Blogs from Sintra, Portugal, Europe - page 3

The next day we set out early because we have about three and a half hour drive to Porto, the second largest city in Portugal after Lisbon, with a stopover at Sintra, located just 40 km northwest of Lisbon. Sintra is famous for its fairytale 19th century Pena Palace and Park located in uneven terrain of Sintra mountain range. After passing the quaint little town of Sintra, the road becomes narrow and twisty. The vegetation in this vast forest is extremely lush and tree branches create a continuous natural canopy. The temperature outside is dropping slowly as we gain elevation. After we park our car at a designated parking lot, we hike up towards the Pena Palace and Park entrance. Perching majestically in one of the highest points, Pena palace exhibits a profusion of architectural styles ... read more

Castelos dos Mouros is the remnants of the castle we explored today built by the Moors around the 9th century. It is part of the UNESCO world heritage site of Sintra on a mountaintop near Lisbon. Sintra also hosts Portugal's royal palace and other cultural and historic siites. The first hour of the hike up from the train stop at Sintra is steep narrow cobblestone switchbacks through the upper part of the town with lovely rooves, turrets and tiled walls - Women with spiky pumps navigating the steep cobblestones was simply bizzarre. Then it becomes a series of steep paths up to the Castle ruins. Simply unimagineably doing this in battle gear or carrying anything wiithout horses... Kim and the kids walked high above the ruins and stratospheres above Lisbon on the remaining ramparts. I battled ... read more

At this point, I must compliment my wife on her excellent planning. When we left our Tia Fernanda (hopefully allowing her to regain some semblance of calm and order after our invasion), we landed in Lisboa proper and into the waiting arms of the "This is Lisbon" hostel. I had wondered what Maria had been doing all those days before we left, hunched over in front of the computer and printing off pages to be inserted into the The Pink Book. Well, the Book became a light in the darkness, let me tell you. Me and the kids would be staring into the distance, likely whimpering or arguing, whilst Maria would be coordinating a) a solution to some unforseen problem or b) a delight to enjoy of which we could scarcely imagine. The "This is Lisbon" ... read more

Its another beautiful fine day and we're going to explore the source of Portugal's famous port wine, the Douro Valley. On the way we are charmed by the town of Amarante, locals flowing out of the church as we enter the square. Its an idyllic spot with a sunny cafe, the river and old stone bridge, and the old church. Keith is happy to soak up the square's atmosphere, sitting near an accordian player while we explore the church. Pulling aside the thick red curtain we discover yet another delightful church interior, and in the adjoining courtyard a well-worn row of confessionals. I briefly consider taking the opportunity, but unfortunately the dimensions were not designed for wee frogs. We follow the Douro River up the valley. The steep hills have been extensively terraced to provide footholds ... read more

got to airport 2hours early to pick philippa up. had a bit bother working out how much parking cost and walked on some train tracks a few times.ha ross got wrong off some miserable cow for sitting on the barrier, what a stare! decided to drive to cabo da roca tnight and through some fog and be scared. found the lighthouse in the end and we're all ready for bed now after figuring out what that noise was!!!! ... read more