A 45 minute train ride from Lisbon takes you to an enchanted place, Sintra. But first, the morning view from our terrace in Lisbon.

cropped-spain-0061.jpg

The place is crazy.  I mean, this is what you see when you come around the bend on the trail.

Sintra Castle

Stunning, I expected a Portuguese version of Tinkerbell to fly out and sprinkle fairy port on us.  Actually I was hoping for that because I love Port.  Once inside, it was very castle like, but the views, spectacular.

A view from a terrace
A view from a terrace
From the Rear Wall (I think)
From the Rear Wall (I think)
Some Local Homes (I'm thinking nobility lived in these)
Some Local Homes (I’m thinking nobility lived in these)

Once we left the castle, we headed into the gardens.  As the story goes, the gardens are a mixture of Mediterranean and Northern European forests, put together as an experiment. The resulting foliage is truly remarkable and the gardens themselves, very peaceful and beautiful.  The downside is that one could tell that a despot seems to have put it together.  Think, “Carve a stone couch there, and while you are at it, the ducks need houses that are nicer than yours, so build some in the middle of that lake you dig.  Oh, and have it done by Wednesday”.

Check these out.

That is one funky tree
That is one funky tree
The White Swans
The White Swans
And In The Next Pool, The Black Swans
And In The Next Pool, The Black Swans
The Foliage
The Foliage
One Of The Duck Houses
One Of The Duck Houses

Finishing up in the garden, we crossed the road and hiked uphill about 2km to Castle Mourous, the old Moorish castle.  Pretty spectacular in itself, but not in a good state of repair.  Refurbishment is in progress.  Still, an imposing structure.

Mourous
Mourous

And with that, we were done.  Caught the train back to Lisbon, knowing we were on a plane in the morning in our plane, train and automobile run to Toledo.  Loved Portugal, and will definitely be back.  Way more to see there than one can do in 60 hours.

 

 

 

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19 responses to “Off To Sintra, Portugal”

  1. Lottie Nevin Avatar

    What a lovely surprise to see your follow, thank you! I meant to leave a comment earlier about Cintra but got sidetracked(I’m writing this from an airport transit lounge in Manila, en route to Hawaii) Your photos are great and really capture the feeling of the place. I’ve been to Cintra and was enchanted; not just by the splendour of the place but also by those divine custard tarts (pasteis de nata) and the coffee – hope you got a chance to try them too 🙂

    1. John Phillips Avatar

      We had then at Castle Sao Jorge in Lisbon, washed down with some port and watching a brood of peacocks. I enjoy following blogs that are different and have owners that are not shy about commenting lol. Just going through some of your posts now. Safe travels and pop by anytime.

      1. Lottie Nevin Avatar

        Thanks John – I love the idea of the custard tarts with a glass of port – very stylish, wish I’d thought of that and scrubbed the coffee idea. I’ll be back for sure to see what you are up too as I’m now following you here, and on twitter. My battery about to die on the laptop… and I’ve still got 5 hrs to wait till the next flight – what a bummer! speak soon, Lottie 🙂

        1. John Phillips Avatar

          I’ll return the Twitter follow Lottie. Talk soon

  2. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    Seems like you’re having so much fun!

    1. John Phillips Avatar

      Maybe to much fun. It was a great trip

  3. El Guapo Avatar

    (Mr Scott voice) Me thinks the tree is not so funky as the man leaning against it.

    Great pics John, beautiful.
    And now I want a duck house.

    1. John Phillips Avatar

      I was, frankly, startled at both the beauty and the despotishness (is that a word) of the place. Literally built as a whim and pretty much used up the royal treasury.

  4. aFrankAngle Avatar

    More than one person has told me about the joys of Portugal – a place we haven’t visited. Thanks for the confirmation. Being new … what are you thinking with Genoa?

    1. John Phillips Avatar

      We are pretty flex on this right now. Lori has cousins in the uk that we see on a regular basis. They suggested it and now we are trying to build a trip around it. Sienna, Milan, Pisa, then maybe Switzerland or Austria, and Bavaria? Been to Florence. The fun is in the planning.

      1. aFrankAngle Avatar

        Wonderful … but if in Genoa, don’t forget Cinque Terra!

        1. John Phillips Avatar

          Absolutely. We did amalfi a couple of years ago along with Rome. Spectacular. Love Italy

          1. aFrankAngle Avatar

            Absolutely … Been there several times … actually qualify for dual citizenship … currently considering a trip to visit an aunt and first cousins.

            1. John Phillips Avatar

              Lori has dual uk. Thinking we should pursue that.

              1. aFrankAngle Avatar

                We did a Baltic cruise in this past fall … have you been to that wonderful region?

                1. John Phillips Avatar

                  Not yet. We did a cruise to the Canary Islands and Madeira in October. Quite the experience. Be blogging that in a while.

                  1. aFrankAngle Avatar

                    I look forward to it … if interested … our trip starts here … http://afrankangle.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/on-amsterdam/ ….. there should be a link near the end of each post for the next port.

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