Portugal - Pena Park and Cabo da Roca

We started off to Sintra later than I would have liked, as it was quite a way from Lisbon. We passed through the city itself first, which I wished we had more time for as it looked very nice. We saw a very cute tiny car on the roads. It was something you could rent. It has four wheels, and could seat two people one behind the other.

When we got to the actual park, there were a lot of parking spaces, but as the weather was nice and it was a weekend in July, a lot of people trying to find a space. It took us almost an hour to actually put the car down finally. 

There was a long line at the ticket office as well, but meanwhile I got a map and plotted out the route we should take. Once inside, we were hungry, and had a sandwich at the buffet. That's when we began the long trek to the Chalet. It's a nice route. Took us through the Valley of Lakes, a part with horses, and some nice streams.

We finally reached the Chalet, but needed to pay extra to get in. It was interesting to read about the history of the building downstairs. It almost completely burned down, but thanks to donations, it was being built back up. There were some rooms still being done, but it was beautiful. I really loved the ceilings and walls with the wooden inlays.

Then came the long climb back up to the castle. However, it was worth the climb, as I really loved it. The colours are great, and some of the wall is covered by tiles. We went up to the buffet for a bite. It was very dirty up there, with a lot of trash. However, the view was lovely, so if it was cleaned up better, it would be a lovely place to sit.

Then we went around, exploring the castle. Going through the inside was slow going, as there was an Asian group that we couldn't avoid. I generally really dislike groups, as they always manage to stand just in front of things that I want to take a picture of, or hold me up, or something like that. This was sort of okay, I guess. Outside, the weather was getting worse. The wind was picking up, and there were dark clouds coming.

We left the park, and got back into the car, off to Cabo da Roca. That is the Westernmost point of Portugal. The weather was getting worse, and I wished I had brought longer trousers. By the time we got the point, it was really bad. The wind was blowing, and the sand was going everywhere. It was in my eyes, my mouth, my nose. Little rocks pelted my exposed legs to the point that it actually hurt. I only wanted to take a few pictures and then be on my way. Of course, that wasn't the case. However, I did end up discovering that if you went into a little restaurant in the resting area, by the souvenir shop, then that was protected from the weather, and had nice views. 

Soon after we finally went back to the hotel. I was exhausted and not really in the mood for dinner.

Portugal - Peniche and Lisbon

I woke up in Braga, and I had to admit that I would miss the bathtub and the view. Especially the view from the tub. If I could have had at least the bathtub shipped home, I would have.

It being a Saturday, there was no work, so we headed back to Lisbon. On the way, we stopped in Peniche, or rather, the beach at Peniche. The weather was okay, though the wind a bit chilly. My knees started to hurt, and I was sure that the temperature would drop come evening. The first beach location was Papôa, which is a kind of tiny peninsula. Under the rocks there was a very interesting part, but all a bit slippery, and I had to pay very close attention to where I was stepping. I kind of wished I had my rock climbing shoes. There was a guy fishing at the very tip of the rocks, but I found this almost flat rock where I got a bit of sun. I almost fell asleep to the sound of the waves.

After that I was getting tired and ready to go to Lisbon, but we ended up going to another point, the Lighthouse of Cabo Carvoeiro. The lighthouse itself was fine, but the surroundings! Lots of cats, and I saw a cat lady feeding them, There was also trash everywhere. And birds. It also smelled. It was all kind of disgusting. I also had to climb down a really steep set of rocks, and my bad knees were getting worse. By the end I was really in pain. Not my favourite part of Portugal, and definitely needs some cleaning up!

In the evening we finally arrived to the hotel, Ibis Lisboa Parque das Nacoes. A budget affair, but in a good location.

Review:

Functional

This is a budget hotel, and there's no escaping that. However, the location is good, so if you're not bothered much by how fancy the hotel is, this is the place for you.

Let's start with the room. It's really quite small. The bed took up most of the room, and the rest of the floor was taken up by my suitcase. It had a desk and a place to sit, though my window looked over a wall. The TV was small, but there was a good selection of channels, and some in English as well. 

The bathroom was not as small as it could have been. It had a shower, which was a comfortable size. There was some soap that I could use in the shower, and towels. A hairdryer too.

Breakfast was nice. Not a massive selection, but a good one. A problem spot was the single orange juicer, which even broke down one morning. It needs to be automatic, or there need to be more of them, because that was the bottle-neck in the flow of breakfast.

Overall, a comfortable, functional hotel in a central location.

After checking in, we went to have dinner. I really wasn't much in the mood, as I had a killer headache, and the weather was turning cold and bad again. However, on the way back from the nearby mall where they had a Vitaminas, there was a surprise. They were holding some sort of a celebration of the local samba schools, and there were dancers and music around. I stayed, and shot a really long video. I was in a much better mood when I got back to my room. Thanks to the painkiller I took, my headache felt better too.

Portugal - Costa Nova

Today I visited Costa Nova. That's like a part of Aveiro, but it's the beach area. The weather was pretty cold, and the sand felt like ice on my feet. I climbed out onto some rocks. It must be very nice in warm weather.

An interesting thing about the Costa Nova is that there is a small seaside village, but it's being built up. Still you can see some of the characteristic stripped houses. There are also a lot of fish restaurants. 

I did two videos:

At the beach, the weather didn't get any better, so I couldn't get any sun. Climbing out to the edge wasn't easy, but worth the pictures. Then I went down to the sandy beach, as I wanted to get my toes wet. I nearly got all of me wet as a big wave almost engulfed me on camera. Good thing it didn't get into my bag. Of course, I didn't have any towels with me, so I had to walk barefoot to the car, and try to dry my feet enough there to be able to put on my shoes again. Note to self, take towels.

Afterwards I had dinner at the mall again, at a Brazilian place called A Gula Do Prego, which is in the mall. It's actually a very good place. There are often long queues, and it's worth the wait. The prices are low, and the food is great and very filling. They also have very nice drinks. If you're getting dessert, get it to go.