Page 140 - Demo

Sunday 24th September - Evora - Sesimbra - Lisboa - SintraHot & sunny. Late rain. Early fog this morning, so Steve went back out early for more photos of the church spires rising out of the mist, and fogshrouded laneways. Very atmospheric. After breakfast we loaded the bags back into the car, navigated the tiny car park again, and drove down the toll way to Lisbon. The roads in Portugal are excellent so far. On the outskirts of Lisboa, drove down into the national park and a visit to the seaside fishing village of Sesimbra. It was festival time, and the gaily painted fishing boats were competing in a race off the beach (Praia de Califor-nia). Parked at the top of the town and walked down the narrow steep alleyways to the beachfront. Paddled in the water, and Teia played in the sand. Watched the presentation of the trophies for the race winners. Stopped at the tiny fort that protruded in the middle of the beach to look at the local artisan stalls. Had a fantastic big lunch in a nice waterfront restaurant called Restaurante %u201cO Velho e o Mar%u201d (The Old Man and the Sea). Ordered a bottle of Muralhas de Mon%u00e7%u00e3o Vinho Verde (green wine) with slight spritz to compliment the super lunch of mussels, clams (fresh from the tanks), vegetable pasta and soup. Reluctantly left and drove across the large bridge through Lisboa, a very busy city, to the northern outskirts town of Sintra. On arrival the heavens chucked down some rain for the late afternoon. Found our Hotel Nova Sintra by a fluke, as we thought we%u2019d taken a wrong turn. Suddenly, there it was, right in front of us! Checked in and met our very friendly host Rui. Went for a cheap pizza meal near the train station. Steve indulged in the local Sagres and Super Bock beers.