Madrid in Orange....

Madrid had some lovely fall oranges...

Lisbon in Yellow....

It's Fall Colour Week over at Poppytalk and the color today is yellow. One of the things that I loved most about Lisbon is that it is a town of yellows. I'm not quite prepared to post all of my yellow Lisbon photos just yet, but as today is yellow for Fall Colour Week, I thought I would post just a few...

A Wee Town by the Sea...

I spent a very short period of time by the sea in Portugal in a little town called Cascais. I could have stayed for a week wandering the streets and watching the little fishing boats in the harbor...

Real Jardín Botánico of Madrid

One of the places I didn't get to during my June trip to Spain was the Madrid botanic gardens, which had been at the top of my list of places to go. I was determined not to miss it on this return trip. 


I arrived late in the morning on a cloudy day expecting to stay for an hour or two but it was such a lovely place, I couldn't tear myself away. I wandered the shady lanes taking photos for more than 6 hours. A blissful, restful day that could not have been more perfect. The temperature was perfectly cool, the skies were gray but not threatening and the dahlias were in full and perfect bloom. Even the squirrels were excited, running here & there, chattering loudly while dropping acorn tops on my head...

Positively Playful Palace

On my first full day in Lisbon, a few of us went to Sintra, which is a tiny little town just outside of Lisbon, to see the Pena National Palace, which looks like a little castle.  I've never seen such a lively, colorful palace before and would like to have spent many more hours wandering through it.

The outside of the palace, while worn and obviously very old, was brightly colored in hues of red, yellow & blue. Perhaps my favorite part of the castle were all of the vibrant tiles, some with a raised texture to them, and the bold doorways. Apparently they chose to build on this hill because of the great views over Lisbon and to the sea, which makes for better defense. It's a beautiful location surrounded by a huge lush park and a short walk to the cute little historical town of Sintra with it's twisting cobblestone streets and ancient buildings.

Return from Portugal & Spain

I'm finally home from my Portugal & Spain trip. The wedding was incredibly fun and it was great to see my friend Glenn. I haven't seen him he came to Bali in 2003 for our wedding because he's been living in Saudi Arabia, but it was like no time had passed. Which is what I love about great friends... The saddest moment of course was saying goodbye, not knowing how long it might be before I get to see him again.


There wasn't much time to see Portugal but I did get to spend a couple of days wandering the streets of Évora and Lisbon before returning to Madrid for the last week of my trip. I saw just enough of Portugal to know that I'd like to go back someday. 


I have lots of photos which will take a while to get through but here are a couple from one of the prettiest buildings that I saw my first day in Lisbon.