We took an excursion from Lisbon to the neighboring towns of Sintra and Cascais. These were two wonderfully quaint villages each with their own unique feel. We first headed to Sintra, which was once a favored summer retreat for Portuguese royalty, who were drawn to its cooler climate and picturesque scenery. Traveling toward Sintra, nestled into the northern slope of the majestic Serra de Sintra mountains, we discovered grand houses with walled gardens scattered throughout forested hills. Upon our arrival, we were instantly greeted with Sintra’s charming warren of narrow lanes, which are lined with lush greenery and flowers. Within some buildings you would find the most incredible gardens (see the 4th photo below).

Indeed, Sintra’s scenery is so amazing that the cultural landscape was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, recognizing its unique blend of natural and cultural attractions. The narrow, steep streets twisted and turned in such a way that we feared that if we explored too far we might get turned around and not find our way back to the shuttle bus in time. We wound our way through the streets, exploring various stores and shops.

It truly was much cooler here. In fact, we began our search within stores for a sweatshirt or hoody for me because it was chilly enough that I wanted something to keep warm. We never did find anything, but thankfully the search kept us moving and I stayed warm that way!

We popped into one shop and bought some coffee and pastries, which we ate as we continued our stroll through the town. It really was a beautiful area. Unfortunately, we were only given an hour to wander around, which wasn’t long enough to allow us to go to the whimsical Pena Palace or other famous sights in the village. Rather, we stuck mostly to the main area and the surrounding streets, deciding that we’ll need to return to Sintra again in the future to stay for a couple days and evenings.

After Sintra, we headed to Cascais, another nearby village with its own charm.  Cascais was once a fishing village and is now a favorite swimming and surfing mecca. It was a holiday destination for the Portuguese royal family, a refuge for the members of the world’s monarchies, and later a purported regular meeting place for spies. It was even the birthplace for one of the most famous secret agents in cinema – James Bond.

Similar to Sintra, we were given an hour to wander the streets of Cascais and take in its beauty. We walked down to the beach where we saw many sunbathers in a scene that looked like it belonged on a 1960s era postcard.

We also saw the most wonderful (for me) sight: men playing foot volleyball. They appeared to be a soccer team doing drills that basically involved playing volleyball without the use of hands. They kicked the ball, head butted it, and bounced it off their chests and knees to each other and their opponents. It was incredible to watch. I could have stayed the whole hour and just watched them, but John insisted we see more of the city (which in hindsight I’m glad we did, but it really was amazing to watch).

The thing that struck me the most about Cascais were the designs on the ground in the open space near the beach. The designs made the flat walkway appear wavy and flowing. It was beautifully done and much more pleasant to look at than plain ground would have been.

Doing the math, we realized we were going to miss the window for food back on the ship, so we stopped into a local pub and ordered some sandwiches to take back with us to eat on the bus. We enjoyed a couple beers while we waited for our wraps to be prepared.

That concluded our excursion to Sintra and Cascais – both places we would gladly return to and places that cemented our love of Portugal. It truly is a remarkable country!