Lisbon and Cascais, Portugal

Lisbon is one of our favorite cities.  You can see photos from our previous visits here.

   

Praca do Comercio is a huge public square along the River Targus.

 

This is King Jose I on his horse.

This visit, we took a train out to Cascais (pronounced kesh-kesh), about a half hour from Lisbon.

Cascais was a fishing village that became a resort for Portugal’s royal family in the late 19th and early 20th century.  Now it’s a popular vacation spot for Portuguese and foreign tourists. 

Cascais has tiled plazas and streets, like Lisbon.

   

Saint Martha’s Lighthouse was built in 1867 on the grounds of the Santa Marta Fort (built in the 1640s).

We had a starter plate and pizza lunch at a small restaurant in the marina.

The Casa de Santa Maria was built in 1902 by Jorge O’Neil, a Portuguese-Irish aristocrat in the tobacco industry, as a wedding present for his daughter, using only materials found in Portugal.  Around 1914, the second owner expanded the house by adding on to each end. 

   

Before that, Jorge O’Neil built his own summer residence, the Torre de St Sebastiao, in 1897, across the street. 

In 1910 it was sold to the 1st Count of Castro Guimarães.

The Count died in 1927 and the home and its garden were willed to the state with the request that the house be used as a museum and art gallery.

 

The gardens of the Palace of the Condes Castro Guimaraes are now part of the Parque Marechal Carmona. 

  

On our way back to the train, we had time to wander through one of the residential areas.

Igreja Matriz, the Main Church

   

 

   

 

   

 

For you cat fanciers, this man was napping with his kittens on the train back to Lisbon!

The sun was setting when we returned to Lisbon but the ship wasn’t leaving port until 11pm.  We had time for one more walk around the down-town area.  The streets were busy with people out and about!

 

  Back to the ship

and farewell to Lisbon.