Today was a very long, very full day. So full that I am still processing all the sights and information I encountered today. We were running a bit late, so we opted to splurge on an Uber to take us the hour ride to Sintra. Unfortunately for us, we got stuck in terrible traffic and ended up being delayed by 40 minutes. We would have been better off taking the public transit after all! We did get a chance to chat in French with our driver: Teva’s face was classic when the driver asked if we could speak French, when he realized that we did not speak Portuguese. Teva was so excited that he could understand someone!
We arrived in the centre of the old part of the city of Sintra. The town has a labyrinth of narrow, windy, hilly cobblestone streets with quaint shops and pubs and restaurants (quite touristy of course), but very nice to walk around. This part of the city has at least 16 major tourist attractions. Because we were only there for part of a day, we managed to see three of the major ones, and took our time. As it was, it was too much information to cram into my head for one day anyway.
Our first stop was the National Palace of Sintra. It is the best-preserved medieval royal residence in Portugal, being inhabited more or less continuously from at least the early 15th century to the late 19th century. It is a significant tourist attraction and is part of the cultural landscape of Sintra, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. The artifacts were so interesting, with a mixture of architectural and decorative styles. The history behind the residents of the Palace was also fascinating. We were able to walk through the entire palace, including a couple of winding staircases up or down from turrets. There were several open courtyards, designed for interactions between royals and the court or guests; back staircases for servants to get around undetected; amazingly ornate royal bedrooms (floors, ceilings, walls, furniture); some quite plain royal bedrooms; and some quite fancy bedrooms of the lady in waiting. We spent about an hour admiring the rooms and certainly could have spent more. We were also very impressed with the gigantic kitchen (complete with three storey open white chimneys) that was able to feed hundreds of people at any given time. We all took so many pictures, so here are a few highlights…
Our next stop (after a long bus up the hill) was the famous National Palace of Pena. It is so unique with colourful turrets, beautiful tiling and sculptures, and gorgeous grounds. The only downside is that it was packed with people – you had to buy timed tickets, and we were just crammed in, moving very slowly though the building, waiting for our turn to look through the rooms. We did really enjoy the grounds though. It was the opposite of the experience inside. There were many trails you could follow through the lush vegetation and find some peace and quiet. We found several stone benches and thrones for the Queen, as well as a series of created ponds with small waterfalls connecting the water as we descended back to town.
After a long walk in the rain, our final attraction for the day was the Quinta de Regaleira. The property consists of a small romantic palace and chapel, and a luxurious park that features lakes, grottos, wells, benches, fountains, and a vast array of exquisite constructions. The palace is also known as “The Palace of Monteiro the Millionaire”, which is based on the nickname of its best known former owner, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro. The palace was designed by the Italian architect Luigi Manini.
This barely scratches the surface of the amount of photos we took. There were so many beautiful things to witness.
We could have stayed there for much longer but we were absolutely soaked and it was getting dark. We wandered through the cobblestone streets and found a tiny pub tucked away called the “Lord Byron”.
The food was delicious – we sampled more of the local cheese and olives, as well as eating a panini made of cod and tomato and cheese – not a combination I would have thought of, and it was great!
We also tried some Portugese Bandido cider
The pub slowly filled up and a variety of languages could be heard. It was a wonderful way to end our adventure in Sintra. By the time we finished dinner, Teva was hungry again. So, once the ferry had us back in Almada, we bought a snack pizza after 10 pm. It was loaded with veggies. This was the first of many late nights, always home after dark and with dinner later and later each night.
