Lisbon-

Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais August 14-18 2015

I can remember visiting Lisbon in the late 80's early 90's. It was a gritty city with some sites to visit, but not a place worth staying for more that one or two nights. This was no longer the case in 2015. A truly remarkable city, transformed from the grit to chic neighborhoods and great places to eat, shop and stay.

August 14

Our plane arrived into Lisbon and we took a cab to our hotel which was located in the Praca do Comercio, the center of the city. We were walking distance to everything. That's what we did. We walked to the Castelo de Sao Jorge. I think the kids were expecting a medieval castle with great rooms and banquet halls, but instead got a fortress with some wonderful views. It was still fun for them as they were able to explore and climb while we strolled with a glass of wine in hand. We took

our time heading back to the hotel then let the kids relax, swim and prepare for dinner.  Before dinner we walked around the Praca do Comercio and strolled around some shops. I love Europe in Summer, the sun stays out, the cities are alive with people, it all feels good.

August 15

I arranged with our hotel to hire a guide to take us to Sintra and Cascais for the day. After a wonderful breakfast, the guide arrived and we drove out of Lisbon on our way to Sintra.  We couldn't go into The National Palace, but we did stop to take a quick look and let the kids stretch their legs and buy them a snack. The kids loved the quirkiness of the Pena Palace however. It was a fun visit with great views and great artifacts to see inside. After we quickly stopped at the Moorish Castle, again the kids thought it would be a "castle," but quickly realized it was the walls of a fortress. We headed out on our way to Cascais and stopped at the Cabo da Roca, Europe's western most point. Our guide brought us to a restaurant for lunch overlooking the ocean. We were skeptical and thought it would be a tourist trap. Turned out to be the best fish /seafood any of us have ever eaten. This is a bold statement as we have eaten at some of the top restaurants in the world. I wish I could remember the name, but it was so random and we were so weary we just didn't pay enough attention.
We continued on to Cascais and walked spent some time strolling around the marina and the town. kids were upset we didn't bring their bathing suits, but we weren't there to swim. Truthfully although a beautiful beach town, unless I'm staying for the beach, I could've skipped the visit. Kids were a bit bored. We headed back to Lisbon made a couple of stops once in the city and then back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. We ate on the Santo Amaro Dock and had



some amazing seafood. Fresh fish, tiger shrimp, mussels, octopus. After we walked a bit and then had to get a taxi back. A bit tricky to get one back, but eventually the restaurant did call for one and we were back and asleep.

August 16

We started out the day at the Oceanario de Lisboa, a highlight for the kids and a great aquarium. It was easy to get to and we spent a couple of hours. Kids fell in love with the sharks and even named one of them grumpy. Grumpy has carried on to every shark in every aquarium, TV show since.

After the fun morning we decided to go to the Mosteiros dos Jeronimos. Kids loved the visit to the Cathedral and were blown away from the sheer size of it. They were exhausted after and we couldn't find a cab, so we settled for one of the auto rik shaws, tuk tuks. Best ride ever according to the kids. They were begging for more rides, but one was enough. Dinner was fantastic and very accommodating, Peixaria da Esquina. Although a bit outside of the center of the city, it is worth the taxi ride.

Lisbon was a great visit with much to do with kids. Family friendly meals, great hotels and a beautiful city with easy day trips. I'm looking forward to my return visit to Portugal.