Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Cascais bay



As we walk a few kilometers to the west of the coast, we will find another of my favourite places: Cascais bay. It is mostly a fisher's beach, but it is definetely a beautiful place. Actually, the beauty of the beach is due to the old fisher's village where it is located: Cascais. It is a beautiful village for a good walk, especially at night. The beauty of Cascais is much more than this bay, so don't be surprised to see that my next posts will be again about Cascais.

When you are facing the ocean from the bay, you will see at your right the Cidadela fortress, which in my opinion gains an extra beauty in the night. From this side of the bay, you can see the whole Cascais coast. Also, just a few meters away, a few restaurants will serve you excellent seafood and fresh fish, if you are willing to pay good money for it.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Carcavelos beach




Since I'm a "beach addict" and I grew up 5 minutes away from this beach, I should start this blog by referring to it. It is a beach located about 30 minutes (by train) from the center of Lisbon.
It can be extremely crowded in the summer, which is when I hate it most (if you remember the news last summer about a big gang attack in Portugal, it was on this beach), but in the winter it is very calm and peaceful and, since it is very large (about 1.25 km), you can go for long walks there.
It is also famous for its waves, being therefore always full of surfers and bodyboarders.
Also, it has some nice bars and restaurants, where you can seat, relax, have a drink, do some reading or simply look at the sea. As a view, at your left, you'll have the "Forte de Sao juliao da Barra", which construction started in the 16th century and that is an important military building. and the official residence of the portuguese Minister of Defense.
If you go to Portugal, don't miss it!