Portugal

There are a lot of pictures in this post.  I absolutely loved Lisbon!  Portugal is one of favorite places I visited and I hope to go back to see more of the country.

Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon

View of 25th of April Bridge from Sao Jorge Castle

View of Elevador de Santa Justa from Sao Jorge Castle

Inside Sao Jorge Castle

Inside Sao Jorge Castle

Inside Sao Jorge Castle

The Alfama part of Lisbon

The Alfama part of Lisbon

From the Alfama I walked along the waterfront to Praca do Comercio

Praca do Comercio

I stopped for a shot of ginjinha, a liquor made from the cherry-like ginja berry

I rode the funicular Elevador da Gloria up to the Bairro Alto part of Lisbon

View from Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara

The Bairro Alto is filled with places offering fado (Portuguese folk music/blues)

I enjoyed fado one night while having dinner

Lisbon's "Eating Lane" filled with restaurants

One of the tourist trolley cars

One of the real trolley cars that I took up to the castle.  It was a little scary.

Random street in Lisbon

This made me think of San Francisco

There are some similarities between Lisbon and San Francisco with the trolley cars, hills, and the suspension bridge.

These mosaic cobbled sidewalks (calcada) are uniquely Portuguese

The tile designs on the buildings are also very Portuguese

This was also a little unique.

Some of the balconies in Lisbon

Lisbon is beautiful at night.  I stayed near Rossio Square.

Rossio Square

Elevador de Santa Justa

Lisbon

Belem Tower in the Belem District of Lisbon

Walking along the water in the Belem District.  

I thought this fisherman was so cute with his green crocs.

Monument to the Discoveries with the 25th of April Bridge in the background.

The bridge was built by the same company that made the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Front of Monument to the Discoveries

View of Maritime Museum (left) and Monastery of Jeronimos (right) from the Monument to the Discoveries

Marble map in front of the Monument to the Discoveries (view from top of monument)

Monastery of Jeronimos

Inside the church of the Monastery of Jeronimos

Monastery of Jeronimos cloisters

It rained a little so the gargoyle rainspouts were serving their purpose that day.

From Belem I took the train to Cascais for the afternoon

Cascais is a little seaside fishing town

I was hoping to spend the afternoon on the beach, but it was overcast that day.

So I just started walking

Cascais harbor

Cascais

I followed the coastline

Cascais coastline

Cascais coastline

I ended up at Boca do Inferno

Boca do Inferno (Hell's Mouth)

The sea wasn't rough enough that day for the waves to crash and give the true effect.

Backside of Boca do Inferno

Seafood with rice

I really enjoyed the food in Lisbon.

The pastries in Lisbon were amazing.

On the left is the well-known pastel de nata (custard tart).

In Belem I had lunch at a wonderful restaurant where the owner offered to pay for my meal if I didn't like his suggestion.  He then deboned my fish for me and prepared it for me "like the Portuguese like it." 

Carapaus grelhados with boiled potatoes and a Spanish sauce

After preparing it, he walked away for a minute and came back to see if I liked it.  I told him I hadn't taken a bite yet, but I was holding my fork getting ready to take a bite and he shoved it in my mouth.

This was one of my favorite meals ever, not only for the fresh fish but the experience also.

Another pastel de nata

Pasteis de Belem is a cafe in Belem and the birthplace of these tarts.  People line up out the door waiting to get them hot out of the oven.

Bacalau which is dried and salted cod (the cakes pictured in the back) with rice and beans

Bacalau is the national dish of Portugal and is served hundreds of different ways. 

Porco de Alentejana (fried pork with clams) and potatoes

This was another one of my favorite meals.  It is from the Alentajana region of Portugal.

One day I took the train to the beautiful city of Sintra about 15 miles from Lisbon

Sintra with the Moorish Castle up on the hill

Streets in the center of Sintra

The National Palace with the two cone chimneys letting out the smoke from the kitchen

Pena Palace

By far one of the most beautiful places I've seen.  It is surrounded by a park where you can hike up to the highest point for this amazing view.

It's difficult to get a good shot of the Moorish Castle

Moorish Castle

I know this was a lot of pictures for one place and three days, but I really loved Lisbon.  I really experienced the culture through the sights, the people, and the food.