Travel: Estoril, Portugal

We were forced to go to Portugal by my aunt & uncle. They went there when they got the chance step down in Madrid. Just like us. Our case is different. We did not know whether we can go due to my Husband work. Being a wife it's a nature in pujuk memujuk department.

He tried to finish his work 2 days earlier, therefore I win and planned for our short journey to Estoril, Portugal. It was a quick one. Hotel booked and food prepared for the journey. We have to struggle for 7 hours journey from Almazan to Estoril, Portugal.

Why Estoril? Because that was the place my aunt & uncle went.

A stressful journey when we almost 5 hours on the road, calls coming in regarding husband's work and we almost going back to Almazan. We took a stop for almost an hour to settle some of his work. With a guilt my husband said we continue to Portugal instead of turning back.

A little concern in me but yet my face could not lie heart jumping and flowering. The excitement start.

A flat orange view turn to green and cloudy almost like Malaysia. We know we almost there. To enter Portugal we had to pass a toll and a welcome statue of Cristo Reil. After that we rely on the sign which lead us to many tolls. We should follow our GPS instead with avoid toll option. The tolls are expensive (of course I comparing them to Malaysia in Malaysia Ringgit). Then lalu jambatan ala-ala San Fransico famous bridge tu.

::Lisboa Toll::

::Nampak tak statue tu?::

::De Abril Bridge Lisboa::

We arrived at our hotel that we booked with room facing the ocean. Sanaa estoril Hotel. It was the right choice of hotel in term of the location. It seem near to the place where I already marked to visit.

:: Sanaa Estoril::

::The view that we wake up to::

We dont want to miss anything as we have to squeeze everything in 24hours (including sleep). So we straight to Cabo da Roca.

The windy road give us this view. SubhanaAllah. We arrived at the nice time. Its going to sunset at that time. Imagine how romantic. But we were not. we keep on gasping on how beautiful this place, rasa sangat-sangat-sangat berbaloi the 7 hours journey tuh.

::Cabo da Roca Lighthouse::

I have to show you more of the photos as it too beautiful. Magnificent. Cabo da Roca is located in Cascais, it is the most west of the Western Union. So the last point to visit if you are touring the Europe.

This place facing the Atlantic Ocean. Laut mereka nampak berbeza, it was like you going to drop at the end of the horizon. Its getting dark, we have to reach the ground as soon as possible. Before we reach our hotel we try to enjoy the night scenery of Estoril. There are a lot of malls, restaurants, clubs, and th famous casino.

This Casino Estoril is only a walking distance from Sanaa Estoril Hotel. Gorgeous architecture during the day and at night the building so nice with the colorful lighting. The night view on the sea you can see nice cruise light up. So macam busy jugak siang dan malam di Estoril ni. Journey yang jauh sejuk dan of course lapar, bertemankan laut dan cahaya-cahaya masak di hotel makan nasi. We could not find any halal restaurant nearby.

On the next day I already mark one of the monumen/historical places in Cascais. Which is Palacio Nacional da Pena located in Sintra. Before we arrived we stumble upon a farmers market. Tak dapat pegi kat Spain dapat kat Portugal. Terbaik.

The strawberries sweet but as it melted it became a bit sour. So what you get in Cameron Highland will not be the same taste when it reach KL. Sama jer. But the must tried is the dark blue grape. Manis with a rose scented. Seriously anggur yang wangi. We managed to get it down in Malaysia. My father tried it and still he could taste the flowery grape eventhough not that strong. yes you still can taste rasa rose tu.

So Palacio Nacional da Pena. we have to pay to enter but I could not remember how much. Tapi yang pasti beratus juga bile dah convert duit Malaysia.

Before you reach to the Palacio you have to stroll around the palace garden. at first we thought we gonna have few time here tangkap gambar then off to next marked places. but this took us hours. The garden is soo beautiful. As per informed by the tour guide there, this garden was built as a sign of love the king to the queen. So there are lot of trees, flowers coming from various country. Ada oriental like garden, arab garden, segala macam la.. sangat laa luas ya ampun. As we know the Portugese love to travel. so this is one of the way they get the seeds.

after a long walk, baru ler sampai, inside of this castle tak boleh tangkap gambar. Tapi i tell you memang rasa macam raja lah. bilik punya banyak. Mural kat dinding ceiling lantai.
Bilik air besar sebiji rumah kot.

:: Tapi ada sedikit rasa pelik, pintu ke tempat guard jaga ker semua kecil-kecil, mungkin diorg ni dulu kecil-kecil size badannya::

When you reach down nearby is a Moorish Castle. Penat ok yang ni banyak no tangganya. But as Muslim we should be proud that at one particular time we able to conquered Portugal. but then it took over by the western.

Then we went to Boca Da Inferno, a place with a great rock formation and a view of atlantic ocean.

Here you can find local produce craft such as the famous nando's chicken look a like tablecloth, lace napkin, souvenirs fridge magnet, purses, but cash only. And mainly sell by old folks. So no English.

Kami dah lambat dari schedule sejam. At this point we should reach Lisboa/Lisbon for some lunch solat and balik ke Madrid yang mengambil masa selama 5 jam.

The last point in Estoril is the beach, we taught we sempat mandi manda di atlantic ocean ni tapi x sempat. I quickly ran down to the beach and feel the water. Sangat laa clear airnya dan sejuk. 

Lisboa is totally different from the costal Estoril. Lisboa ni kan bandar so bandar lah. We try to search for a Central Mosque, untuk makan dan solat sebelum bertolak ke Spain.

Mesquita Central de Lisboa ni sentiasa ada orang, besar bersih dan orang yang ada bukan duduk sahaja, di pangkin luar ramai yang membaca Quran. Rasa sangat tenang dan bangga. Kebanyakkan kat sini orang Islam dari Pakistan dan juga Morocco. So kami makan kat sini for our lunch and tapau roti buat bekalan balik ke Madrid. As we will not singgah memana dah.

::Vasco Da Gamma Getty::

We tried to avoid the toll and terlalu guna jambatan Vasco da Gamma. Once arrive tanah besar diorang ni   found this small town very the Malacca-ish. 

Unfortunately you cant avoid the toll itupun kalau nak drive berjam-jam lamanya. So we all pun amik toll gak lah. We arrived Madrid pukul satu pagi. Bawak keta berganti-ganti. Malam sangat pekat x nampak apa. keta pun x banyak agak menakutkan juga tapi Alhamdulillah berjaya sampai ke destinasi. the next day we get up isi minyak full tank pulangkan balik kereta sewa dan x sabar rasanya nak naik flight balik Malaysia.

At this point dah rasa lega dapat naik plane. hehehehe.. Malaysia juga yang best.

On top of it we've been upgraded to business class. Yeay sangat la jakun... & it such a nice journey.