Lisbon, Portugal Day 2

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته and good day!

We had fun on Day 1 in Belem and Cascais.

On the second day, we woke up a bit late as we were flat out last night from swimming and walking.

The first place we went to is a cafe to get some breakfast. My bestie found a cafe through Google that is located about 15 minutes from our apartment.

We had to take a bus from our apartment. To get to the bus stop, we had to walk for about 3 minutes, going down this steep road. Did you know that Lisbon is called as the 7 hills? It is very hilly.

So the cafe my bestie chose is called the Confeitaria Nacional. The cafe is more than 200 years old!

Near the cafe, it is the Arco da Rua Augusta.

The Rua Augusta Arch is a stone, triumphal arch-like, historical building and visitor attraction in Lisbon, Portugal. It was built to commemorate the city's reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake.

Another transport attraction in Lisbon is the tram. The oldest tram in Lisbon is the number 28. 

Just across the Rua Augusta is the Comercio Square. After the earthquake in 1755, the square was completely rebuilt.

This is known as the Cais das Colunas. It has always been the noble entrance to Lisbon, including Queen Elizabeth II.

The breeze was so refreshing!

After breakfast and some sea breeze, we walked to the train station. On the way, we went to the Elevador de Santa Justa.

The elevator is from the 19th century built to go up the steep hill in Baixa.

A return ride costs €5.15, including the entrance to the viewing platform.

After taking the lift, you still need to take steps up.

The view is beautiful.

This is the classic view of Lisbon.

From the elevator, we walked towards the Rossio train station.

We walked past this plaza and I took the opportunity to make ablution.

A return ticket from Rossio station to Sintra is less than €4.50 using the Viva Viagem card.

As we reached Sintra, I could see the beauty in the city.

The purpose that we went to Sintra is to visit Palacio de Pena (Pena Palace). You should take the bus 434-The Circuito da Pena route from the train station. The bus costs €5.15 for a return trip, and you can hop on and off the bus since the bus will go through multiple attraction sites, such as the Castelo dos Mouros (The Moorish Castle). There are actually a lot of Islamic and Muslim history at the Moorish Castle. But because we have very little time, we decided to only go to one palace. We did visit the vicinity of the Moorish castle, we just didn't enter.

Pena Palace is one of the UNESCO Heritage place and one of the seven wonders of Portugal.

The view from the palace itself is spectacular.

We arrived just in time too. The palace closes at 7 pm. The tickets to the palace cost €14, which includes the entrance to the palace and the gardens. 

To go to the palace from the entrance, you can either walk a very steep walk or take a 5-minute shuttle that costs €3.

 It would be better to take the shuttle because even from the shuttle, it's a hilly and steep walk up the entrance and to go up the palace. It's quite a climb.

I wish I was holding my wand in this picture, then it wouldn't have looked so weird. =P

But it was definitely worth it!!

The palace has multiple parts for you to explore.

The inside is just as stunning. However, I do think England's royalty houses have bigger rooms. This is the dining hall.

The Duchess' room. Kind of small, don't you think?

If this was England, this room is a must. 

Another interesting room is the Arabic Room. 

Not that there are any Arabs here, it just has an Arabic influence in the design and structure.

The halls are quite short too. If I can touch the ceiling, you can imagine how low it actually is. Imagine how these tall Europeans walk through these halls.

This is the only large room accessible in this palace.

Can't get enough of the view.

This is the entrance of the palace.

After the Pena Palace, we went back to the train station to take another bus number 403 to Cabo da Roca-the end of Europe. One way tickets cost €4.15, you can't buy a return ticket. I'll tell you why at the end. The bus is actually going to Cascais. So if your trip is to go to Sintra first, Cabo da Roca, and Cascais, then you can just take this bus. The road is so narrow. There are even this tram tracks that go through people's front yards.

This is Cabo da Roca, the western most tip of Europe.

That is why they call it as the end of Europe.

This place is so remote, there's only one building around, no trains towards this place, only bus 403. 

So you need to check the timetable to make sure you will be able to take the final bus.

Since it is summer, sunset is not until half past 9. The last bus to go back to Sintra is at 9.04. At first, I thought we missed the last bus because the timetable online stated the last bus is at past 7 pm. That's why you can't buy a return ticket because you might miss the last bus. Then you will have no choice but to take Uber or a taxi.

