Pena Palace, Cape Roca and Cascais!

Today is a national holiday in Portugal celebrating the carnation revolution of 1974 - so I thought getting out of town might be a good idea! Especially because I wanted to take a day trip and see more of the country anyway. So I booked a day trip to go to the Palace of Pena in Sintra, stop at Cape Roca which is the most western part of the European continent, and see Cascais which is a seaside town right on the Atlantic. So I along with my new friends - 5 Germans, one Italian married to a Russian, and our Portugeuse guide met at the Hard Rock Cafe and headed out of town! 

First stop Sintra to tour the Palace of Pena and the beautiful surrounding gardens. The builder was King Ferdinand II and his wife Queen Maria II. There are numerous castles and palaces in the town of Sintra so you can be in a palace looking at another palace - cool! Out guide asked if we wanted to start in the gardens and hike to the top where the castle is - instead of entering the main gate like everyone typically does. We were all up for it and it was almost my favorite part of the tour! But when he said climb to the top he meant it! It took about 40 minutes to do the hike but the labyrinth of gardens was amazing!!  

I got to sit in the Queen's Throne carved out of rock where she sat every morning and viewed the castle! 

And this is what she was looking at!!! 

3 Different styles and colors symbolizing the integration of the 3 different cultures!! 

We had about an hour to tour the inside and walk along the outer turrets - unbelievable views all the way to the ocean!  

Then we headed for lunch. Our guide George took us to a beautiful little local restaurant called Refugio da Roca in the town of Cabo da Roca. He had to help me (actually all of us) with the menu. He suggested the Bacalhau Na Telha for those of us that aren't partial to octopus, eel, squid etc. It was delicious! It came in it's own little casserole dish and was spinach on the bottom topped with cod and shrimp under a crumbly topping of cornmeal with spices. Served with boiled potatoes on the side. Two of the Germans didn't speak English but everyone else did and we had fun chatting and asking questions. They have all been to the US and had lots of questions for me as far as things they don't understand. My favorite was when you are having coffee and they ask you if you want it "topped off". Do they charge extra for that? And I had questions for them too. As usual the vast majority of people around the world you meet are nice.  

Next stop Cape Roca - the most western point of the European continent. Directly across the Atlantic Ocean is NYC!!! 

Hey I think I can see the Statue of Liberty!!! 

Last stop was the town of Cascais which is not far from Lisbon and is basically a beach town. It wasn't that far from Cape Roca but the change in temperature was dramatic!  

Doing what people do at the beach around the world!! 

Well that wraps up my time in Portugal. I didn't know what to expect and it turned out to be wonderful!! Tomorrow I leave for Paris!