Seeing the sights

A quick update from the boys on the boat -

Rob had a nice time in northern Portugal and when last heard from was boarding a train, hopefully with Mary, for Paris. He is due back in the USA Wed Sep 8. Rob - call us when you get home safely!

Pat had a busy and exhausting week with his daughters and a couple grandkids in France. He sent this intriguing message (which he did not approve me posting...)

All is going well here. Yesterday we went to Bordeaux and saw beautiful old churches and other buildings. Then we went to visit catacombs in a more rural area. No vineyard tours, but with the kids in tow, that would have been a challenge. We left at 0800 and got back a little after 2100 and the all five of us collapsed. The next day was spent touring the famous "Three Towers" of La Rochelle and walking the streets of old town. Nicole made us a nice dinner and now we are all ready to collapse again. The babies were great but they add to the workload a lot and wear out the three of us quite completely. Tomorrow we are going to a nearby national park/nature reserve where we plan to release the babies into the wild.  See you Sunday.

Did you know Portugal was neutral during WWII? I didn't. Since Portugal was neutral it became a home for exiled rulers, deposed monarchs, overthrown governemts, spies and counter-spies. A lot of them settled around Estoril, the village next door where I had dinner the other night. Estoril also has a big casino and for a time was where Ian Fleming worked chasing a German spy. He was inspired by his time here to write the James Bond novel Casino Royale. Here is the casino and some shots of the surrounding area.

Don't they look retired?

I should have brought a book!

This is the best city park/plaza around

One of the things that I just love about Europe is how everyone parks their cars.

Park like your pants are on fire.

Walk away from the vehicle.

Don't look back.

It's like this in lots of places (OK, except Germany)

This is a sidewalk, the street is to the right of the photo..

Do small cars get small tickets? Those are not tickets by the way, they are menus for a local Chinese resturant. Seriously.

OK, we'll share the sidewalk.

That car is parked on the tram line - he is in big trouble.

I'm sure he's saying "Nice pants, and love the shoes, but YOU CAN'T PARK HERE!"

As for me, I have been living the idyllic life of an unemployed sailor whose cash card still works. Not a bad life. Run in the morning. Read and do boat chores in the day. Visit museums in the afternoon. Eat dinner in the evening. Repeat. This is a pretty place with a wide variety of architecture.

Remedios is about 100 yards to the left!

Looking towards the ocean - remember the ocean?

This is an old house, an art museum, and a lighthouse - all together!

I always take my camera to dinner - it's fun to take some pictures I call "Views from my table."

Italian place in Estoril

Under the umbrellas in Cascais

This is next to the marina - those are sailboat masts outside!

Check out the hat on the ice bucket

Nice place but the neighbors need to paint!

Restaurants and shops in Cascais

Now that I am done eating the place starts to fill up!

Pat comes back today so I have to clean the place up. This week we have big boat repairs. We will have the crane lift it out of the water and we will spend a couple days on land with the boat on stands while we fix stuff. Pat will get to go up the mast again and we will replace the zinc on the motor housing and in general check stuff out. Next update will have photos of Remedios IN THE AIR !