We landed in Lisbon and our feet did not hit the ground for the whole day.  Lisbon is a beautiful well planned city which is very easy to navigate the wide boulevards that run down to the river. The small narrow cobblestone streets are lined with restaurants, cafes and of course pastry shops where you can taste the famous Portuguese tart.  We visited the most beautiful Monastery of St Jerome which is characteristized bu an elaborate use of sculptural detail and often includes maritime motifs. Not to be missed was the Palace of Pena which houses the finest examples of 19th century Portuguese Romanticism and the integration of natural and built heritage.

Sintra being situated high on a hill and 45 minutes drive from Lisbon has a lush vegetation  due to having a very high yearly rainfall. Sintra is a very quaint  world Heritage town centre. Many people visit the town of Sintra to taste the delicious pastries, purchase typical  Portuguese handicraft of glaze tiles ceramics and ceramic swallows which are a symbol of love and tradition. Also the rooster which is symbol a town in the north which has a legend about a man doing a Pilgrimage from Porto to Glacia  in Spain.

On our return drive to Lisbon we followed the rocky coastline with intermittent surf beaches. We had a short stop in the town of Cascais one of the wealthiest suburbs of Lisbon. After an eventful, interesting and entertaining day we finished with dinner at the very famous food market in Lisbon.  Tomorrow Porto