Day 4 Sunday - Sintra and Quinta Da Regaleira
Sunday, we set off early, saying goodbye to our lovely hotel and a sleepy Bairro Alto, to Rossio station for our train to Sintra.
As trains only ran hourly on a Sunday, we were advised to get there early as the 10am train would be full of daytrippers, they were not wrong!
Goodbye Lisbon!
It was a very easy journey to Sintra and once we managed to get off the station (it took around 15 minutes to get us all off the platform as one of the ticket barriers was faulty) we found our hotel just down the road - Espaco Edla - based above a quaint cafe filled with art and delicious looking cakes. We were too early to check in so they took in our luggage for us to go out for the day and return early evening.
We were around a 10 minute walk to the historic centre, a pretty road that curved around the valley with beautiful views of the town and gardens opening up to us.
on this slightly overcast day, it didn't feel very Portuguese, with the hills winding around us we felt we could have been in the Peak District (with more colourful twiddly buildings of course!)
Spent some time exploring the quaint centre with its alleyways and vistas, sampling port and ginja, then took an early lunch at Cantinha Byron.
An iconic little cafe bar perched on a steep corner with an outdoor table that features in every blog post and Instagram on Sintra! We sat inside though, as it was actually a little chilly out, entertained by a gorgeous little dog who was suddenly my best friend when my food arrived. :-)
The afternoon was spent at Quinta da Regaleira, an incredible garden and house built in the Gothic / Manueline style, a short walk on from the centre of town. The house was small but exquisite but the star was the gardens, featuring towers, cascades, grottoes, woodland walks, underground tunnels and most notably two initiatic wells, or inverted towers, which took you down into the dark tunnels. Being a Sunday, the place was rather busy, with many a battle for photo spots, but the overcast weather was perfect for the day - not too hot for all the climbing and clambering and made the monochrome structures surrounded by greenery stand out.
a small sample of the many, many photos taken - go here for the full gallery
found the initiatic well - it was busy but an incredible thing to visit
through the tunnels and we came across another well
another tunnel exit took you to the cascade and stepping stones
thankfully Rob didn't capture the moment when a lovely passing lady rushed down to rescue me after I froze and couldn't move off the last couple of stepping stones!
lots of wandering up and down stairs, never quite sure whether we'd retraced our steps or discovered a new little tower or water feature
entrance to more tunnels!
a labyrinth grotto - the clue was in the name
the chapel
a quick rest outside the castle before we went in
only a few of the downstairs rooms were open but those were beautifully ornate.
After nearly 4 hours exploring we took our tired feet to a nearby medieval bar - Casa dos Faunos. Probably more Irish than medieval but if the weather was better, the view would have been stunning. I had an interesting drink which consisted of cider, rum and lemon. It would have been perfect for a sunny day, but I was getting cold, having left my warmer layers in the luggage.
When we left the pub, Quinta and the hills behind had vanished! A rainy mist had suddenly come down and we had a long damp walk back to our hotel, all the taxis and tuk-tuks touting for business outside Quinta had typically disappeared.
Checked into our accommodation, a pretty and cosy place, with an odd layout which consisted of many keys and a bathroom down the corridor. We had a coffee downstairs to warm up, then back to our room to refresh and unpack for the evening.
I had booked a table at a restaurant recommended by a friend, Dom Pipas. Good choice! This was more like a local taverna, with a fantastic menu - so difficult to make a choice!
I had a traditional Portuguese soup to start, consisting of a clear broth, coriander, lumps of cod, big pieces of bread soaking in the broth and a poached egg on top! It was odd but very tasty. I had veal in a port cream sauce for mains, which was heavenly. Rob went with the waiters recommendation of scabbard fish, which was definitely not the swordfish he was expecting! It was quite bony but a simple and tasty fish.
Once again we were too full to go out for a drink after the meal (and Sintra is not exactly a nightlife hub anyway!) so we had an early night watching telly in our room.
All the photos for this day can be seen here