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Published: June 13th 2017
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Magpies
DAY FOUR
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Many things to see; many things seen.
Following breakfast at the Ritz, we boarded our coach for a half-hour transfer to Sintra, a resort town in the Sintra Mountains. The Moorish- and Manueline-style Sintra National Palace is distinguished by dramatic twin chimneys and elaborate tilework. Sintra is known for its 19th-century Romantic architectural monuments, which has resulted in its classification as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Like most, this castle has a lot of history. There are tales of religion, war, love, kings and queens and bears, oh my.
One of my favorites is the Magpie Room, a tale that looms larger than life. It seems the king had a dalliance with a cute young thing, and when the queen caught him in flagrante, he denied everything and never discussed it again. He ordered everyone on the staff to be quiet on the subject too. When the ladies in waiting continued discussing the issue, the King had one ceiling painted with Magpies, one for each of the 136 gossips.
The tour features beautiful architecture, tile, intricate furniture and room after room of unabashed wealth.
Following the tour, we stopped in a few of Sintra's shops. I purchased a black and white necklace made of polyester wire – very intriguing. Then we were whisked off to our next stop: Cascais (pronounced Kush-Kie-sssh), a coastal resort not far from the city.
The town is famous for its yacht harbor and sandy beaches. Surfing, sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing are popular due to favorable weather and wind conditions. I saw a guy at the Lisbon airport carrying around a full-size surfboard and couldn't figure out why. Such an oddity for a Midwest girl. Perhaps he was headed to Cascais, where there are the occasional 65-foot waves. Danger, danger Will Robinson, the waves end in reefs of treacherous rocks.
On the way back to the hotel, we (Patrick, Anne and I) exited downtown. I went to the only Starbucks I'd spotted and purchased a Portugal souvenir collection series mug. Happy camper me.
We then went for a thrill ride in a taxi cab (the Portuguese are famous for their reckless driving), up one of the San Francisco-like steep hills to Castelo S. Jorge, a Moorish castle with a commanding view of the city and its suburbs.
We lunched at Casa de Leon up top, and ran across Marjorie and Bob Kuehnau, and Joe and Joan Sell,
from our tour. We went in to the castle and headed up several of the steep and very narrow stairways (with a voice like a metronome). Views were spectacular.
We had planned to walk back down the hill from the top, but my knees sent me a message not to. I'm glad we're sitting on the bus a little while longer tomorrow. The uneven tile sidewalks wreaked havoc on my knees.
We came back and rested up and headed out for dinner at Via Graca, a restaurant highly recommended by Jeanne Rogers, a friend from St. Louis. The view of the castle, illuminated at night, was more than we could have hoped for. We stepped out of our comfort zone and tried a fried cod appetizer; doubt we would order it again but interesting to sample. Three of us sampled Grouper with Shrimp and Rice, a dish not unlike bouillabaisse. Patrick had a yummy veal tenderloin with mustard sauce. We reviewed the dessert menu but took a pass, even on the cottage cheese and pumpkin jam delicacy!
It was a lovely evening.
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Kirchoff, Nancy
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Fascinating! I always wanted to visit Portugal and now it is a pleasure to find it is way past my expectations. Have fun! Hi to Anne, Barcy and Patrick!