As much as we love Lisbon, we decided to take a day trip to Sintra, All the guidebooks and guides, including cousin Valeri Vellanti-Moore said it was a "must-do." So our navigator Pete found our train number and off we went to see the Palacia Pena. It was about 1/2 hour ride and we got a chance to see the outskirts of Lisbon. As with other big cities it became apparent that there was plenty of poverty. And lots of graffiti. Interesting and colorful graffiti. Everyone is an artist here!
Sintra! It's a stunning picturesque and well-manicured town. The stone facades are overflowing with orange, purple and fuscia flowers and we are wowed by the artistry of nature. The walk into the center of town is uphill and lined with stunning sculptures, stone walls and more abundant flowers than you can imagine. There are horsedrawn carriages standing by. The entire town is surrounded by parks and the vegetation is prolific. The sun beats down relentlessly here and so we look for shade to walk into.
In the center of town we have a discussion. Tour the palace with the twin "tagine" conical chimneys, or head up the hill to .
the palacia pena, King Ferdinands monument. We are a bit eager to stretch our legs and so we choose the uphill route to the palace. Ignorance was bliss. Up, up. up. up. up. endless...up. We had no clue how far it really was. Its sure was a pretty walk, and we passed million dollar homes that sparked our fancy but the palace was at the top of the mountain. Why we didn't understand that before I don't know. The king always get the best view!
what a tree!
We did manage to keep cheering each other on until Danny sat down on a stone wall and I saw the look on his face. Not good. We thought we were pretty close but to be on the safe side I hailed a couple in a van and asked them to take him to the top. They said OK and I thought they understood. NO.
Lindsey Pete and I finished up the walk in about 15 minutes and looked around for our fellow pilgrim. Entrance? no. Cafeteria? no. gift shop? no. Ask the guard- can you radio? no. Where is he? I must admit to fantasies of a medical emergency at this point. Pete galvanizes us to take stations, me on the ramparts and he and Lindsey below. After some anxious minutes tick by Danny comes strolling up from below. It tu'oeins out that the van couple DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH and WERE TOTALLY LOST. They wound up back at another entrance to the park and Dan jumped on the trolley back up. Now we actually knew there was a trolley! Turns out the guy was a farrier and was onsite to shoe the horses and it was his first time there. Lost
We never saw them again.
We have a nice lunch in the cool cafeteria and calm down.
On to the palace. It was a former monastery and was rehabbed by the current king into a summer palace. Nice! The place is undergoing massive renovation but its quite stunning with trompe l"loeil frescoes and rooms for all the secretaries and ladies in waiting. There is a massive courtyard that was the reception area and the carvings surrounding the facade are dramatic. We dub the one at the entrance "King Gorgon-zola" because it's a very scary rendition of King Neptune, complete with a merman tail and tridents in hand.
After a few more photo ops, and our fill of the tilework, glass (the king collected it) we catch the trolley back to the entrance and quickly make a decision to take a cab back to town. We were sapped.
The adventure continued with our very friendly cab driver who was so proud of the wonders of
sintra that he took us to yet another castle on the other side of town, assuring us it was so beautiful we couldn't miss it. We paid him, got to the entrance, looked at the castle and each other and said, "no mas."
Couldn't take another castle today. We started the long walk back to town and Danny heard the unmistakable chug of a diesel engine. Yes indeed it was our cab driver looking very confused. We hailed him, jumped in and LOAO. (laughed our **** off). The poor guy probably thought we were crazy.
Next up, a little stroll though the tiny shopping area for a possible souvenir. We looked at beautiful tiles, lots of dishtowels, tablecloths etc. Danny wound up in a wine store. Surprised? The local specialty is Ginja, a dee-lish cherry liquer that you drink out of the chocolate cup and then eat the chocolate cup. Its everywhere,
Somehow we were invited to the back room to taste the "angel's pee" Kind of disgusting name but boy oh boy- its quite a yummy almond liquer.then we had to taste the cheese and port jam. and the salami. WE emerged from the shop carrying shopping bags. The tourist seduction was complete. Back to the train and Lisbon. Tired. Hot.
We needed dinner and Lindsey and Pete had spotted a little joint close to train station. Maybe 6 tables in total, and our waiter looked like he wore the same vest for the past twenty years. Out came the bread, cheese and ham that comes without asking. Then came the true magic of a fabulous Portuguese red, clams that were sweet, tender and garlicky, stewed pork chunks, grilled lamb chops and the creamiest potatoes you can imagine.
