Sintra (30km north west of Lisbon) - Sintra, Portugal
Sintra, Portugal
Met our driver/guide at 9am and spent the day visiting the sights of Lisbon and Sintra. Michael had portable Wi-Fi in his posh BMW, which worked a whole lot better than the free Wi-Fi provided by the hotel. Highlights were the panoromas of Lisbon, the National Palace of Queluz, Sintra town, Pena Palace, Roca Cape (the westernmost point of the European continent), seaside Cascais and the Belem Tower. Our misgivings about Lisbon were mostly confirmed, but we did drive through some lovely areas and the out-of-town sights were terrific. Had roast goat, and cod fish for lunch. Goat was good but the fish too salty for our taste. We were warned that the dishes were so big that one between two would be more than adequate. As it was we had two between three and we were very full. Drove back to Madrid on the 19th. Went via the Vasco da Gama bridge, the longest bridge in Europe at 17km long. It was completed just in time for Lisbon's hosting of Expo 98.