Cascais- Estoril- Sintra

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I went to Cascais two summers ago, as a first anniversary trip with my boyfriend. We left Albufeira so we arrived in three hours with our GPS so we didn't get lost.

Our hotel was just in front of the Estoril Casino, it was called "Alvorada" and it was quite good in terms of quality-price ratio. When we made the reservation, we specified that we wanted a double bed and bath, instead of a shower, and they said to us that they left it on, which didn't give us much confidence. However, when we arrived we had an enormous bedroom with a 1. 50 bed and an awesome bath. Also, our bedroom had a terrace with views to the casino and the beach in front, it was very cool.

When we arrived we left the car parked since the hotel gave us a parking place at the door and we went for a walk.

The truth is that the city didn't have much to see as a tourist, it is more for a short trip away as a couple because it has a romantic atmosphere or also if you like to go to the casino as Estoril has the biggest Casino in Europe.

On the first morning we went for a walk and searched for somewhere to eat later on, we saw how to get to the beach which was quite close to our hotel and we walked around the surroundings of the casino.

I didn't like the beach area much, it is too urban for my liking and because they are not very big they are quite packed.

We found a restaurant in a good spot that didn't seem very expensive, although I should say that the area, in general, is quite expensive as it is a place where people with a lot of money go.

That day we ate brilliantly. The fish from the area is delicious and I usually eat meat but being in a place on the coast...It was a little expensive but we went with a good budget because we already knew that it would be expensive.

After eating, we decided to walk along the boardwalk that connected Estoril with Cascais. It is a walk where the beach accompanies you to the left and you pass by different bars and ice creams shops on the right, all with expensive spots, above all the views of the sea.

We sat down at an ice cream shop and we had little ice creams with very good natural juice. And we continued walking and seeing beaches. The truth is that the beaches is not what I had hoped for, it is not what caught my attention about this place.

I thought that as Cascais is a bay in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, as you can see on the map, that the beaches would be more beautiful but they are all urban.

When you arrive at the end of Cascais there is a final beach that is more original and different to the others. The beach itself is normal but the for the termination, instead of being black stones like a normal water break, they have reformed it and designed it to the form a type of swimming pool. It is something very interesting and seems to catch the attention of lots of tourists because it was always full of people.

Later on, we returned to the hotel to bath and get ready to go out for the night.

We enjoyed our marvellous bath and we made ourselves look smart because we didn't know if you had to be formally dressed to go to the casino.

First, we walked around the surroundings searching for somewhere to have dinner and we found an incredible restaurant near the hotel, which was quite expensive but the food was incredible.

They gave us a table for two, we order the house wine, some clams as they were the dish of the day for starters and a meat dish where each one was different. I can tell you that they were the best clams that I have eaten in my life and I have been raised in Huelva ehh, so I am used to quite good clams hehe (This being away from home, is giving me a desire for clams and clams that afuff).

Finally, we paid the bill that was 60 euros and we went to the casino.

My boyfriend already had experience in a casino but I have never been to one and I loved it! Especially roulette and I end up getting hooked hahaha, but like any beginner, I was lucky and we won just 60 euros to cover what the dinner had cost, haha, so I was more than satisfied with that. We played for quite a while and my boyfriend also played poker later.

People actually go dressed in any way, there were even me with shorts on. The idea that I had was of people with long dresses like in the films but it did not seem like that. Luckily we were not too dressed up hehe.

We had a drink too because there is an area inside with a bar and a track, similar to a nightclub. In the track, a group is put to sing and other times there is nothing, I do not know what else they will put there.

We returned to the hotel bursting with so much casino but the experience had enchanted me.

The next day we had planned to go to Sintra, which was close and as there was not much more to see in Estoril.

We took the GPS and the car. In the hotel, they explained to us that there were two roads, one parallel to the coast and one later by the mountain that was really beautiful and another one by current highway, but shorter.

