Cascais and its charm ...

Cascais has a charm of its own ... that's undeniable.

It has kept the elegance of its royal past, which dates back to 1870 when it was turned into a citadel by King Luis II and later Summer residence by King Carlos I, but it must have been (I believe) during World War II and the influence of the exiled Royal families that its final "touch" was determined.

I hadn't been to Cascais for a while ... but woke up this morning wanting to get on the train along the coast and just stroll around the city, "re-visiting" the beaches, the House/Museum Count Castro Guimarães and Casa de Santa Maria.

To my surprise I was granted the privilege of visiting the Lighthouse of Santa Marta (dating back to the Seventeenth Century) now turned into a small Museum and the recently inaugurated "House of the Stories"- Museum of the Portuguese painter Paula Rego (2009) for the first time.

The Bay beach (Left). The Queen beach in the heart of the city (Right).

Museum/House of the Count Castro Guimarães (Restaured by the Count in 1910), as seen from the outside (Left) and as we walk into Gandarinha Park to visit its Museum (Right)

Cascais, as seen from the fortress (Left). The Lighthouse of Santa Marta and Casa de Santa Maria (Right)

Casa das Histórias - Paula Rego Museum 

"Every picture tells a story", said Paula Rego ... and this is as true of her paintings as it is of the images of Cascais ...