Sintra and a Little Rain
We woke up a little extra early today to get to Sintra, which is about a 30 minute train ride from one of the train stations in Lisbon. Everybody and their mother, and her uncle got on our train — this month’s train strikes didn’t help … the prior train had been cancelled. And, Sintra is a popular day-trip tourist destination.
There are at least three main things to see in Sintra. We started though with coffee and pastry, have to keep the energy up. 😁
We then took a walk to the Quinta da Regaleira, which is a private palace and gardens several hundred years old. The gardens were beautiful, quirky and fun — they had crisscrossing paths, play areas, cave-like tunnels and a variety of imported plant life.
At the end of this stop the predicted rain began, but it was more of a light drizzle. We headed back to the historic district to have lunch. We decided to have a big lunch today knowing we’d be getting back to Lisbon late and tired. We know we sound like a broken record, but the Rick Steves recommend in Sintra hit the spot. We shared melon and prosciutto, again; it seems to be popular. We also had a Portuguese style steak and ragu (think stew) of veal. We shared it all. It was great.
As we sat down for lunch there was a street peddler making bicycle trinkets out of bended wire. He makes it while you watch — €1.90. We couldn’t resist and bought one. We can’t be sure but just maybe he had some special needs. He was talented and very sweet.
The next stop, about 1/2 mile away, was the Castle of the Moors, a much older structure from the 8th and 9th centuries. It was so great. Not only was there only a handful of people there, the ruins were fun to climb on, and the views of Sintra and beyond were spectacular.
In Jim and Kristi fashion, we opted to walk down to the town and train station. It was a lovely, well made path that slithered down the hill. It was a hard downhill hike for about a mile. We headed right for the train station and were able to just squeeze onto the next train back to Lisbon.
We were so beat. It was a good, but long day. We head out of Lisbon tomorrow for what we think and hope will be Portuguese paradise.
There are at least three main things to see in Sintra. We started though with coffee and pastry, have to keep the energy up. 😁
We then took a walk to the Quinta da Regaleira, which is a private palace and gardens several hundred years old. The gardens were beautiful, quirky and fun — they had crisscrossing paths, play areas, cave-like tunnels and a variety of imported plant life.
We agree that as nice as the gardens were, the palace was great, one of the best palaces/castles we’ve ever seen. It was quite small — but packed a punch. The intricate tile and wood work was really nice. Is it Versailles? No, but it also had many fewer visitors.
At the end of this stop the predicted rain began, but it was more of a light drizzle. We headed back to the historic district to have lunch. We decided to have a big lunch today knowing we’d be getting back to Lisbon late and tired. We know we sound like a broken record, but the Rick Steves recommend in Sintra hit the spot. We shared melon and prosciutto, again; it seems to be popular. We also had a Portuguese style steak and ragu (think stew) of veal. We shared it all. It was great.
As we sat down for lunch there was a street peddler making bicycle trinkets out of bended wire. He makes it while you watch — €1.90. We couldn’t resist and bought one. We can’t be sure but just maybe he had some special needs. He was talented and very sweet.
It was then time to head up the hill, a 1000 foot elevation gain, to visit the other “must do” sites. We had a 3:30 pm entrance ticket, and because of our lack of understanding about how far and crowded the route is, we just barely made it in time — via tuk-tuk.
We were among the 7000+ people just today to visit Palacio da Pena — a castle. It was a beautiful place, but the number of people made it a beast to enjoy. We did it, we enjoyed it, but we were happy to be free of the hoards of people. Think Disneyland crowds but more, and lines, but no fast pass, no Dole Whip, and no Mickey. 😂
The next stop, about 1/2 mile away, was the Castle of the Moors, a much older structure from the 8th and 9th centuries. It was so great. Not only was there only a handful of people there, the ruins were fun to climb on, and the views of Sintra and beyond were spectacular.
In Jim and Kristi fashion, we opted to walk down to the town and train station. It was a lovely, well made path that slithered down the hill. It was a hard downhill hike for about a mile. We headed right for the train station and were able to just squeeze onto the next train back to Lisbon.
We were so beat. It was a good, but long day. We head out of Lisbon tomorrow for what we think and hope will be Portuguese paradise.
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