Sintra & Costa Da Caparica

On Sunday Ole and I met up with a couple of girls i knew from Adelaide, Katie and Ruby. I had absolutely no idea that they were travelling but it was great to hear that they were visiting Lisbon and there was no doubt that i was going to catch up with them. We joined them in the city centre and headed out to Sintra which is a small town a half an hour from Lisbon. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on account of its 19th century Romantic architecture, it is home to a large castle and several palaces. The Castle and its surrounding walls, which are still intact were built sometime between the 9th and the 10th century. We walked for hours up and down hills, we were all absolutely exhausted, so we returned to the city found some food at a nice little Portuguese restaurant and said our farewells. We will see the girls in a couple of weeks in Munich during the Oktoberfest.

On Monday, we decided it would be a great chance to go to the Beach, we travelled by Ferry over to the opposite side of the river Tagus and caught a bus to Costa Da Caprica, The beach was amazing and was swarming with people. Ole and I got into our swim wear and dove into the water. It was a beautiful day, high twenties and clear blue skies. The waves were monstrous and we had a great time getting battered around by the swell. It was a load of fun. I may not get a chance to swim in the ocean for a few months, unless we find a beach somewhere near Barcelona. That is depressing. At the moment, were sitting in our hostel preparing ourselves for the dreaded overnight train to Madrid. Not really looking forward to the most uncomfortable night of sleep in my life, but we will see how we go, perhaps we will get the upgrade and have beds. That way we will be fresh and ready to go tomorrow morning when we arrive in Madrid. Wish me luck.