Saturday, April 14, 2012

Friday and Saturday

Hey there!  We're just back from Sintra where we did a little shopping in the quaint village and visited the medieval palace (13th-century).  The Biltmore House pales in comparison.  By far the most beautiful, interesting, and enjoyable tour! 

First let me go back to Friday and get some photos posted from our segway and bike tour of the coastal village of Cascais.  Just breathtaking scenery, if you can overlook how goofy we were on the segways--a lot of fun once you got the hang of it.

Oh wait--I have to go back to our trip to Belem.  I am really behind--not a good blogger at all.  We visited the Maritime Museum--the maritime history of Portugal and there is a lot.  They were a force to be reckoned with in their heydey.  Conquered half the world or so (probably an exaggeration). 

The front entrance of the Maritime Museum.  Lots of pictures of boat models to come.  Mike, you will like this.

Beautiful stained glass just inside.
Bas relief done by a famous sculptor. Now for the good stuff.
Wonderful, minutely detailed models of boats used in Portugal.  Lots and lots of them--I'll try to keep it to a minimum.
Steve with Chris Columbus

Nice sails, huh?
Another era
Me (don't I look like Vanna White?) showing off another marvel of craftmanship.
I think these are mines inthis boat.

Look at this, an old aircraft carrier that placed the in the water with a boom that lifted it up and over the side and it took off in the water.  Cool.
A beautiful sailboat.  Ok--no more boats.  On to the other sights of Belem.

Neat statue at the water's edge watching over the incoming boats.

Fountain in a most beautiful park in front of the monastery.

On to the Oceaniario in Belem located in the most modern and beautiful part of thecity. Cute otter.

Anemones
Big old grouper

Starfish
Coral
Rays
Different anemones

Really cool buildings outside the Ocenario.
Now for our trip to Cascais.

The magnificent rocky coastline and lighthouse.
Steve the Segway King
Well, what can I say--I finally was able to stay on the darn thing and in half an hour I was doing okay.
Cascais, a lovely seaside town.
Here we go!
I was having a good time.
So beautiful.
Not something you see in NCor FLA
No cliff diving for me, but it was breathtaking.
Time for lunch!
The most delicious paella--that's not lobster--those are prawns!  Yum!
Now for today's destination--Sintra
The castle atop Sintra. You can't go to it.  Better picture later.
Picturesque town and it gets better.
Palace
Sintra at the square
The medieval home of the royalty

Kathy (Lisa's Mom), Me and Lisa (Steve's colleague)

Me and Lisa loving the castle life
Looking off the wall of one castle over to another--we were pretty high there; cities below,

Beautiful tile everywhere
A very scary looking dude!

More to come later. I'm going to try and figure out how to download all of these to my facebook. Stay tuned! 

Friday, April 13, 2012

Thursday and Friday

I am running a day behind and don't have much time this evening--oh yes--we are going out again this time to dinner with Steve's boss!

Wednesday night we went to the Colares Winery and had dinner in a magnificent hall lined with huge, and I mean huge, wine casks and a chandeliered table that went on for miles.  A good meal, lots of wine and laughter.  Very, very nice.  Some photos are below.

Following theWednesday night dinner photos are some highlights of yesterday's visit to Belem.  We stopped at their famous patisserie and had the most lucious pastries, expresso, and a delicious quiche and slice of pizza for brunch.

Belem is on the river Tagus and filled with museums and the most beautiful parks.  Here are some of the pictures we took.  When I have more time I will download them all to my facebook page.

I mean this table stretched out as far as the eye could see.  Someone said it looked like Hogwarts from Harry Potter!

Ken Sutton, Steve, and John Boone

Gorgeous Candle Chandeliers

Sitting on the top of our tour bus this is the Monastery in Belem

An ancient boat at the Maritime Museum


So sorry this is so short. More to come later...off to dinner!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Yesterday & Today

So very sorry about no blog yesterday, but by the time we returned from our tour to Obidos, the medieval castle, we had to change and go to our dinner and wine tasting at the Colvados Winery and didn't get back to the hotel until after 11pm! 

Anyway, Obidos was so great!  Medieval castle ruins, a quaint, picturesque town, wonderful little pasty, wine, and tile shops--just a wonderful time.  Here are some pictures of Obidos.

On the road to Obidos--was really impressed with the winds farms--they were everwhere!  US take a lesson from the Portuguese!




We arrive at Obidos, walking up to the entrance.
Me knocking at the front door.
Beautiful tile at the entrance to the village.

Does this look great or what?

Baby Brother, Steve!
Sweet alleyways...


So beautiful...
The Church at the square...
Shops...
OMG! The wisteria--even Steve was impressed!

A Kodak moment--what can I say?
The usual suspects---Steve and John on the steps to the castle wall.

Standing on the Castle Wall (narrow,windy and scary)!

My personal bodyguard!!!
Lunch inside the castle--did I mention that it's 13th century?

Signing off for now.  We had a big day today and will have to post about it tomorrow.  To all a good night.
- Deb and Steve