Oeiras to Cascais and Happy Mothers Day

Moving… again

We moved into our third place here in Portugal. This time we will be here for about 7 weeks. Our new location is about 20 minute walk from the center of Cascais.

Cascais is not far from Oeiras (10km by the way the crow flies), but has a different feel. Oeiras is apartment living with a suburban feel. Mostly middle income, working folk. Not much for tourism or expatriate lifestyle. Cascais, on the other hand, is heavily influenced by both tourism and expat lifestyles. It is very lively both day and night. And, it is much more affluent.

The real draw for us is how much more is happening and available. Our apartment is close to the water (can see it from the balcony), has a pool, and there is a boardwalk/bike path that follows the water for miles! Costs are a bit higher, but still not going to break the bank. In Oeiras, our favorite cafe served espresso for 65 cents, in Cascais €1 is typical. All in all, we are happy and excited for our new location.

Anyway, how about some stories from the last few weeks:

Mothers Day and the Zoo!

Mothers day in Portugal was last Sunday. We try not too, but all of our plans end up last-minute (mostly my fault). Brunch at a nice restaurant seems to be the standard here, similar to the states. But, “brunch” starts at about 12:30 and most people don’t show up until 1:30. (Everything is late in Portugal!)

As I was saying, last minute plans meant that most places were booked up. A nice hotel (Corinthia Hotel Lisbon) near the zoo had space available so we made reservations. Turns out the hotel we chose was not a popular destination for mothers day brunch. We were the only ones there when we arrived, and only a couple other groups came while we were there. The food, however, was very good. It was an open buffet with a wide variety of dishes. Lamb, oysters, mini burgers, salad, breads, and a chef that would cook you anything on the spot from omelets to pasta dishes. And dessert, of course. Theo loved the rice pudding!

The hotel is located near the zoo, so we decided to have an afternoon outing at the zoo. For the most part I am not a fan of seeing caged animals, but the Lisbon Zoo was much better than expected! The “cages” are set up so the animals are as close as possible to the patrons. I put cages in quotes because they are creative about how they contain the animals. For example, there is a pile of rocks that acts as a fence for the giraffes. With their long necks they can reach out and almost touch the patrons, but not quite.