Day 6 - Tomar to Setubal
Diet day today. Sigh. Breakfast is included in the room rate, so I go downstairs, look longingly at the breakfast items and have a yoghurt. After last night though I should have sufficient means on board to make it through the day
Packing the bike and there's some sort of race going on in the park; maybe a triathlon or something, they're all the fit mob. I run into the racers again on the edge of town. Obviously not a very forgiving race, they make you climb over the castle walls.
Taking care of any cheats by scribbling on them by the looks of things..
Heading west now. I've been being spoiled with great riding from the moment I set off ever since Spain. No filtering on the by-pass, no roadworks by the Corn Exchange.. But today is a bit different. There are villages everywhere and as soon as you start to pick up there's another one. Bother.
It takes me the best part of an hour to do under thirty miles. I mean, the sun is out and all, I guess sir has just become used to the best.
More towns and pretty buildings..
I am a Saab fan and this is a bit of a gem. Someone has to be, I suppose.
I cross into the Torres Novas Park (or the 'Natural des Pegadas de Dinossaurious de Ourem'). The pace is still fairly slow and for no particular reason I'm a bit frustrated with that.
Another pretty church in the village of Monsanto..
I continue South West into the Serra de Montejunto. Riding getting a bit better..
Finally we hit the coast and the Atlantic. A beautiful sunny day and a feeling of achievement having got to the sea. Don't know why, after all haven't come that far.
There are liberal sprinklings of surfing crumpet, of which I do not manage to photograph a single one.
Making my way along the coast now, going South, and its very busy. Eating out on Sunday in Portugal must be compuslory. The roads are incredibly busy. I make my way towards Sintra.
Even the bus stops can be pretty little buildings..
We approach Sintra and you can see the Castle from a long way off..
A bit closer, now.
The Sintra world war one monument. Around 7,000 Portuguese died in WW1, although in Portugal 82,000 people died due to food shortages and 138,000 were killed by Spanish flu. Yikes.
Central Sintra. Just gorgeous buidings..
And not a bad place to approach on a bike. You can ride right up here.
Just a flying visit; I liked it, a very good couples city break destination I'd think. All being well I'll come back one day.
Being so close to Estoril I'm tempted to take a look at the GP Circuit. When I get there there's nothing going on and not a soul around..
I manage to grab a look at the start finish and the paddock area on tippy toes..
OK well on we go. I steel myself for the ride into Lisbon. In any event it wasn't too bad, the main road network can be a bit winding in the City on Seven hills as it is known, but no problem. We cross the Tagus on the suspension bridge. I've been under it on a boat a few times, so now its time to see it from up here. A couple of the lanes are not tarmac, they're metal mesh, so the bridge makes an interesting buzzing noise, like a swarm of bees as the cars cross over.
As a bonus a great view of the Rio Cristo Statue, the monument put up which gave thanks for Portugal not being part of WWII.
I avoid the toll part of the Motorway and head back to the 'N' roads. There isn't a rush but I wished I'd shelled out a couple of quid. The road to Setubal is busy and displays a lot of the bad side of Portugal's driving. The locals shape up to be overtaking, even though there's a convoy of traffic at 70kmh and there's nowhere to go. I patiently pass along the traffic to find a place to nestle where the driver is a little more relaxed and not tailgating to the extreme, it makes for a much easier experience.
After tea time I hit Setubal. I pick a place to stop in the shade and look for a hotel courtesy of good old booking.com. Hmmm. There doesn't seem a lot of decent choice, we have either pretty cheap or bloody expensive. I take a chance on one place, the Hotel Arangues. It's local and midtown set amongst apartment complexes, but sometimes you can't judge a book by the cover. ballistic and I found that last year with a very nice surprise in Spain. And it helps that the price is right. Just a few minutes and I'm there. At reception, they're really friendly and speak English- I can put the bike in the underground garage. "Go and put it there and come up in the lift, OK?" OK. This place is working for me
A big bed and a big bath. Yippee. I'm tired and my face feels glowing from the sunshine. Up to factor 30 tomorrow as I'm starting my red nose day celebrations particularly early.
With today being a diet day I just sit in the bar with a bottle of water and an apple to unwind and update a bit of this stuff. I turn in relatively early, have a bath and read some of my book.
Rock 'n' Roll people, Rock 'n' roll.
