On our second day in Portugal we hopped on the train to Sintra. It is about a 45 minute ride from the city. Sintra lies between the city and the Atlantic and has been described as one of the loveliest spots in the Iberian peninsula. We hit three of the sites while we were there. Our first stop was the Palacio Nacional which was the former royal palace.
After the palace we walked around the town a bit and stopped for a bit to eat. At the cafe we were introduced to our second amazing pastry, queijada finas de sinta. They are very interesting and hard to describe. They have them packaged and they have a bit of a shelf life so we were able to bring some home with us.
Our next stop was the Castelo dos Mouros, which was originally built in the 8th or 9th century. The remains and surrounding flora was impressive. The altitude of the castle is 1408 feet, and for a brief moment (it was very over cast, at some points we could not even see ten feet in front of us) the clouds parted enough that we could see the Atlantic. Our next stop was the Palacio da Pena. It is one of the most interesting places I have ever seen. It is described as a "fairtytale castle" and I would not disagree. The fog was so thick I was not able to take any good pictures.
We had a fast snack and then headed back into the city for a late dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment