26 & 27-Dec-24 Lisbon, Portugal

Boxing Day train from Porto to Lisbon. A grotty affair. And that’s First Class. Train sandwich. Disgusting. Train toilets. Well. Glad I’m a bloke. And don’t have to touch anything. Just point and shoot. Grim.

Things don’t improve on arrival in Lisbon. Poxy, grubby little taxi. Equally grubby little driver is shown hotel name, address and location using Google Maps. It’s simple. But we end up at a different hotel altogether so have to direct him the final mile.

Eventually arrive Lumen Hotel (https://www.lumenhotel.pt/en). A modern and new hotel. But one which does not have heating. Still suffering with manflu. Room is cold with air-conditioning on. Technician arrives to see if he can get room any warmer. He can’t. And accepts that it’s freezing cold in room. Which wouldn’t ordinarily be a problem. But manflu is not helping. Am suffering, dear reader. Feel dreadful. Still.

Having been told that the hotel only has AC to offset the solar gain from the floor to ceiling windows leave curtains wide open the following day. To capture the solar gain. I’ll warm this room up if it kills me.

Another blue sky and sunny day as I pick up hire car to drive to Cape Roca.

The westernmost point of Europe and the Eurasian land mass.

Shall only be heading east from now on. Yay.

What a glorious day it is with cracking views of the rugged coastline.

Little sister had alerted me to the fact Lord Byron had stayed nearby at Monserrate Palace near Sintra. Which is nearby.

Off I pootle.

Simply stunning architecture both inside and out. Built in the late 18^th/early 19^th centuries. Like Gaudi’s El Capricho in northern Spain, the rooms are empty of furniture. You can imagine how nice it would be to live here though.

The only problem is the 330m climb up the steep path to return to the car park.

Monserrate Palace is one of a number of former royal palaces in Sintra and a guide recommends that my next should be Quinta da Regaleira. Only 2 miles up the road.

But.

The whole area has a one way system. As the access roads are all too narrow for the masses of cars.

So.

An 8 mile road trip.

Which should take half an hour.

It doesn’t.

It’s slow going dear reader. Just one long queue of fellow day trippers all trying to get to the same castle. With limited parking.

Arriving in Sintra town realise this is going to take too long. So decide to park up.

Except.

Sintra has a problem with supply and demand of car parking spaces.

Four circuits of the one way system in the town and half an hour later find a car park spot.

It’s a nice place and worth a stop, dear reader. Should you ever come.

But. Very busy.

Not having time to walk to the older part of town and back and then visit the castle. Jump in car to park in the castle’s visitor car park. A few miles away.

Ah yes.

That will save time.

But no.

It’s a long slow three miles of gridlock. In the one way system. So no turning back.

Parking is seemingly impossible.

Then I see the long pedestrian queue to enter the castle.

Er no.

Can do without that. This late in the afternoon.

Sintra worthy of a visit, dear reader. And an overnight stay to get in the castles before the tourists arrive from Lisbon.

Having driven past the castle in the one way system soon find myself back at where I started a few hours earlier. Monserrate Palace.

A cracking day nonetheless.

Driving back to Lisbon. Thoughts turn to dinner. A yearning for garlic prawns, fillet steak and chips fills my mind.

Discover a steakhouse near hotel called BYF. Off I toddle. Having not made a reservation. Am told they’re fully booked but the sister restaurant across the road has a table free. Great. It’s a fish restaurant called FYSH but promised they do fillet steak.

Escorted across the road by the young waitress who introduces me to the maitre d’ with an explanation. Welcomed in. Surrounded by fresh fish on ice and lobsters in large water tanks. So you know they’re fresh. Mind set on steak forego the fish options apart from the garlic prawns which are excellent.

Having ordered French fries to go with a juicy steak you’ll laugh when they serve it with some crisps. And by crisps. I mean Walkers type crisps. No. No. No. That won’t do.

It’s quickly sent back for the necessary French fries.

Table decoration is a small bowl. With a real live fish swimming about in it. Apparently a betta azul Japanese fighting fish.

Not your usual plastic flower decoration I have to say!