I’ve got two places I like to be. Portugal is one. – Sir Cliff Richard
On 20 February, 2020, we decided to take a quick weekend get-away trip to Lisbon, Portugal. I’ve always wanted to visit Portugal and Mom and Allita were game, so off we flew. We had a nice, albeit short, flight and, since we gained an hour, we had some time to walk around and explore the area near our hotel before calling it a night.
As usual, I had researched the neighborhood and plotted a path, of sorts, that we could take to explore Parque Eduardo VII, where Allita was able to play in the grass and join other visitors rolling down the hills! We visited the Estufa Fria and saw the Pavilhão Carlos Lopes. Lisbon is a very hilly berg and our perch, atop one such hill, afforded us a lovely view of the city from the park where we ambled around stretching our legs and enjoying some sunshine and fresh air.
The next morning, bright and early, we walked to a prearranged location to meet a tour bus, which turned out to be more van than bus, and started our whirlwind day-tour of three nearby cities. This was our first time ever taking such an excursion so it was quite the adventure and we were all three filled with a variety of emotions from apprehension to excitement.
We rode in our van with five other tourists, guided by a local lady who was also the van driver. We left Lisbon early and drove straight to the Portuguese Riviera to the municipality of Sintra. Home of the famous, Pena Palace, located on the very tip top of the Sintra mountains. The palace was abandoned by Queen Amélia, the last queen of Portugal, who left it with all the original furnishings intact. It’s constructed in a mixture of styles: Gothic, Moorish and Renaissance and is considered one of the 7 wonders of Portugal.
From there, we traveled to Cape Roca, the western-most point of Europe! That was fun and it was very exciting to see the Atlantic Ocean again after so many years. The point was quite windy but there was a street vendor selling roasted chestnuts so we rejoined our tour guide / driver and shared a warm snack before moving on to the next stop.
Cape Rica 
Allita and I (Atlantic Ocean in background)
Finally, we ended up in Cascais – an absolutely lovely little beach town with many private beaches hidden among winding streets full of little shops and hotels. We enjoyed the sand and surf, as well as some much-deserved hand-made ice cream before we returned to Lisbon, exhausted but highly satisfied.
Swimming and Sunbathing – even in February!
The next morning, we slept late and enjoyed breakfast at the hotel. It was our last full day in Lisbon so, once again, I planned out a long, hearty tour route that included as many sights and different modes of transportation as possible! We started the day with a walk down the Avenida da Liberdade to the Foz Palace, the Praça Dom Pedro IV in Rossio Square, and then to the Elevador de Santa Justa. Remember how I said Lisbon is a hilly berg? Yeah, well, they have a ton of stairs and more than one elevator to get you from one level to another as you traverse the city. At the top of the elevator is the BellaVista restaurant (aptly named) and we enjoyed a fabulous view of the city all around us from the platform on top of the lift.
Avenida da Liberdade 
Tuk Tuks! 
Rossio Square 
Elevador de Santa Justa 
Elevador de Santa Justa 
Castelo de Sâo Jorge 
Stairs! 
So many stairs! 
View from Bellavista Restaurant
Next, we took the famous 28E yellow tram car around the Castelo de Sâo Jorge and then we walked to the Praça de Comérico. We had the opportunity to enjoy some free, African-inspired dancing and singing while we wandered the plaza. Then, we took the 15E yellow tram car to Belém. We saw the Praça de Império and the famous Torre de Belém. Somehow, I let Mom and Allita talk me into riding a Tuk-Tuk back to the metro station. What an adventure!
28E yellow tram 
Praça de Comérico 
Torre de Belém 
Our Tuk-Tuk
We took the subway back to the airport the following morning and caught our return flight to Barcelona. One interesting observation we made in both Lisbon and Belém were the Harry Potter-themed statues that appear to be doing their own tour of Europe this year. Who knew? Portugal is a magical place indeed!
