Lisbon

Ola
The following day, we're off to Sintra which is an historic town (I suppose they all are) in the hills about an hour from Lisbon. We catch the train there and arrive at the Sintra Train Station which is a tiny beautiful old building lined with the iconic blue tiles. When we leave the station are accosted by every transport hawker in town - but choose to walk into town ourselves rather than a tuk tuk - its only 15 minutes or so, but all up hill!

Sintra train station

Tiles inside Sintra train station

Inside Sintra train station - beautiful tiles

Lovely town centre including gardens of the Sintra Palace, now a museum.

Beautiful gardens around Sintra Palace

Sintra Palace

Sintra - looking up to Sintra Palace

We enjoy coffee and coke and a pastel de nata (of course!).

Little Pastel de Nata shop in Sintra - of course we had one!

We buy the hop on hop off bus ticket to get us up to the Moorish Castle and Pena Palace (otherwise it's a veeery steep walk about an hour uphill around winding narrow streets - no way!!). The bus is packed so standing room only - twists and tight turns around very narrow streets where the road side walls were slightly wider than the bus - but all good. We finally reach the Moorish Castle and hop off to have a look around. €10 each to get in - walk up, down and around steep steps and great views but choose not to go all the way to the top - too high!! It's all a little under whelming - and we learn that it's not actually a "castle" but ruins of one. Oh well, they say the Palace is much better - so back on the bus and up we go.

Moorish Castle wall

View from old Moorish Castle wall

Moorish Castle walls

Around Moorish Castle walls

Once we get to the Palace at about 2pm, we learn that the next permitted entrance is 2.5 hours away ie 4.30pm (we didn't pre-book tickets - o oh!), so we choose to walk around the Palace, its gardens and chapel (again up and down steps). Absolutely magnificent Romanesque style Palace (UNESCO World Heritage Site) - we are astonished as to how a structure of that size could be built on top of a mountain in the late 1800s (finished 1854)!! It started as a monastery in 1493 - a place of quiet meditation. Then after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the monastery was reduced to ruins but the chapel in the monastery survived. Then in 1838 King Ferdinand II decided to acquire the monastery and set out to transform the remains into a summer palace for the royal family - as you do! There's quite a bit to see and all amazing buildings, towers and arched walls, Bob takes 876,543 photos (ok, slight exaggeration) so there's a bit of culling to do!

View up to Pena Palace

Pena Palace

Pena Palace

Pena Palace

Pena Palace - another side

Pena Palace

Pena Palace

Kerrie - outside Pena Palace

Bob outside Pena Palace

View from arched walls at Pena Palace

Pena Palace

Tower of Pena Palace

View from top of Pena Palace - overlooking Sintra

Inside tiny Chapel at Pena Palace

Inside chapel at Pena Palace

We finally catch the trains (two required) back to our apartment and arrive at about 6.30pm - both pretty buggered. Luckily there's a lovely little wine bar next to our apartment building so we head in there for a well deserved vino and something light to eat (fresh figs with cream cheese and walnuts plus focaccia - absolutely delicious!).

Adeus for now