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Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Lisbon, Portugal to Caceres, Spain : Scenic Road Trip to History by Avanza Bus (Medieval Caceres Series1)

Lisbon, Portugal to Caceres, Spain 
Scenic Road Trip to History by Avanza Bus
Medieval Caceres Series1 

It was our last day in Lisbon and we had an
early breakfast at the Radisson Blu Hotel,

 

…and spent the whole morning packing up.


We took a taxi to the Gare do Oriente

 

…or the Lisbon’s East Central Terminal,


...for our noon time trip to Caceres, Spain,
our third stop for our European Spring vacation.


The Gare do Oriente is combined bus, train and metro.
It is apparently Portugal's busiest station, handling more
 passengers than New York's Grand Central Station.

 

The station was built as part of the Expo 98
designed an modernized gothic architecture.


The station is attached to the large Vasco da Gama
shopping centre, where bought really huge grapes,

 

 

...that we snacked while waiting for our bus to arrive.


Tha Avanza Bus arrived at noontime,

 

…we took our assigned seats, 
and left Lisbon on time at  12:15 PM.


The bus was modern and comfortable, 

 

...it had a TV for entertainment, and a clean toilet.

  


The bus leisurely cruised to the Moscavide,


…and Portela areas,

 

…before leading to the Ponte Vasco da Gama.

 


The Vasco da Gama Bridge is a cable stayed bridge
flanked by viaduct that spans the Tagus River in
Parque das Nações in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal,


...to the municipality of Montijo, in central Portugal and was
was built to alleviate the traffic on the 25 de Abril Bridge.


It is the longest bridge in Europe,
and a sight to behold.


The modern cityscape of Lisbon, was replaced by
 the bucolic view after crossing the bridge to Montijo.

 

 

Acres and acres of farmlands,

  

 

…and scenic pastures,




…as far as your eyes can see,

 

 

…was such a refreshing sight.

 

 

The modern expressway,
flanked with the rustic landscape,

  

 

…and remote country roads.

 

…give a relaxing serenity,

 

…that could lull a traveler to a peaceful slumber. 

 

The bus was supposed tohave a stop in Setubal, 
and I would have loved to see the town,


…but the bus just passed thru
the town without stopping.

 

From Setubal it was a long drive at Portugal’s 
 Evora district, that again rewarded us with the
 amazing countryside views of scenic farms,


…rolling hills of pastures,


…and rustic country houses.

 

We also caught the sight of
the Castle of Evoramonte.

 

…alternately spelled Évora Monte
or Évoramonte, it is a hilltop castle,


…and an important landmark,

 

… that we are already in close
proximity the town of  Estremoz.

 

The Estremoz skyline was dominated
by another hilltop medieval castle, 

 

…called Castelo de Estremoz ,

 

 

…which has apparently
been converted to a hotel.

  

 

From Estrermoz, it was again a
long drive along modern highways,



…sandwiched between rolling pastures,

 



...lovely country houses,

 

…along lonely country roads.




A little later the driver announced that we are
 soon entering Spain, thru the town of Elvas.


Elvas is also known as
the Garrison Border Town ,

 

…situated on the arid plains of
the Portuguese-Spanish border.

 

 

We arrived at the Spanish border town of Badajos,
located at the autonomous region of Extremadura Spain,

 

…. the capital of the Province of Badajoz.


 It is the first town on the
Spanish Portuguese border,


…that lies on the left bank
of the Guadiana River.



The bus will have a thirty- minute
stop in this city and we were happy,

 

 

…as we could stretch and rest for
a while midway on this journey.


The Badajos Central Bus Station
was a moderately sized facility,

 

…it was spanking clean,


…and had a very welcoming ambiance.

 

We were tempted to buy some
indigenous homemade sour candies,

 

…and enjoyed nibbling
them inside the bus.

 

The bus left Badajos with a new driver
on time, exactly after thirty minutes,


…and slowly cruised out of town,

 

…passing thru some of
the town’s historic places.

 

Finally we were on the arid countryside,

 

…on our last leg of our journey,

 

…to the ancient city of Caceres.

 

It was the last two hours of 
our almost six hours trip,

 

…from Lisbon, Portugal to Caceres, Spain,



…and we were greeted by acres and 
acres of flatlands serving as farms 

  

 

and pastures,




…interspersed with ancient ruins,

 

…and lonely country roads.

 

…we arrived late in the afternoon
at the Caceres bus station,


…took a taxi to  Apartamentos Turisticos Encanto, 



…located right at the heart of
one of  oldest district in Spain,

 

…and this would be our home for the next five days 
on the third leg of our European spring vacation.


3 comments:

  1. Hey can I also visit Spain with my Portugal Schengen Visa UK? The trip seems like an Idea I cannot avoid!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice blog post.
    John according the Portugal visa fees and requirements and documents you apply for portugal visa if you are UK resident because UK Citizen do not require a portugal visa.
    After searching so many agents and VFS global date, Last year i have applied my portugal visa with portugalvisa.org.uk i suggest to anyone this agency with good customer support and instant visa approval

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very nice article. It covers almost all the points.
    I am on the portugal tour. If you want to travel for portugal then you need online portugal visa and check the portugal visa requirements before applying the visa.

    ReplyDelete