We are in Portugal! After flying overnight and arriving in Lisbon at 4:35 local time, we picked up our rental car, fought rush hour traffic and got to Cascais only to discover that a fest was interfering with the route to our hotel. Needless to say, this was not ideal when working on only four hours of sleep. We ended up parking just up from the beach and asking a lifeguard for directions which he was able to provide only after I showed him the photo of the hotel in our plan deck (see how useful that is!). From there it was about a three block walk to the hotel. There we got directions to the underground parking lot just two blocks away. Good thing we had already decided to stay up and force our body clocks to adjust to local time as it was 9:00 before we were checked in and ready to get dinner. In the end, we had a lovely late dinner at an outdoor cafe – fresh grilled sardines, seafood and rice, melon with Iberian ham, olives and bread washed down with a bottle of Portugese white wine – delicious!
That was yesterday. Today, our first full day in Portugal, we enjoyed the Cascais outdoor market where the vendors are loudly hawking their wares. You can find everything from clothes and shoes (€5), housewares, and souvenirs. I bought a dress and wrap for only €15. The market also has fresh produce, cheese, meat, and a bakery so we got some fruit, cheese and cookies for a picnic lunch.
The beach was heavenly! Weather was perfect. The water in the Atlantic is cold (similar to Lake Michigan in Chicago in August). It will be interesting to see if the water in the Algarve in southern Portugal, which may be more influenced by the Mediterranean, will be any warmer. We spent the entire afternoon at the beach and thoroughly enjoyed our picnic from the market.
Tonight we will head to the fest. Can’t wait!
Continue the journey with me at More from Portugal.
