You haven't really been to Portugal if you haven't been to the beaches, I'd say. Only "problem" is choosing one. This countries has so many, and all are beautiful. In the end we choose the Ericeira area, and had fun exploring the cliff line and playing flotsam washed ashore.

Sunset at Ribamar. Muito obrigada for a lovely last day. I'm looking forward to come over again!

Sintra is probably the most popular day trip destination from Lisbon. My sister and Tiago were busy, so I joined a group of Australian round-the-world-trippers on an organised tour, run by "We hate tourism Tours". And that guy really lived up to expectations! Knew little about dates or dynasties, but everything about crazy Portuguese driving and where to best climb the walls into Quinta da Regaleira, one of Sintra's UNESCO-listed palaces. The castle is surrounded by an enchanted labyrinth of mythic grottoes, esoteric statues, ponds and wells, like the "Initiation Well", something like an upside down tower, opening out into a narrow underground tunnel, supposedly symbolising the journey from hell to paradise... Whatever the real history, in his youth our tour guide must have had a wonderful time here! Apparently the whole Regaleira estate wasn't touristically developed until some 15 years ago. Back then, there were no fences, no rules, no controls - and hallucinating youngsters from Lisbon used to err around the Quinta's magic forest from Friday night till Monday morning. Our guide kept repeating "Don't eat the plants. I know. There're deceptive. It's no good..."

We had lunch at Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe. The cape makes a nice pick nick spot, but apart from that, as you can see, there is not much to see. Been there. Done that.

Lisbon. For 2 years already my sister Anna-Ziska and boyfriend Tiago have been living here together. But since Chile and Portugal are not exactly neighbours, I could never come to visit, ...until now. While Florian had to return to Chile (you cannot take all vacation days at once), I had a chance to get acquainted with the Portuguese way of living, stroll through the winding alleys of their Alfama neighbourhood, listen to Fado artists, and spend some quality time with both of them. 
In the picture below, Tiago is just laying out all kinds of conspiracy theories on why Christopher Columbus must have been from Portugal, and, how come Portugal had a revolution with 4 dead people, where nobody died...??

Downriver of Lisbon's Golden Gate look-alike lies the district of Belém. It is full of history from the Age of Discoveries. Both Vasco da Gama and Luis de Camões have their tombs here. It's funny. Only a couple of years ago I thought "history" was just a sequence of pointless wars, thus boring. Besides, the post-GDR era was probably not the best time to have lively debates on world politics :-(( But with all the reading, talking and travelling of recent years, the big picture finally evolves. It is exiting to see why things happened while others did not, and to actually understand the spirit of a time. Why, for instance, was Africa not conquered by China in the Middle Ages? And so on. My current history book recommendation: Niall Ferguson (2011): Civilization. For those exhausted from all the sightseeing, Belém has a special treat - the yummy Pastel de Belém. Portuguese people are crazy about sweet pastries in general, but this one is by far the most popular. Belém's bakery sells more than 100000 Pastel de Belém every weekend, and queues are loooong. That little pastry shop is a clear gold mine. Whoever owns it, won't ever need to worry about their pension again.

On the other side of town is the ultra-modern Expo '98 complex. Here you'll get a nice contrast to historic Alfama or Belém. There are many shops, restaurants, and Lisbon's impressive aquarium. The riverside promenade is also fun to explore. All in all, seems like a good city to live in!