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Published: February 3rd 2010
SINTRA Day 14
After eating some delicious scrambled eggs/toast/cereal for breakfast I asked Guy for some advice on where to visit in Sintra. As it is only a 40minute train ride from Lisboa I had a good part of the day to wander and enjoy the sights of Sintra.
I got off the train and was blown away with how beautiful the city is. It is nestled in a mountain side so all the streets and houses are at various levels. I walked towards the city’s historic centre. The main street down has numerous statues along the side of the road all in the theme of the ocean. I walked past many houses with beautiful tile work and a number of fountains. There are so many things to look at that it is hard to keep my attention for any period of time as I am constantly catching a glimpse of something else equally beautiful.
I arrived at the garden of Quinta da Regaleira. This is an old estate that was owned by a wealthy family, the Regaleira’s, as their summer house. They wanted to build an amazing estate that reflected the concept of the cosmos. They enlisted
the help of an Italian architect named Manini. On the estate is the palace, the chapel, and the amazing gardens. The detail that went into all of these parts of the estate is bewildering. I was literally stunned when I began to walk into the property. It is literally enchanting and mesmerizing. My favourite part is the gardens with all of the ponds, grottos, fountains, wells, statues, and not to forget the flowers. There are even underground walk ways that take you up into an underground tower. I would highly recommend this place to anyone and everyone. I made my way down to the chapel and the palace that follow in the same theme with extravagant detailing. The chapel has beautiful mosaic tile work. The palace has amazing tile work as well but also extreme detail in the woodwork on the ceiling.
Next stop the Palacio da Pena. I took the bus to the top of the mountain and found my way into a beautiful palace. The palace has amazing tile work and furniture inside but unfortunately they do not allow any cameras inside. But there is a awesome triton statue in the window/archway of the castle. After exiting
the palace I remained on the grounds to walk around the park. I walked to the top of Cruz Alta which gives amazing panorama views of Sintra. It was a pretty steep hike to the top but very exhilarating. It also had a brilliant view of the Palacio da Pena.
I made my way back down the mountain towards Castelo Mouros. This is an old Muslim castle from the 19 century. There is not much left to it but the walls and turrets but it provides for lovely views and is still nice to walk around. Although with the many stairs I was starting to get a little tired as I was about 4 hours into my day of walking/hiking/stair climbing. I decided to head to the bus stop to help me back down the mountain
The bus apparently was as tired as me as the driver was struggling to keep the bus from sliding down the road as it had been raining. Thankfully he got us down to the better constructed road way that was far easier to maneuver. Back in the historic city I stopped in a shop and bought a gorgeous wrap. It is cream
with gold/beige embroidery.
I finally made it back to the hostel and had some dinner and some relaxation. Tomorrow I will head for Lagos in the Algarve.
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shanon
non-member comment
what a beautiful place!