Monday- Sintra to Cabo da Roca and Cascais, Portugal

We caught the bus to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point on continental Europe this morning. The bus ride was on the local route ans extraordinarily windy. We saw another couple who were also staying at the Casa Miradouro.

We arrived fairly quickly ans purchased a certificate noting that we had visited from the tourist office. It was rather fun- they had inscribed our names in calligraphy.

Bill made note that there was no sign of Donald Sutherland. Haha. Cabo da Roca is very lovely and we were glad that there were so few people there. We got to climb the rocks and take great photos of the sea and the cliffs.
After snacking on donuts/pastries we had picked up in town, we went on to Cascais. It was a sunny day so we got to enjoy the seaside town. We would describe the city as an elegant but declining seaside resort.

We found a faster bus (more direct) back to Sintra.

Monday- November 22: Sintra and Cascais, Portugal

Our hotel is a restored manor house in Sintra with an amazing view that looks over the countryside. The owner/manager is named Frederick and is Swiss-German. We had a glass of vino verde with him before going out to dinner. There was a lovely fire going in the small drawing room and he told us that he had retired from a career in the airline and insurance industries before buying the manor house and restoring it. Our room is quite large and has a balcony that wraps around three side of the room. It was so foggy out both yesterday and today that we were unable to see the sea. They assure us it's out there.

We visited Cabo de Roca U the westernmost point in continental Europe and then took the bus to Cacais

Monday- Sintra, Portugal at the Casa Miradouro

Bill and I are very much enjoying our room in the pink and white striped manor house. The gardens , despite it being late November, are quite lovely.
The town is gorgeous. It's very hilly so the narrow streets (with fast moving cars) are very steep. There are a number of old manor houses in town. Some look to have been empty for some time and are for sale. You can tell which are occupied because they inevitably have a pair of dogs outside.

We made our way from the train station into town - past the very lovely town hall- with no problem. In the center of Sintra is the National Palace. It is an interesting building whose room's names reflect the paintings on the ceilings. Bill's favorite was the Magpie Room. The King was once caught by his Queen as he was kissing a noblewoman in that room. He named the room the Magpie Room when he grew tired of the Court's gossip after the incident.

Sunday - Nov 21 New York to Lisbon to Sintra

We arrived in Lisbon after a 6 and a half hour flight on Continental air lines out of Newark. Ironically, the featured film was "Dodgeball" which Lin had already seen twice and Bill had seen many more times on previous trips. The second film was 2 Weeks Notice with Sandra Bullock which Lin enjoyed very much.

We took a bus to Entrcampos train station and got tickets on a commuter line to Sintra. The morning started off quite foggy but had become very sunny and nice. Lin's Spanish skills should help tremendously here as neither of us is doing very well with Portugese

Sunday - arrival

We arrived in Lisbon after a 6 and a half hour flight on Continental air lines out of Newark. Ironically, the featured film was "Dodgeball" which Lin had already seen twice and Bill had seen many more times on previous trips. The second film was 2 Weeks Notice with Sandra Bullock which Lin enjoyed very much.

We took a bus to Entrcampos train station and got tickets on a commuter line to Sintra. The morning started off quite foggy but had become very sunny and nice. Lin's Spanish skills should help tremendously here as neither of us is doing very well with Portugese

Lin and Bill are going to Lisbon and Sinstra, Portugal for Thanksgiving 2004

Lin and Bill are going to Lisbon and Sinstra, Portugal for Thanksgiving 2004! We're really very excited- we're flying directly from Newark, NJ to Lisbon, Portugal.