Lisboa

A very full day of touring today. Breakfast was a bit dodgy and stodgy, the eggs were only just ok, the bacon had a slight strangeness and the grilled cheese on toast I selected from the silver humidicrib was a mistake. However, we are in Portugal on holiday so all is good with the world. I therefore wont mention the three hours sleep I got due to noise. No, not road works cause it was inside the room, but the jackhammering was akin. (that line may not get past the editor).

We took off and did a little tour of Lisbon, taking in the squares and monuments, the Alfama district, the monastery on the river, Jeronimos and the Torre de Belem a tower from where the explorers set out in the 15,16 century. Henry the Navigator and Vasco de Gama are very big and appear almost everywhere, as does the famous earthquake of 1755 where most of Lisbon was destroyed. About a quarter of the population died in the tsunami and subsequent fires, necessitating the rebuilding of the city. Amazing really.

(Don't forget our first Portuguese Tart - warm from the bakery where it all started because the nuns used egg whites to starch clothes and had to use the yolks for something and so was born the tart. It was magnificent and will remain a foodie favourite)

We then took off for Cascais along a very scenic route they tell me, but I was busy inspecting the insides of my eyelids and missed a fair bit. But, when I woke we were descending into this beautiful town by the Atlantic. It has some lovely beaches and a quaint little shopping precinct where we dug up some lunch and a drink, then we toured the streets of the rich and famous who live here. It is millionaire's row with estates, polo and golf servicing people living in massive waterfronts.

We then climbed slowly to the western most point in Europe, the mountainous Sintra. It is a mountain filled with mystery, due to it being the point at which the oldies thought the world actually ended. It is really something with the beautiful narrow streets and the King's summer palace overlooking the valleys. We toured the palace and took in the extravagance that royalty enjoyed back in the day. We enjoyed our second Portuguese tart for the day, though I am reliably informed that over here they are just called "tarts."

 We are about to go out with the geriatrics for dinner. Now where the hell did I leave my teeth?

Just home from the dinner and show. Hilarious show of local colour and movement, with all the traditional instruments, dancing and audience participation. Very, very good Fado playing, it is a 12 string guitar, and excellent Jana Wendt look alike singing a Doors number I think it was.

A good day all round, an early start tomorrow. We are off to Vilamoura in The Algarve and we are in the front seat due to the magic of seat rotation. Clockwise two moves each day. Are we getting old or what?