Saturday began at around 8:30am (we had a lot to get done). We ate a quick breakfast hat was provided by our hostel. During breakfast one a girl gave us a crash course on Portuguese pronunciation, it is similar to French. Next we headed to the train station to go about 30 minutes north of Lisbon to the small town of Sintra.
Once we arrived in Sintra we took a bus up to the top of a mountain. This mountain is tall and extremely steep, making it difficult for most people to walk up so the bus charges a premium price of 5 euro, it was worth it. The three of us were a bit scared on the way up because there were many sharp turns and the driver seemed to be a bit careless. Anyhow we made it to the top. We went to the Castelo Mouros or the Moorish Castle which was built in 9th and 10th centuries. I think this was the highlight of my trip. We walked on all the walls that surround the fortress. It is in the hills so it is kind of looked like the Great Wall of China, only it was in Portugal.
The views were absolutely spectacular. Words and even pictures do not begin to do justice to this experience. It was like being on top of the world, and I could have stayed up there forever. The only downfall was that it was warm so all of us were wearing sandals which made it a bit difficult to climb up and down stone stairs. Also, we were in a garden taking a picture and some wild plant attacked my foot and gave it stinging sensation. I had a first aid kit so I put some ointment on it and it was fine. When we were finished with the Castle we caught the bus going downhill and this was an experience all in its own. The driver was going down steep paths, but he did not really believe in using breaks so we were flying down the hill, probably much faster than we should have been. It was a tad scary for us because on side of the road it was like cliff dropping almost straight down. Thank God we made it back to the bottom.
The views were absolutely spectacular. Words and even pictures do not begin to do justice to this experience. It was like being on top of the world, and I could have stayed up there forever. The only downfall was that it was warm so all of us were wearing sandals which made it a bit difficult to climb up and down stone stairs. Also, we were in a garden taking a picture and some wild plant attacked my foot and gave it stinging sensation. I had a first aid kit so I put some ointment on it and it was fine. When we were finished with the Castle we caught the bus going downhill and this was an experience all in its own. The driver was going down steep paths, but he did not really believe in using breaks so we were flying down the hill, probably much faster than we should have been. It was a tad scary for us because on side of the road it was like cliff dropping almost straight down. Thank God we made it back to the bottom.
Then we walked to a 19th century palace that housed some sort of a colt. It was sort of interesting, but at the same time creepy. There were all kinds of secret doors and passageways. In the library there were mirrors on the floor to give the appearance that the shelves went down to the floor below it and that you would fall through. It sort of reminded me of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. 
However there was a beautiful chapel and gardens. The gardens covered several acres with greenery, including palm trees. We could not spend much time here because we wanted to make sure that we were able to make to the next stop.
So we got on the bus and headed for Cascais, a beach town. I loved this place, it reminded me of California. There many people on the beach playing, laying out in the sun, swimming, and of course surfing. We just walked along the shore and then at one point just sat and watched the ocean and the people. It was extremely relaxing, just what I needed. I was able to touch the Atlantic Ocean from Europe. We watched the sunset over the Atlantic and then we took the train back to Lisbon.
Once we were in Lisbon we took the Elevador de Santa Justa. It was built in the early 1900’s. It was designed by an apprentice of Gustave Eiffel, the architect of the Eiffel Tower. The elevator took us to the top were we had great views of Lisbon at night. Then we went back and had another wonderful dinner with friends at our hostel. 
To see more pictures click here. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056053&id=21204555&l=5579e8cc4a
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