Through a space warp, to Disneyland?

We easily catch the 714 bus to the Rossio station where all trains lead to Sintra. We step off the train 45 minutes later, into the crisp mountain air of Sintra, a whopping 375 ft above sea level. But there’s hills, and greenery and vistas so it feels like a mountain. And like the tourist destination it is, there are busses, tuk tuks and taxis waiting to whisk us away further up hill. To the Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle), and the Pena Parque and Nacional Palacio.

We’d read several blogs and the consensus was to spend your time wandering the hilly paths in the Parque, view the Palace from the outside, forget the mobbed tour of the interior. From the outside, the Peña Palace…did we travel through a space warp to Disneyland?

To say we strolled doesn’t quite capture walking the steep,  winding, uneven stone paths. Still, the birds were chirping, the greens were glowing, and the air had just the right amount of chill for our exertions.

 Well, of course there was a quiosque near the palace.

On to the Moorish castle for a few battlements.

A pleasant day in the hills, wandering the paths, climbing battlements, sighing over vistas. We eventually descended into the old town and toured the National Palace of Sintra. Big bird theme here.

The meal. There were a million cafes and restaurants. Our strategy is to cruise the menus (always posted prominently) until we both say “hey, ya, there’s a few things here I’d like”.  We found a winner immediately. 

We started by sharing an octopus salad that was a savory delight. For a main course, I had beetroot risotto that came with slices of goat’s cheese on top. Heavenly. Grubb had bacalhau (cod) done in traditional style. I had to stop him from licking the plate. I may have mentioned how much I’ve come to enjoy sangria. This one came packed with fresh raspberries, blueberries, oranges, lemons, a cinnamon stick and sprig of mint.