat and I was thanked for our support!

Our seafood dinner
Funicular


Cabo da Roca


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