Diet day today. Sigh. Breakfast is included in the room rate, so I go downstairs, look longingly at the breakfast items and have a yoghurt. After last night though I should have sufficient means on board to make it through the day
Packing the bike and there's some sort of race going on in the park; maybe a triathlon or something, they're all the fit mob. I run into the racers again on the edge of town. Obviously not a very forgiving race, they make you climb over the castle walls.
Taking care of any cheats by scribbling on them by the looks of things..
Heading west now. I've been being spoiled with great riding from the moment I set off ever since Spain. No filtering on the by-pass, no roadworks by the Corn Exchange.. But today is a bit different. There are villages everywhere and as soon as you start to pick up there's another one. Bother.
It takes me the best part of an hour to do under thirty miles. I mean, the sun is out and all, I guess sir has just become used to the best.
More towns and pretty buildings..
I am a Saab fan and this is a bit of a gem. Someone has to be, I suppose.
I cross into the Torres Novas Park (or the 'Natural des Pegadas de Dinossaurious de Ourem'). The pace is still fairly slow and for no particular reason I'm a bit frustrated with that.
Another pretty church in the village of Monsanto..
I continue South West into the Serra de Montejunto. Riding getting a bit better..
Finally we hit the coast and the Atlantic. A beautiful sunny day and a feeling of achievement having got to the sea. Don't know why, after all haven't come that far.
There are liberal sprinklings of surfing crumpet, of which I do not manage to photograph a single one.
Making my way along the coast now, going South, and its very busy. Eating out on Sunday in Portugal must be compuslory. The roads are incredibly busy. I make my way towards Sintra.
Even the bus stops can be pretty little buildings..
We approach Sintra and you can see the Castle from a long way off..
A bit closer, now.
The Sintra world war one monument. Around 7,000 Portuguese died in WW1, although in Portugal 82,000 people died due to food shortages and 138,000 were killed by Spanish flu. Yikes.
Central Sintra. Just gorgeous buidings..
And not a bad place to approach on a bike. You can ride right up here.
Just a flying visit; I liked it, a very good couples city break destination I'd think. All being well I'll come back one day.
Being so close to Estoril I'm tempted to take a look at the GP Circuit. When I get there there's nothing going on and not a soul around..
I manage to grab a look at the start finish and the paddock area on tippy toes..
OK well on we go. I steel myself for the ride into Lisbon. In any event it wasn't too bad, the main road network can be a bit winding in the City on Seven hills as it is known, but no problem. We cross the Tagus on the suspension bridge. I've been under it on a boat a few times, so now its time to see it from up here. A couple of the lanes are not tarmac, they're metal mesh, so the bridge makes an interesting buzzing noise, like a swarm of bees as the cars cross over.
As a bonus a great view of the Rio Cristo Statue, the monument put up which gave thanks for Portugal not being part of WWII.
I avoid the toll part of the Motorway and head back to the 'N' roads. There isn't a rush but I wished I'd shelled out a couple of quid. The road to Setubal is busy and displays a lot of the bad side of Portugal's driving. The locals shape up to be overtaking, even though there's a convoy of traffic at 70kmh and there's nowhere to go. I patiently pass along the traffic to find a place to nestle where the driver is a little more relaxed and not tailgating to the extreme, it makes for a much easier experience.
After tea time I hit Setubal. I pick a place to stop in the shade and look for a hotel courtesy of good old booking.com. Hmmm. There doesn't seem a lot of decent choice, we have either pretty cheap or bloody expensive. I take a chance on one place, the Hotel Arangues. It's local and midtown set amongst apartment complexes, but sometimes you can't judge a book by the cover. ballistic and I found that last year with a very nice surprise in Spain. And it helps that the price is right. Just a few minutes and I'm there. At reception, they're really friendly and speak English- I can put the bike in the underground garage. "Go and put it there and come up in the lift, OK?" OK. This place is working for me
A big bed and a big bath. Yippee. I'm tired and my face feels glowing from the sunshine. Up to factor 30 tomorrow as I'm starting my red nose day celebrations particularly early.
With today being a diet day I just sit in the bar with a bottle of water and an apple to unwind and update a bit of this stuff. I turn in relatively early, have a bath and read some of my book.
Rock 'n' Roll people, Rock 'n' roll.