I had a decision to make. If I went back to Kenya, I would have really pushed the whole schedule back a month, and I would basically miss out on most of Europe. And it would cost a lot of money. Since I had a 3 weeks teaching commitment in Morocco starting April 19, I decided to spend some time in Portugal now instead of tacking it on to Spain later. So I flew into Lisbon via Ryan Air (fun!), and spent a few days there. Highlight was probably the Sintra tour, a “storybook” region just west of Lisbon. Ate the biggest sardines I’ve ever seen too!
Lisbon reminds me of San Francisco SOO much! Even to the same cobblestones as we have in the Embarcadero Center!
I found the Sao Domingos Catholic church. The roof had collapsed during the huge 1755 8.0 earthquake that caused damage as far away as Morocco. They renovated it. I took the moment to light a candle to my friend Don (his is the second from the right), and meditate.
Me eating. A happy moment. The ladies behind me were…bemused.
And this is what I was eating. These are sardines. The biggest sardines I’ve ever seen!
Sintra! Sintra is a fascinating little area, full of European Romantic architecture. So unique that the UN created a World Heritage category for it, Cultural Landscape.
Whimsical palace with good views. Palacio de Pena. Royalty lived here.
View from Palace de Pena towards Atlantic Ocean.
Moorish influence on wall of Palace.
Typical home entrance in the town of SIntra.
Dave heading into a man made cave at the quirky and mysterious Quinta de Regalaria castle. Was he a Mason…or wasn’t he?
This is the westernmost point of continental Europe. Beyond this there be dragons, well, Americans. Specifically, New Yorkers due West.
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