I came back to the hotel and had a delish breakfast of honeydew, fresh ricotta, a hard boiled egg, and a croissant before it was time for a city tour by bus. The tour guide was super informative and gave a lot of background info on a lot of the sites I saw yesterday. One of the things I saw yesterday which I thought was a cable car on the side of the street, turned out to be a uphill tram that takes you to upper Lisbon. We rode to the top to get yet another panoramic view of the city. The bus met us at the top and then drove us around some more and then took us to Belem Tower and the Monument of the Discoveries. Both of these had been on my must-see list so I was glad to see them. From there, it was on to yet another church, San Geronimo. This church was big and beautiful but nothing compared to some of the other ones I've seen the past ten days. I think I may be a little churched-out right now, but I know that they are important to see. The tomb of Vasco De Gama is actually in this church so it has definite historic importance. The last stop on this morning tour was to the famous Pasteis de Belem pastry shop, for custard tarts, a Portuguese specialty. They were absolutely delicious with a little cinnamon. A custard tart is not something I would ever order in the very rare times I get pastries, but now I know why this place is so well-known around here. Yum.
After our little snack, it was time to drive up the Portugese Riviera. We drove past Estoril and the famous Casino there, then made a stop in the town of Cascais. I had an hour and half to myself here and at first wandered a little bit around town to see the little shops and restaurants. I ate lunch at a place the local guide recommended and probably had the best char-grilled chicken I've ever had in my life. It was so moist and flavorful! My food came out in literally two minutes, I ate it in about 15 and then walked down to the beach. I can't be in a beach town and not go down to the water and put my feet in; so I did just that. I took off my shoes and socks and waded in the water for about 15 glorious minutes. The sand was soft and the water cold; just the way I like it. I obviously could have stayed at the beach all day but didn't have my suit or a towel, and there was more to see on the Riviera so off I went.
Next up was the coastal town of Sintra. We pulled over on the side of the road to really get a look at the Sintra mountain range and the Atlantic, and it was absolutely beautiful! The tour guide joked that on a super clear day you can see the Statue of Liberty from there. I squinted my hardest, but no such luck. Darn it!! We continued along the coast to the town of Sintra where we visited the Royal of Palace of Sintra. It seems every day it's either a cathedral/church, castle, or palace or a combo of any of those. This palace was cool to see because it actually had furniture in it and gave you an idea of what the rooms actually looked like. It wasn't just wide open spaces and empty rooms. The furniture here was so ornate and detailed too. Our guide had a lot of information to provide which was helpful as we walked from room to room. I actually learned where the term "don't throw the baby out with the bath water came from." The palace had nod bathrooms (no toilets or showers). Royalty used bed pans to pee and poo and moved the bathtubs around with them and only bathed a few times a year; old people went first then down the line by age and the babies were last. Because of that, people back then would remind each other to literally not throw the baby out with the bath water. Mind blown. Who knew?!?!
Anyway, after the palace tour, I walked around Sintra a bit and then finally headed back to Lisbon where I wandered around a bit more and headed over to a park I had wanted to see. It was huge, had a big incline, great landscaping, a big Portuguese flag, and had a gorgeous city view down to the water. A couple in my group recommended a burger place for dinner they had been to the night before so I decided to head over there and hope that it was good (it was just meh). I've been missing just regular American food quite a bit so wanted to give this a try.
Restaurants in Europe are a little bizarre in the fact that no one seats you. Every time I've gone to eat out, I just seat myself and hope someone comes over. I order my water (which is always bottled) and my food and wait. I have learned to ask for the bill when my food comes or else I'll be waiting forever to pay. The good thing is you don't tip here. This is probably why the service sucks everywhere though.
After dinner I just took a stroll one last time by the arch and then headed back to the hotel. It was actually nice to be in early and relax. I haven't been in before 9:30 any night so far so being in at 8:15 was good, especially since today was busy and I was up so early for my (amazing) run.
It's back to Spain tomorrow. I definitely liked the city of Lisbon a lot and only have good things to say about it. I didn't know anything about it beforehand and was very pleasantly surprised. Now, if only I would have spotted Cristiano Ronaldo. That really would have been icing on the Portuguese cake!
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