Having left Porto we went towards Lisbon to the resort town of Sesimbra.
Why was this particular place chosen? During many years of traveling we established the principle – if we travel to the seaside, it must not be far from a big administrative center, where we can drive spending not more than one hour, and do as much sights of this country as possible. And in case it is the capital of this country, it is an ideal variant. And one more criterion (far from being the last) was the distance from the airport of departure within 40 minutes – one hour drive to exclude any unforeseen situations on the long space interval on the day of departure.
But, of course, the coziness and calm of the stay said their “yes” in favor of this place.
During the trip from Porto to Sesimbra we stopped in the town of Coimbra to rest and took in the monastery Santa Cruz (Igreja de Santa Cruz). One of the outstanding features of Portugal is finishing of inside and outside buildings’ walls with white-blue tiles on some special theme. This feature is present even in Cathedrals. The bright example of it is the major Cathedral of the monastery Santa Cruz .
Below there are some pictures of interesting automobiles, which we met on our way to Sesimbra.
Sesimbra had been a fishing village till the 13th century. The construction of Sancho P’s palace here, which became a town bastion, gave an impulse to the development of Sesimbra. Now it is one of the famous resorts in Portugal with a sandy beach and comfortable hotels. The quiet town with a great number of restaurants and cafes is popular with tourists. You can see a fishing gang out of the local citizens catching fish with the help of a seine on the beach near the town fortress since morning. It is always an exciting process!! And what is there in the net?! A good many curious people gather there.
