Author: marionvermazen

I am a traveler, hiker, avid reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, Spanish and French language student, knitter and genealogist. I am retired after working for almost 30 years in the Computer Industry. I live in Reno, Nevada with my husband Duke.

Castelo Branco to Casa de Insua

The direct route to Parador Casa da Insua would have taken us two hours but we took back roads and went through Serra da Estrella Nature Park, a Portuguese National Park in the Serra da Estrella Mountain Range. On AllTrails I found a great short hike in the village of Sameiro. It was a beautiful day and we had fun exploring the village.

On our hike

After our hike we went down the road a bit and found a great spot for lunch.

Picnic lunch

We wound back and forth up through the mountains.

Near the top we stopped to admire the view
At the very top the vegetation completely changed

Duke and I have stayed at Casa de Insua twice before. It is the only Parador in Portugal. Staying here is like staying in a museum. The mansion was built by Luís de Albuquerque in the late 1700s. Albuquerque had previously been the governor of the Portuguese Colony of Brazil.

Checking in

After our welcome drinks and a couple of games of 500 we went out to explore the grounds.

Out exploring
The mansion from one of the gardens

We had dinner at the Patador.

Duke’s sardine starter
Duke and I each had duck as our main course
My thistle cake desert

After dinner we walked through the old rooms of the mansion.

Exploring the mansion
Luis de Albuquerque

Colares to Castelo Branco

Today we drove about 150 miles northeast in Portugal to the town of Castelo Branco. Before getting to the Melía Hotel where we are staying, we stopped at the grocery store to stock up on snacks.

Checking out at the grocery store.

We are staying on the same mountain top as the castle for which the town is named. After we checked in we went up to see the castle ruins.

You can see how strategic this mountain top was. It felt like we could see for miles.
Inside the castle ruins

Before dinner we walked around the Jardim do Paço Episcopal in the center of town

Walking in the garden
Sheep we could see over the wall of the garden.

We had dinner at a very nice local restaurant called Cabra Preta.

Dinner

Lisbon to Colares

This morning we retrieved our car from the parking garage and left Lisbon. As our Uber driver said last night Lisbon was designed for carriages not cars! It was a stressful drive but we succeeded in finding our way out of the city.

We had a short drive today to the little town of Colores. Even though checking time at Vila Vitorino, the B and B where we are staying, is at 3:00, when Duke called this morning Mr. Vitorino the manager, said we could store our bags at noon. We wanted to visit Sintra but we didn’t like the idea of leaving all our stuff in the car in a giant public parking lot. When we arrived at noon Mr Vitorino had our rooms ready and we were able to check n. It was such a relief.

Checking in at Vila Vitorino.

There are multiple palaces and a Moorish Castle in Sintra. Visiting Sintra is a very popular day trip from Lisbon. After we found a parking spot and walked to the Tourist Information office we found out that almost all the palaces and the Moorish Castle are closed because of damage from the big storm last week. But thank goodness the Palácio Nacional was open. So we hiked up to the palace, bought tickets and went in.

Palácio Nacional

There were several beautiful and interesting rooms. I think we all liked the kitchen best. The towers in the picture above are the chimneys for the kitchen.

Kitchen at the Mational Palace
The Heraldic Hall was another favorite room.

After visiting the palace we went back to Vila Vitorino, relaxed and played cars. Later we drove down to a nearby beach to enjoy the sunset.

Sunset
On the beach

For dinner we drove to the coastal town of Azoia and ate at a wonderful restaurant called 3Gomes.

My Brazilian shrimp dish
Duke’s octopus
Brian’s cheesecake

Lisbon Day 3

We had a really busy day today. We started out with breakfast at a nearby cafe.

Brian had pancakes and Jo Ann had a vegan bowl. As you can see the pancakes were small by American standards.

Then we took a bus to the Belén area of Lisbon.

Waiting for the bus

The lines in front of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and the church next door were daunting. Instead we walked along the waterfront to check out the Monument to the Discoveries and the Torre de Belém.

Monastery of the Jerónimos with the long lines in front
Monument to the discoveries
Torre de Belém

A couple of hours later when we walked past the church and the monastery there was no line for the church so we went in.

Tomb of Vasco da Gama in the church

Next we took a break and went to Pastéis de Belém the place the iconic original Pastéis de Nata were created in 1837.

Enjoying out Pastéis de Nata
We enjoyed fresh squeezed orange juice too.

From Belém we took the bus across town past our hotel to the Tile Museum. the museum is the Azulejo Musem. The word Azulejo comes from the Arabic word meaning small polished stone. It refers to the tiles Portugal is famous for. The museum about the development of Portuguese tile was fascinating. I especially enjoyed learning how the tiles evolved from 1500 to the present.

Iconic Portuguese tiles

The distance back to our hotel was about two miles, so we walked. We did have a nice break for refreshments along the way.

Our break half way back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel we played cards.

Playing 500 in Brian and Jo Ann’s room

For dinner we took an Uber to a Brazilian all you can eat meat restaurant, Prazeres da Picanah, that Duke and I ate at on our first trip to Lisbon in 2016. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

One of the 10 kinds of meat we enjoyed.

Lisbon day 2

This morning Duke and I took the metro to the airport and met Brian and Jo Ann who will be traveling with us for the next three weeks. It is great to have them here.

On the Metro going to our hotel.

After a bit of a rest we went out exploring. We had lunch overlooking the Plaça do Comércio and then went on a tuk tuk tour of Lisbon. It was quite an adventure.

Praça do Comércio
We started out in this vehicle
But then at our first stop, Lisbon Cathedral, the vehicle refused to start and we had to move to a different vehicle and a different driver.
The view from Miradouro do Monte

For dinner we went to Restaurante 1 de Maio. We each had fish and we enjoyed the Portuguese ambiance.

Dinner at Restaurante 1 de Maio

After dinner we walked back to the hotel. It was a great day and we had no rain and cool but very pleasant temperatures.

Outside the restaurant getting ready to walk back to the hotel