I recently spent a month in Rita's comfortable apartment and it had everything I needed for my home away from home. It's location in the center of the historic district on a lovely, well lit & very safe street meant I didn't need to rent a car. It was only a short walk to a beautiful park right around the corner, all kinds of shops, restaurants, and outdoor cafes, the waterfront, & the museums. I enjoyed the lively streets by day & night but then liked how quiet it was for sleeping at night being up on the top floor. It has a neat old elevator which is so welcomed when you have luggage or groceries in tow, although I walked the stairs 99% of the time to get me ready for walking Lisbon's hills.

One of the best features of the apartment is the wonderful sheltered terrace and I wish I had gotten more sunny winter days to enjoy it. But on rainy days I walked to the museums in town and most of them had free admission which was so great because you could just pop in to them on a whim and not feel like you had to see everything in them all at once to "get your money's worth".

Cascais is such a charming town on the sea, so well kept, so near the many attractions on the coast, and conveniently located with trains & bus lines available for day trips.

Rita is the nicest host you could ever hope for and even picked me up at the airport and arranged to have her brother drive me to Lisbon for the next part of my trip because it would have been hard for me to manage all my luggage along with my little dog on the train. As much as I want to learn Portuguese, it's slow going so thankfully Rita spoke English well. And she was so welcoming, so flexible in the check in & check out arrangements, always available if you think of anything you need, and was just such a pleasure to meet.

Although I am loving Lisbon right now, I was a little "homesick" for Cascais at first. I missed how clean the streets were kept, the big grassy park I visited several times a day with my dog, the gelato place right up the street, Santini's, the pasteis de nata (yummy custard tarts) around the corner at "The World Needs Nata", and the nightly walks along the seaside promenade at sunset.

I have a feeling I will be returning one day. Meanwhile, thank you Rita for all you did to make me feel so relaxed and at home in your & Bart's place. You helped so much to take the stress out of my first time traveling alone to Portugal!!!! Muito Obrigada.