Outbound to Obidos

We are on the move! We have packed up and left our Alfama apartment, hailed a taxi to the airport (we had a very nice driver, by the way), and picked up a car for the rest of our time here in the Iberian peninsula. We have a four-door compact Lancia automobile with manual transmission and diesel fuel. We are feeling very European. We have named the car Miguel, after the fellow at Avis who took care of us today.

Bob and Miguel get acquainted.

Our first day of travel in Portugal has not been without its challenges: we are on a steep learning curve, both of us. Bob has to figure out the feel of the car while I have to figure out the directions. To make our life on the road easier, we opted for two bonus features that Avis offered us. The first is a sort of transponder that gives us easy passage through the many tolls that we will encounter here; the second is a portable hotspot to allow us to have WiFi wherever we go in Portugal, even on the road. I would say we are feeling very high-tech, except we haven't figured out how to use the second one yet.

Cascais

At about 11:30, a much later start than we hoped for, we headed west out of Lisbon to the coastal resort towns of Estoril and Cascais. Cascais was particularly lively, with a flea market and a charming town centre. We also spent some time at the Boca do Inferno, a rocky cove area just outside of the town.

We continued along the coastline until we arrived at Guincho, a spectacular beach area very popular with surfers. We had lunch there at Meste Ze, a restaurant pitched over the sand dunes of the Atlantic.

The view of the beach from our lunch spot

Our longest stop on the road today was at Mafra to see the Palacio de Mafra, as well as the basilica and the monastery. It was easy to see all three since they were all part of the same building. The church lies is in the middle of a massive edifice, while the monks occupied a portion of the second floor and the royals lived on the entire third floor, when they were in the mood to hunt.  In the photo attached, imagine a long hallway extending from one end to the other of this palace, and you will get an idea of its scope. Then multiply it by four, since the building is a perfect square. HUGE!!

I am standing in front of Palacio de Mafra

We were most impressed by the trophy room, the great hall, and the library, but really the entire place was spectacular. Begun in 1717, it was funded by the riches Portugal obtained from its colony, Brazil, and employed some 52,000 workers in the building project.

The library at the Palacio de Mafra

The trophy room. Lots of deer antlers.

Our stopping point of the day was the walled town of Obidos. It is utterly charming. Bob and I enjoyed an early evening walk through its cobblestone streets, did some shopping in its artisan shops, and savoured an Italian dinner at Memoria Restaurant and Wine Bar. We are spending the night at Hotel Real d'Obidos, just outside the town walls, a convenient and comfortable choice.

Obidos Castle

Where we dined

At the pillory post in Obidos