Cascais

Today was just what we needed. So chill and relaxing. Took things as they came and went with the flow all day.

Cascais was in the plans for today and so after breakfast we walked to the bus stop to wait for the hourly bus. Of course, there were stops on either side of the street, both with the number 403 bus we needed, but neither stated the final destination. We took a chance and picked a side to wait on, thinking we would just keep an eye out for either. Turns out we weren’t that good at paying attention and the bus we needed to get on passed us on the opposite side as we sat there and watched it go by, too late to do anything. We crossed the street to wait an hour for the next one. An extra 10 mins late, the bus finally pulled up and we jumped on. We had already realized something that this bus ride solidified even more… you have to a be a confident driver in Portugal. The speed they go and the way they rip around corners is a little daunting, especially with the size of streets they have here. We went down streets that looked like there was only enough width for one, but we had to pass cars, and seemingly barely squeezed through with the cars on one side and a stone wall on the other.

After arriving to Cascais, our first stop was a cafe, where we both bought our first Portuguese pastries! Next stop was a grocery store and then we headed south towards the water. As we walked through streets and I noticed the difference between here and Porto, with the stone and houses being much lighter. Instead of the dark stone and bright colours of Porto, the stones were much lighter and houses were painted white and light pastel colours.

We finally saw the ocean ahead and walked to the edge of the cliffs. We stayed there for lunch and soaked in the sun, enjoying the view. We went on our way, following the coastline until we came to the beach. It was really nice just lying in the sun relaxing. No plans, nowhere to be, nothing in particular to see.

After awhile we decided to walk to Boca do Inferno, back the way we had come. We didn’t realize, but it ended up being about a minute walk from where we started… just in the opposite direction! We got there and I was a little disappointed. It wasn’t as epic as I thought it would be after seeing photos, and it was just so sunny out which made for very contrasty, harsh light… not the best for photos. But then, just as we were about to go, we saw a pod of dolphins! They were too far away for me to catch a decent photo, but it was the coolest thing ever!

We walked back towards the beach we had come from to catch the nearby metro into Lisbon. After a last minute decision and hectic emailing, Megan headed back to Sintra while I stayed in Lisbon to meet up with a friend for dinner. After some bad timing with the buses and my phone dying, I finally made it to the hotel she was staying at, unsure if she even thought I was still coming or not. Thankfully it all worked out in the end! We went to her favourite pizza place nearby. Now I was starving at this point so anything probably would’ve tasted good but this pizza and the strawberry lemonade we got to accompany it was to die for! Amaaazing thin crust pizza! It was so great to be able to catch up with her- she is from Barcelona, we met in Vancouver, and here we were reuniting for dinner in Lisbon. So great!