Michelle's Journey to USA, Middle East & Europe

August 30: Today was spent in and around Lisboa (Lisbon). We first headed to the Belem district, which has several references to culture and the period of discoveries and world voyages made by Portuguese.

We visited Monateiro dos Jeronimos, an old church (or monastery, not sure), Torre de Belem (tower) and a few other monuments of which I don´t know their names. We also got a great view of the River Tagus (Rio Tejo) and the April 25 Bridge (which looks very much like the Golden Gate Bridge as is built by the same guy).

Our guided tour ended here except for those doing the afternoon optional excursion. We first drove to Sintra, about half an hour away. Sintra is a hilltop town where people used to come for holidays, including royals and the rich. I had a brief look inside Palacio Nacional de Sintro (a Palace), which had nice tiled walls, a mix between Moorish and Gothic architecture and stands out due to its tall double chimneys.

Here, the legend and significance of the rooster (cock) in regards to Portugal was explained. Bought some souvenirs, then headed onto Cascais (pronounced ¨Cash-ka¨).

Cascais is a town that used to be a fisherman´s village and is now a summer holiday destination/resort. Nice beaches and a coastline which faces onto the Atlantic Ocean.
Had time to relax here, wander and have lunch, before returning to Lisbon, with a scenic drive back.

Spent some time in town wandering around, buying some last minute souvenirs of Portugal, before returning to the hotel to relax, eat dinner and watch some of the US Tennis Open. Had an early night, very tired.