Hello, hello, hello!  I don’t even know where to begin!  I’ve been MIA over here, but that’s because Luis and I were on a week-long vacation visiting Portugal’s most amazing beaches and then when we got back, I immediately hit the ground running with work and doing things.  Anyway, here I am, almost 2 weeks later, finally recapping our trip.  I don’t consider myself a beach expert, but I have to say- Portugal has some of the nicest beaches I’ve ever seen in my life.  Think crystal clear water, fine, soft sand, and the perfect breeze (sometimes too much breeze, actually).  

We were gone for a week in total and split our time between two ‘home bases’- Estoril for 3 nights and Lagos for 3 nights and then Lisbon for 1 night.  We flew in and out of Lisbon and rented a car with Goldcar, which I think is absolutely necessary if you really want to take advantage of what the coast has to offer.  But also the car was expensive as /$·&”//$& to rent, so do your research.

As soon as we arrived in Estoril (super early, thanks 7:30 am flight), we took a nap.  Ha!  Good start to the trip, no?  But thennnnn, we got up and headed straight for the beach.  Our first day, we stayed close to home and visited Estoril where they have these beautiful natural pools and are full of people splashing (even though the water is FREEZING – a recurring theme throughout the week).

After lying around for a bit, we went in search of some lunch and had, what ended up being the first of MANY, plates of fresh, grilled fish (with a side of potatoes / salad). This restaurant is called Restaurante Bolina. We ordered sea bass and bacalao, and both agreed the bass was better.

And wine.

Because nothing says vacation like putting away an entire bottle of wine before 4 pm. Once we were stuffed and happy, we walked around for a bit and explored the nooks and crannies of this beach.  

Mid-afternoon, we jumped back into the car and drove over to a beach called El Guincho, which was absolutely beautiful, but also the windiest beach I have ever experienced.  Talking about sand flying and smacking you in the face.

It’s like Instagram vs. reality – don’t believe everything you see on the internet 😉

To end the night, we drove a short distance over to Cascais where we sugar loaded.  First, a coffee and (again, first of many) pastel de nata, which is basically an egg-custard creme pastry.  And so good…fill me up with them.

Then we had ice cream.  Homemade, expensive af ice cream that was a good walking buddy for us.

To end the night, we made salads and watched tv back at the house where we were staying (i’s called Villacerta, if you’re looking for a decent (and clean!) place to stay in Estoril.

Day two started with a nice run!  We went back to El Guincho, but just to run along the windy roadside. 

We found this nice nature trail that we ran along, as well.  As soon as our run was finished (about 40 minutes later), we jumped in the car and headed for Costa Paparica where we first had lunch.  More fresh fish and….wine.  This restaurant was called Restaurante Primavera.

We sat on the beach for awhile, then had ice cream and coffee and made the drive to Lisbon, where we spent the evening walking around.  Have you seen this market in Lisbon called Time Out?

It’s a huge market full of food stalls offering every type of food you can imagine.  We tried to chicken curry from the Asian Lab and it was super good!  I loved the coconut rice and it was spicy, too.

After eating, we walked around a bit more and then called it a night.

The next day, we spent the day at the Peninsula de Troia at Comporta beach, which was totally natural and not very full.  Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my camera this day, but here are some iPhone photos.

On our final morning in Estoril, we visited Playa Fonte da Telha  to go for another run.  This beach was super natural, with just a small beach town and some parking spaces.  Luckily, we found a path, which I am going to guess was about .5 mile long.  We ran the path 2x (for a total of a little over 2 miles) and did some push-ups along the way.  Not bad for a make-shift workout!  After our sweaty (really really sweaty) run, we had coffee (for him) and sparkling water (for her) with views that can’t be beat.

From there, we drove 2.5 hours to Lagos where we spent the remainder of the week.  I can’t wait to share, but here’s a little teaser 🙂