Food and Night Sights

 We've had some delicious and unusual food here. I love this, as one of the joys of traveling is tasting local dishes. 

We found this dried cod in Pingo Doce, one of the grocery stores near us. It was also seen hanging in some other markets. 

For lunch at the Café at St. George’s Castle, I chose a salad with salmon. The salmon was smoked with lots of vegetables and a delicious creamy dressing. Gates got vegetable soup, and we also ordered a platter of roasted vegetables. All tasty and beautifully presented. 

 

 

 

 

Another night we went to an Italian restaurant. First they brought a bowl of crackers with a spicy dip. Gates had black linguine scallops, and I had spaghetti and meat sauce. Yum.

 

 

Another night, I had octopus and Gates had masada, a fish and pasta stew. The octopus can look daunting, but it's very tasty with a lobster-like flavor.

In Sintra, we were very hungry, so we ordered an array of dishes, mussels, pork/bean stew, cauliflower salad, bread, roasted vegetables, and baked pumpkin. 

The sangria has been wonderful. But we’re realizing that there is quite a difference in the way different restaurants make it. The first night was the best with lots of fresh fruit. The next sampling was almost as good but without as much fresh fruit. The last time was slightly less tasty – too strong – and accompanied by a few lemons and oranges. Who knew one could become an expert on sangria? 

 

There is a much slower pace here. The wait staff lets you linger as long as you want. Everything seems to be more relaxed, giving us a very enjoyable dining experience. Lisbon is very much a friendly, happy city.

Night views from the terrace of our apartment.

Teatro da Trindad, the national theater

                             Rossio Square, very close to our apartment.

Cascais and Cycling to the Beach

Cascais is a seaside town west of Lisbon. Gates's seatmate on the plane recommended it. Our goal was to rent bikes (an electric one for me) and cycle along the ten mile round trip bike path which overlooks the beach. This area is also good for surfing with its large waves, so we were hoping to see that, too. We had packed our helmets in case they wouldn't be available.

Gates is a huge cycling fan, so he had done copious research. Unfortunately, the first bike shop was sold out of electrics, so we moved on. Close by was Vitor's bike shop, located on the first floor of an apartment building. He had a full stock including baskets and a very complicated locking system installed on each bike. 

There was a learning curve with the electric bike despite the fact that I had ridden one in Alaska. But that was a long time ago. The balance is different because of the weight of the bike. However, it didn’t take too long before I was moving right along. The bike was an electric assist without a throttle, so as you pedal, it learns how fast you are moving. There are 5 speeds. I mostly stayed on the first speed, which was fast enough. (I can’t imagine what 5 would have been like!)

Sights at the marina

Beautiful wildflowers grew along the roadside and in the dunes.

Cascais is stop on the Camino near a much-needed water refilling station.

The bike path was quite narrow and ran along the side of a busy road (many others were also intent on a day at the beach), but the views were magnificent, so we stopped a few times to take pictures.

 

Boca do Inferno (Portuguese for Hell's Mouth) is a chasm located in the seaside cliffs along the bike path. The water has access to the deep bottom of the chasm and vigorously strikes its rocky walls, making it a popular tourist attraction. It was quite dramatic.

 

 

 Some of the bike path was paved; some was a boardwalk; some had quite a bit of sand from the wind.

The boardwalk to the beach was long, but once we reached the beach it was beautiful. 

 

First stop was to plunge my feet into the surf. It was freezing! We had brought along a blanket, so I got comfy and laid down for a quick nap. When I awoke, there was sand everywhere – blanket, clothes, hair, neck, skin, etc. from the wind. Oh well, nothing a good shower couldn't handle.


A few surfers were enjoying the big waves, but they were farther out and harder to see.

Navy Museum and Portuguese Exploration

The Navy Museum was across the street with a comprehensive collection of model ships and many maritime items.

The exhibit opened with information about Prince Henry the Navigator who was responsible for many of the explorations.

Much of the early exploration involved finding trade routes and bringing home spices.

Above - Vasco da Gama's ships

 

 

 

Navigation

Codfishing was a large enterprise. 

A huge number of knots were used in many ways on these ships.

This label made me smile. Notice the phonetic spelling of the City of Brotherly love.