We met our friends at the airport in the morning and took a Bolt rideshare to our apartment in Caxias. They took a couple of hours of rest to help with jetlag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since we live right along the Cascais train line, it’s an easy trip to that famous resort town from our neighborhood of Caxias. (People confuse the two, so I’m mentioning both towns together.) So we all went by train to Cascais and had lunch at the terrace above Praia de Rainha. After that we visited Cork4All, a handicraft store with elegant cork handbags and pillow covers. (We already have 4 pillow covers, and have given them as gifts.) Our friend got a handbag that she used throughout the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We walked to the harbor, through the fort and the public park, which was populated by fancy chickens. We reached the scenic rocky shore on the west side of town. We walked back through town and had dinner at House of Wonders, a quirky vegetarian restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morning<\/strong> We took a city bus along the riverfront to Cais de Sodr\u00e9, a central hub for train, metro, and ferries and the end of our suburban train line. Some of us wanted sweets and others savory, so the sweets-lovers got gelado at TimeOut Market across the street. Then we got a hummus-and-veggies plate across the plaza at Honest Greens. With all the snacking, no real lunch happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then we walked along the shore of the Tejo river to Pra\u00e7a do Com\u00e9rcio. (In English, the river is called the Tagus, but I like to use the Portuguese name.) The walkway led past an artist and his gigantic sand sculptures. Another folk artist there makes statues of painted rocks, balancing them like cairns on a hiking trail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The expansive Pra\u00e7a do Com\u00e9rcio beside the river is grand. It is a wide-open plaza facing the river. Big events happen there, like outdoor concerts and fireworks for New Year’s and Dia da Liberdade on April 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overlooking the Pra\u00e7a is the Arco de Rua Augusta, an imposing gateway into the city center. It was built to celebrate the revival of Lisboa after the 1755 earthquake. You can climb stairs to the top for about 4 euros. We went up to see the great view and get up close to the huge statues of Glory, Valor, and Genius personified. From there, we walked inland to Rossio and Restauradores squares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This morning was Bel\u00e9m – Bel\u00e9m tower and the Discoveries monument. We skipped the Jeronimos Monastery because the line was so long. We visited Pasteis de Bel\u00e9m to have pasteis de nata, the famous pastry. You can get the pastel everywhere in Portugal, but this is the original. ( Grammar note: pasteis is the plural of pastel.) There was a line to eat in at the cafe, as usual, so we got them in the takeout section and ate them in the park. Freshmade pasteis de nata<\/em> are divine!<\/p>\n\n\n\nGallery of pictures for this day<\/h4>\n\n\n