I had a business trip to Lisbon last week, so Nicole and Mason decided to tag along for the free hotel room. On Thursday and Friday, while I slaved away, Nicole and Mason explored Lisbon. Lisbon is an interesting city that is kind of a patchwork of very new and very old sections, and is quite different than the other European cities we have visited. On Thursday they visited the brand-new Oceanario, a huge aquarium that sits in the bay in front of Lisbon. On Friday, they explored the "old town" of Lisbon, where Mason was seronaded by a midieval minstrel. After work on Friday, we moved up the coast from Lisbon to a smaller resort town called Estoril. After relaxing on the beach until near sunset, we grabbed dinner with some traditional Portuguese seafood stew and a bottle of Vinho Verde (Portuguese green wine).
On Saturday, we hopped on a bus and headed inland to the town of Sintra. Sintra is a beautiful town that is built into a lush, green hillside. Sintra is the former home of Portuguese royalty, and has an incredible amount of mansions and castles. Perched on one hill above the town is a Moorish castle that is over 1000 years old. Above the Moorish castle sits the Pena Palace, an 18th century castle that is like something out of a Disney movie. The palace used to house the Portuguese royalty, and the rooms inside are so well preserved that it seems like they just moved out. See the Our Pictures link on the right to see the pictures of the Palace (unfortunately, no pictures are allowed inside the castle).
1 comment:
This whole thing is ridculously cute. Brian: It was great to see you and your parents at Antone's wedding. Keep updating the blog. It is very fun and interesting to read. Nicole: We missed you at the wedding, but we're glad to hear that you're having a great time. -- Scott and Sarah
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