Lisbon, like many port cities, was once one of the richest places in the world, thanks to exploration and trade. It is still rich in culture today. Clay roofs make up the landscape. The tiles that make up the front of many of the buildings come from the Moorish influence. They add color and beauty to the stone facade . https://www.lisbon.net/history Check out the history of Lisbon.
While walking up to the top of the city to look at a castle built in the 1930’s though looking hundreds of years older, we were approached by the owner of a little restaurant close by. We were asked to experience a nice meal for only 13€. We had traditional fare of vegetable soup, Portuguese steak, which is a steak with a fried sunny side egg on top, sardines and a dessert. There were other types of dishes but we ordered from the special 13€ menu. Visit Caminho da Ronda at 13 Castelo de Sao Jorge. If you want to visit the not so old castle it is 10€. I am sure the view alone is worth the visit.
It was a holiday for the people of Portugal. We went up to the oldest part of the town and happened upon music, dancing and food. It was an early start to a festival they are having the rest of this week. There were mostly locals there. A tram took us up and back down. The trams are 100 yrs old and were refurbished in 1997.
The train from Lisbon to Cascais is only a half an hour. Cascais was a peaceful tranquil seaside town. Though at times there is much happening. A Harley bike festival had just occurred over the weekend The water of the Atlantic with its hues of turquoise, deep blue, cobalt blue and light green made me want to just sit and look at it all day. There people paddling, snorkeling or just swimming. The temperature was nearly perfect, warm in the sun but with a cool breeze and no humidity.
We took an Uber over to the hill town of Sintra. http://www.sintra-Portugal .com There is a Moorish castle at the top, as well as a palace called Pena, built by a young German prince who wanted to impress the people. He built beautiful gardens, made lakes on the mountain, as well as planted trees; to include a cork tree.
You can walk up, take a hop on hop off bus, or a little car called a tuk. We took the private tour on the tuk. It cost a little more but for the experience in riding in one of those, it was worth it. Plus it was an open car and not an enclosed bus.
The sidewalks in Lisbon are made of up of rocks that were cut in nearly the same size by hand and placed in the ground. It looked like tedious hard work took place to build them. They say the number of those who know how to do them had dwindled in recent years. Some of the sidewalks have designs in them. Some roads have designs as well. They are slippery even when not wet because it is as though they have been polished by all those walking over it over the years.
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