I did manage to get a glimpse of the sunset. It was so gorgeous. 

After a busy day, we went back to pack my bags and get ready to go to the airport. Such a full and eventful day. I would love to go back to Lisbon because I didn't really get the chance to explore the city.

Until next time.

Lisbon, Portugal Day 1

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته and good day!

Continuing from this post.

After we changed our clothes, we walked towards a nearby park since the friend we met at the mosque suggested it.

The park is gorgeous! It's called the Gulbenkian park.

There's a lovely stream...

Loads of ducks...and turtles! Hardly see any turtle in a park.

There's also this black crowned heron.

Poor little guy. He was trying to get a fish, but the ducks kept messing it up.

After the park, we took an Uber to Belem. In Lisbon, we mostly used Uber to go from one place to another since we only have two days to see everything, which is never enough. Uber in Lisbon is super cheap! It takes around 18 minutes to go to the Belem Tower from the park (12.2 km) and it costs just above €12. If you take the train, it takes about 42 minutes, which is a huge difference. The driver was super nice too. He told us the history of Lisbon as we passed some monuments, such as the aqueduto (aquaduct).

As we arrived at the tower, the driver offered us tours that he did. But because we are pressed for time and we wanted to be free to make our own choices as we go, we had to decline.

Next to the Belem Tower is the maritime museum.

This is the Belem Tower. The queue was super long, so we decided not to enter.

This is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, which is a monument on the northern bank of the Tagus River estuary, in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém, Lisbon.

The monument celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery (or Age of Exploration) during the 15th and 16th centuries, which includes Malaysia (or known as Tanah Melayu back then)

Mom...I'm Back in Malaysia!!! 

Part of my country's history.

The Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery, is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality, Portugal.

Another tourist attraction transport around here are the tuktuk, just like the one in Thailand.

They say it's beautiful in the monastery. We didn't enter this one as well as time is limited.

Inside the maritime museum, they are holding the vikings exhibition. Vikings were not part of the Portuguese though. 

The main purpose of going to Belem is this, the patisserie (Pateis de Belem). 

It is the go to place if you want to find the famous Portuguese egg tart (pastel de nata).

This place is so famous, it is packed. They have over 40 seatings, there are two take away queues outside. But the queue moves very quickly,that's how efficient they are. 

The pastel de nata were still hot as they serve them!

Near the monument, there's this guy that makes these crafts from coins. When he saw us, he asked where we were from. When we said Malaysia, he immediately looked around for something, and he took out the 20 cents from Malaysia!! He said that one is his. He can make any shapes that you want for €20-30. 

The last place to visit is the monument of Alfonso de Albuquerque. He's the guy that lead the colonisation in Asia. The guy that made it his mission to combat the spread of Islam in Asia.

After our time in Belem, we get a move on to Cascais, the seafood paradise. 

You definitely need to visit the Hell's mouth (Boca do Inferno).

The ocean is clear green and blue. So beautiful!!!

This is the Palace of Cascais Citadel (Palácio da Cidadela de Cascais). I have no idea who this guy is.

There are stalls selling all kinds of Portuguese product. One of the interesting thing they sell is made out of cork. My bestie bought two purses that are made from cork.

We walked towards the beach.

This was the purpose!! I wanted to swim at an European beach for a very long time.

It was awesome!!!

Another thing I wanted to eat here is this! It is called Percebes in Portuguese. I know they look ugly as hell, but it tastes kind of nice. It's a snail by the way. We ate it raw. It has s little bit of the ocean taste.

O Mastro is the place to get this. The price was decent too. We bought a grilled fish (which include salad and potatoes), the percebes and some chips for €25 total. There's another must eat dish in Portugal. I will tell you in the next post.

We tried catching the sunset to go to the Amoreiras for a 360° panoramic view of Lisbon.

Amoreiras is the tallest point in Lisbon. It only costs €5 to get to the 360° view! Remember to bring thick clothing like a jacket because the wind is so strong. The view was gorgeous!! If you can see the bridge there, that is an identical bridge as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Not only it was made by the same company, they even used the same materials and colour!

Enjoy this time lapse.

Until next time.