The week with Allan's sisters and niece - Cascais, Portugal
Cascais, Portugal
It's now been 5 days since Allan's 2 sisters and niece arrived in Cascais, and since our last blog post! So, what have we all been up to, and how do 7 people fit into a little ford fiesta??? To start with, John and Allan drove to the airport last Wednesday morning to collect the 3 ladies, who had started the day very early at 3.30am in Gosport, Hampshire, England, to get a taxi ride to Heathrow, for the 2 & a half hour flight to Lisbon. Needless to say, they were quite tired by the time they arrived, but were still in good spirits and were able to talk non-stop on the drive back to Cascais. Thankfully John was the driver, and Allan was able to talk without the distraction of having to navigate unfamiliar territory! Meanwhile, Sam and I walked down to the shops as we didn't have a car, to get supplies for lunch, and planned to catch a taxi to the apartment to check in prior to the arrival of the ladies, however…… just when you want taxi, none are to be found….so we started to walk, keeping an eye out all the time for a taxi. The phone rings, and it's Allan, saying that they're there, but it seems like they're at the wrong place, as the porter said there weren't any holiday apartments in the complex, and then the agent calls and wonders where we are, and Sam & I are still trying to find a taxi, but now not knowing where we're supposed to be going to! We thought we'd had it all sorted, as we'd gone for a drive the day before and found what we'd thought was the apartment complex, but now we really didn't know! The agent texted me the address, which I sent on to Allan, and then what seemed ages later, Allan called to say that they were in the right place after all – the porter had made a mistake, and he, John and the ladies were in the apartment with the agent…. and Sam and I were still trying to find a taxi with the groceries!!! John came and rescued us then, and all was well. The bonus was that the apartment was actually as good as, or even better than portrayed on the website – a very unusual occurrence. The views of Cascais from every room were breathtaking, and the apartment itself was all class. Very relieved! Not sure we could have coped if it had turned out to be a dive!
The first afternoon we just spent relaxing and catching up, (getting slightly burnt on the balcony), and then we wandered down through the back streets to town to have a look around and find somewhere to have dinner. Everyone was taken with the old town area, with its cobbled paths and roads, and quaint buildings. Dinner was quite interesting - Allan, Sue, John and Sam had to cook their own meat, much to their surprise!!
The next day (Thursday), Allan, Freda, Sue, Karen and myself ventured onto the roads with Allan driving, and headed along the coast road to Guincho beach, and then further on to Sintra, where we wandered through the narrow, quaint streets, checking out the local shops and just enjoying the feel of this lovely area. To top it off we went on the "Tschu Tschu" train to get a better overview of the area without having the pressure of driving through the narrow streets, trying to avoid the tourist buses which somehow managed to weave their way around all the narrow bends.
Friday was a public holiday, although we didn't realise that for a while. John's football game was on at 3pm at Belens, on the outskirts of Lisbon and right behind the Jeronimos Monastery, so we decided to head in early to visit the monastery before the game. We headed off again in the car along the coast road towards Lisbon, trying our best to drive safely on the fairly busy main road. Had a bit of trouble finding the correct road to the monastery, but after an unplanned scenic detour through some narrow Lisbon streets, we finally got there! Helps to have a navigator to tell you where you are, and a paper map so you can see where you want to go, as you never quite know whether to trust the navigator's directions or not!
The monastery itself was a very impressive example of 16th century architecture, and we spent an enjoyable hour or so wandering around before trying to find the football field. Once again, we went on a scenic detour, but finally found it! The game was very physical, and the score very close, with the Cascais team unfortunately losing by a narrow margin. The supporters of the local team were quite vocal, but we couldn't understand a word, although we could imagine what they were saying!
Saturday dawned overcast and showery…… decided to have an easy day, so donned our wet weather jackets, and wandered off in pursuit of a pattiserie/bakery to have a light lunch. The one that was "in the book" didn't seem to be where it was meant to be, and we eventually found ourselves back in town. Had a light lunch, and then headed for the Irish pub when the rain set in. Spent a pleasant hour or so there, with Allan and Sue having a game of darts, which proved difficult given that there were only 3 blunt darts… they seemed to enjoy themselves despite this.
The rain cleared overnight, and Sunday's weather was lovely. The ladies wanted to do some shopping, so off we headed to the shops, followed by another trip up to Sintra, where we went through the Quinta da Regaleira Palace and gardens. Amazing place! Took the scenic route back home, and had a night in, in preparation for a trip into Lisbon tomorrow.
Apologies for all the photos, but it's hard to decide which ones not to put up! They're also a bit mixed up in order, so sorry about that!, Hope all is well back home. Love to all, Allan and Carol. xoxo