That beach you can see thru the clouds is Estoril. About 30 minutes train ride from Lisbon (Cais Do Sodre). The walks on the boardwalk from the terminus station Cascais (a bit dark because of the shadow of the cloud) to Estoril with the family are absolutely some of the most cherished memories I have of Portugal. The colorful houses and the cobblestone lanes in Cascais are a sight to behold. Also, the boardwalk has a lot of restaurants and wine shops to sit down and enjoy the views on the way.

The first time I had come to this place was over two decades back. I was exploring Portugal by myself that time. There was a new mall that had come up outside CasCais train station. I had gone in to check out the food court there and the first place I ran into was an Indian restaurant!! Wonder if it is still there!

It was the beginning of a 7 city trip. Clearly has become 8 cities now. The 11pm flight last night from Boston got delayed to 2am. That is the bad news. The good news is that they canceled the flight altogether at midnight. Overnight stay in Boston and rerouted thru Amsterdam now.

Let’s see if I got my country count right – USA to Netherlands to Portugal to Poland to Czech Republic to United Kingdom back to USA.

The only thing I have learned from all these years of flying is to take a Zen like attitude towards flight disruptions. I will get there when I get there. Else I will get somewhere else!!

Now for the second attempt to cross the pond.