A day on the Estoril Coast

Low to mid thirties in the city - the weather is just so outstanding, and it's our day to go to the Estoril Coast just west of Lisbon.

Mindful of the queues for tickets on that line yesterday, it's an early start and we are at Cais de Sodre station before 9am, very quickly on the train and into Cascais before 10am.  The Estoril Coast stretches for 30km to Cascais, at its furtherest point.  Cascais is quite a grand town with impressive buildings, some very attractive hotels, and former fishermen's houses wrapped around a bay dotted by sandy beaches.  Beautiful mosaic paved and partly pedestrianised streets leading down to the beach - plenty of shops, bars and cafes and quite an English feel.  Very impressive numbers on the beach by 10.30am.

A pedestrianised promenade sits atop many small beaches, so we meander on the promenade and wade along the sandy shores.  Air temperature 26C, water temperature just 17C as this is the Atlantic coast.  Notwithstanding the last month of consistent 30C+ days, this is about as warm as the water ever gets, but it seems to suit the locals and holiday makers fine.

Coffee on the promenade before we continued our meanderings all the way to Estoril which had been the haunt of exiled royalty in years past.  Once again, very nice, wide sandy beaches - with teams of uniformed young people patrolling all along the promenade and beaches picking up rubbish, including cigarette butts.

Beautiful palm lined park in Estoril, so it was lunch of pizza and a jug of outstanding sangria.  Should note here the variation in bodies and bathing attire - and a particular photo shoot in the park.

Caught the train back a few stops to Carcavelos, the most extensive beach on the Estoril coast - big, long, sandy and packed.  Had our swim here in the very brisk but very clean and clear Atlantic waters. Tide was coming in, so the masses on the beach were becoming more compressed -and more and more continued to arrive.

Train back to Lisbon for feet up and clean up before dinner.  Off tonight to Prima Pasta, Italian Restaurant, once again just 150m from our apartment.  Very, very good - veal for Pat and calamari risotto for me, all washed down with a bottle of Mateus Rose.