A day trip out of Lisbon
Good morning, and happy Friday!
When I found out at the airport that my surprise destination was Portugal, I sent an SMS to a former colleague who is based there. She and I got in touch during the weekend, and she came and took us to see the mountain city of Sintra, which was the summer retreat for the Portuguese nobility. There are so many palaces and noble homes there, all different and stunning!
The Palacio da Pena
The entrance gate to the palace: it is a drawbridge--as this was the royal palace, it was the highest!
Another angle
The gargoyle gate
The view from the top of other castles below
On the descent out
As we exited we took a wrong turn through the Parque da Pena, the former grounds of the palace--lovely landscaping and a beautiful walk! But, we got lost and wound up finding the Castelo dos Mouros instead of the car.
These are the ruins of an old Moorish defensive castle we'd seen from above
After much hiking we reached the castle
More stunning views!
We then descended to the town of Sintra--we missed seeing the Palacio Nacional da Sintra--next time! We had lunch in Sintra and then went along the coastline to visit some of the seaside towns.
Cascais: my apologies, as this is a new camera I am still getting used to it--hence the hideous horizon!
An afternoon coffee in Estoril, the building was another former palace, now a museum. It was so pleasant I went wading in the water!
We returned to Lisbon, and we'd had so much fun that she invited us on another getaway.
When I found out at the airport that my surprise destination was Portugal, I sent an SMS to a former colleague who is based there. She and I got in touch during the weekend, and she came and took us to see the mountain city of Sintra, which was the summer retreat for the Portuguese nobility. There are so many palaces and noble homes there, all different and stunning!
The Palacio da Pena
The entrance gate to the palace: it is a drawbridge--as this was the royal palace, it was the highest!
Another angle
The gargoyle gate
The view from the top of other castles below
On the descent out
As we exited we took a wrong turn through the Parque da Pena, the former grounds of the palace--lovely landscaping and a beautiful walk! But, we got lost and wound up finding the Castelo dos Mouros instead of the car.
These are the ruins of an old Moorish defensive castle we'd seen from above
After much hiking we reached the castle
More stunning views!
We then descended to the town of Sintra--we missed seeing the Palacio Nacional da Sintra--next time! We had lunch in Sintra and then went along the coastline to visit some of the seaside towns.
Cascais: my apologies, as this is a new camera I am still getting used to it--hence the hideous horizon!
An afternoon coffee in Estoril, the building was another former palace, now a museum. It was so pleasant I went wading in the water!
We returned to Lisbon, and we'd had so much fun that she invited us on another getaway.