Back to our main street in the Chiado district to stroll through the lively night life, enjoy the street music and eat gelato. A day of delight and laughs. We may have been lost, but we found a lot of fun and had a truly memorable day,
Sintra! It's a stunning picturesque and well-manicured town. The stone facades are overflowing with orange, purple and fuscia flowers and we are wowed by the artistry of nature. The walk into the center of town is uphill and lined with stunning sculptures, stone walls and more abundant flowers than you can imagine. There are horsedrawn carriages standing by. The entire town is surrounded by parks and the vegetation is prolific. The sun beats down relentlessly here and so we look for shade to walk into.
In the center of town we have a discussion. Tour the palace with the twin "tagine" conical chimneys, or head up the hill to .
the palacia pena, King Ferdinands monument. We are a bit eager to stretch our legs and so we choose the uphill route to the palace. Ignorance was bliss. Up, up. up. up. up. endless...up. We had no clue how far it really was. Its sure was a pretty walk, and we passed million dollar homes that sparked our fancy but the palace was at the top of the mountain. Why we didn't understand that before I don't know. The king always get the best view!
We did manage to keep cheering each other on until Danny sat down on a stone wall and I saw the look on his face. Not good. We thought we were pretty close but to be on the safe side I hailed a couple in a van and asked them to take him to the top. They said OK and I thought they understood. NO.
Lindsey Pete and I finished up the walk in about 15 minutes and looked around for our fellow pilgrim. Entrance? no. Cafeteria? no. gift shop? no. Ask the guard- can you radio? no. Where is he? I must admit to fantasies of a medical emergency at this point. Pete galvanizes us to take stations, me on the ramparts and he and Lindsey below. After some anxious minutes tick by Danny comes strolling up from below. It tu'oeins out that the van couple DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH and WERE TOTALLY LOST. They wound up back at another entrance to the park and Dan jumped on the trolley back up. Now we actually knew there was a trolley! Turns out the guy was a farrier and was onsite to shoe the horses and it was his first time there. Lost
We never saw them again.
We have a nice lunch in the cool cafeteria and calm down.
On to the palace. It was a former monastery and was rehabbed by the current king into a summer palace. Nice! The place is undergoing massive renovation but its quite stunning with trompe l"loeil frescoes and rooms for all the secretaries and ladies in waiting. There is a massive courtyard that was the reception area and the carvings surrounding the facade are dramatic. We dub the one at the entrance "King Gorgon-zola" because it's a very scary rendition of King Neptune, complete with a merman tail and tridents in hand.
After a few more photo ops, and our fill of the tilework, glass (the king collected it) we catch the trolley back to the entrance and quickly make a decision to take a cab back to town. We were sapped.
The adventure continued with our very friendly cab driver who was so proud of the wonders of
sintra that he took us to yet another castle on the other side of town, assuring us it was so beautiful we couldn't miss it. We paid him, got to the entrance, looked at the castle and each other and said, "no mas."
Couldn't take another castle today. We started the long walk back to town and Danny heard the unmistakable chug of a diesel engine. Yes indeed it was our cab driver looking very confused. We hailed him, jumped in and LOAO. (laughed our **** off). The poor guy probably thought we were crazy.
Next up, a little stroll though the tiny shopping area for a possible souvenir. We looked at beautiful tiles, lots of dishtowels, tablecloths etc. Danny wound up in a wine store. Surprised? The local specialty is Ginja, a dee-lish cherry liquer that you drink out of the chocolate cup and then eat the chocolate cup. Its everywhere,
Somehow we were invited to the back room to taste the "angel's pee" Kind of disgusting name but boy oh boy- its quite a yummy almond liquer.then we had to taste the cheese and port jam. and the salami. WE emerged from the shop carrying shopping bags. The tourist seduction was complete. Back to the train and Lisbon. Tired. Hot.
We needed dinner and Lindsey and Pete had spotted a little joint close to train station. Maybe 6 tables in total, and our waiter looked like he wore the same vest for the past twenty years. Out came the bread, cheese and ham that comes without asking. Then came the true magic of a fabulous Portuguese red, clams that were sweet, tender and garlicky, stewed pork chunks, grilled lamb chops and the creamiest potatoes you can imagine.
Back to our main street in the Chiado district to stroll through the lively night life, enjoy the street music and eat gelato. A day of delight and laughs. We may have been lost, but we found a lot of fun and had a truly memorable day,
1 comment:
Had me laughing with losing Dan and "angel's pee."
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