We decided to take the beautiful road but my god was it long! If we had known this from the start we would have taken the freeway. The journey is very beautiful, yes, nobody can question that, especially when you go parallel to the beach but when you get into the mountains it constantly curves to the right and to the left, it was very long. Although my boyfriend liked it but he was not driving and could see all of it, of course.

The truth is that in the few moments that I could stop, I saw beautiful beaches in that area.

On the way, in the area still parallel to the beach, I knew that there was the famous "Boca do inferno", so we stopped to see it. It is a kind of grotto formed by the erosion of rainwater in the rocks, where we can see the force of the sea in the waves. Over the years, the sea has also worn the rocks away even more, increasing the size of the hole and its spectacle. It is called inferno wedding because of the sound that the waves cause when they hit the rocks. They say it is much more impressive on rainy days but I went on a beautiful summer day without much surf. Still, it is quite impressive and worthwhile to pass.

We continued our journey and finally arrived in Sintra. It is a tiny city but full of beautiful things to see and it is also a World Heritage Site since 1995 by Unesco.

We wanted to see its famous Palacio da Pena, which is a palace of colours that appears in all the photos of this city.

To get there you had to climb a super slope in circles. We started to climb and saw that on both sides of the road there were already parked cars, so we decided to leave the car in case there was no space further up.

We followed the road walking and after climbing several laps we were already knackered, the slope was huge and tired us out a lot. We met a couple of Spanish people coming down who told us that the top was still a lot higher, that we had to stay for a while, so we decided that it was better to get down to get the car and come up with it, which apparently had been parked. It's on top of everything. We decided to take this pair of Spaniards to the top, that the poor people were also bursting with gait, and after twisting and turning upwards, we reached the top of the super mountain.

We managed to park, although there were no car parks to spare.

And from there again on foot. Leaving the car in this area, we still had to walk for a good time, so it had been a good idea to go back to the car and leave it there.

After a while walking uphill still we arrived at the Palace, really beautiful.

The visit is guided and they will explain what is in each room. The one I liked best was that of the queen, Maria II of Portugal, with the beautiful beds of the time, the dressing screen, there were even brushes and hair ornaments in a beautiful dressing table.

What happens is that there are many people and you have to go faster than I would have liked, in addition, the guide goes ahead and you almost do not know what he is saying from behind.

You can visit every tower of the castle, including the queen's large terrace where you can see a beautiful golden sun clock, which still works.

When we finished we started to go down to get to the car and find a place to eat, since we were already hungry from so much walking.

We had to wait a little while sitting in the car because I was so tired of climbing the hill that I could not force the clutch with my foot and I had to back out in a pile of cars.

After a while of rest, we arrived at the town and we sat down to eat in the first place that we saw so that didn't have to walk much more.

We returned to rest a bit in the car and again to the road to the hotel. This time we decided to take the highway, of course, so we would arrive quickly.

The road, indeed, was much shorter, so in 20 minutes or so we were already at the hotel taking a bath, which after all the day outside we really missed it hahaha.

That night we had dinner at a more ordinary restaurant and went back to the casino to see if we would win some more. That night the luck was over, we won nothing but we did not lose either. Although I had fun, hehe.

The next day we had to go back but there was no hurry, so we decided to spend the day at one of the incredible surfing beaches we had seen the day before when driving with the car to Sintra.

All were fairly large beaches with fine white sand and very cold water. A place to relax listening to the sea and watching surfers.

At lunchtime, we found a very cool restaurant with a saltwater pool overlooking the sea. I had always wanted to go to a pool overlooking the sea haha, it was super cool. Even if you ate at the restaurant, the pool was paid separately. But it was already the last day so we paid it too.

We enjoyed a good time in the pool and ate a delicious rice with shrimp dish there. In general, everything we ate during the trip was incredibly good. I think it's the trip where I've eaten best hahaha.

We stayed a little longer in the pool and went back to take the road by car, this time to Albufeira again.

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