Stunning Sintra

One place that is a must see when in Portugal is Sintra.  This UNESCO Heritage listed town is unbelievably beautiful, quaint, picturesque, romantic and just plain gorgeous.  Again it is very easy to get to - just hop on a train from the central train station in Lisbon and about 45 minutes later you are there. For the literary minded, Lord Byron mentions Sintra in his poem Childe Harold.

The walk from the train station to the town centre gives you a taste of the beauty but it still doesnt prepare you for it.  We arrived early in the morning and  the mist hung about the hills, it was a bit drizzly but that added to the mystery and beauty of the place. As the day progressed and the weather improved, we felt Sintra was being slowly revealed to us and it just kept getting more and more gorgeous.

The town square is quaint and has the National Palace (with the two huge, unusual  chimney's) and is definatley worth a look. The interior is quite impressive with lots of hand painted ceilings, amazing mosiac work and just the sheer size of the rooms. It was still inhabited until recently and is still used for functions, you could really feel the history of the place and couldn't help but wonder how it must have been to actually live in a palace like this. Heating the rooms must have been nightmare, but then that would have been the servant's problem!

After the Palace, we decided to have a pastiche stop (you may be starting to see a pattern by now) as we were going to do the four kilometre walk up to the ruined castle ontop of hills behind Sintra.  The walk itself is very pretty, as you wind your way through narrow , cobbled streets and up, up the hill.  By this time the sun was out and we were afforded some truly stunning views of Sintra below us as we climbed higher. We passed old,large houses that were painted faded pinks and yellows and had an air of once being loved very much. The forest was lush and so green (pretty impressive for an South Australian!!) with the sun filtering through, it was magical.

At last we reached the top and were instantly rewarded by a ruined chapel, complete with crumbling walls covered with moss  a pirate's grave and tempting glimpses of the castle walls and what lay beyond - for someone whom adores ruins, this was Nirvana.

Mac sat eating some fruit while I went to get the tickets.  With great enthusiam I bounced up the guard at the door and beamed at him
"Two please"
"No" he said, shaking his head, pointing down the hill
"Two tickets please for here" I said pointing inside the walls
"No ticket here, in town, buy in town" He said turning his back to me and that was the end of our conversation - Obrigada!!

I returned to Mac, despondant, itching to get inside those walls and explore the ruins! We then had a major holiday decision to make: do we complete a 16km hike to see the ruins, or cut our losses and continue onto the Quinta De Regalia? We chose the Quinta.  The walk back was just as pretty and we even stumbled on the house Hans Christian Anderson lived in for a while, so felt justly rewarded.

The Quinta de Regalia is one of those truly amazing places that I will never forget, built in around 1910 and a classic example of an eccentric with too much money to spend!  We spent 2 hours in the garden alone and could have spent another two hours easily exploring. The 'house' was gorgeous too, but as it was being renovated we didnt get to see too much. The rooms were just over the top in carvings, mouldings and mosiacs but it still had the most cosiest feeling as though a family still lived in it - I would have been quite happy to move in.

After a fortifying bowl of vege soup in the smallest restaurant - I think it sat all of eight people - and armed with our little map, we began to explore the gardens, over grown, lush and enchanting, there was definately something in the air. We followed the immaculate paths and came across towers to climb and view that damned castle on the hill! We followed the paths to ampitheatres and ponds and to the best bit of the whole garden - the Tower of Intiation.  The tower is a spiralling 30 ft, dripping with moss and water,stone creation that is built into the ground. At the bottom of the tower is the marble floor with a Mariner's star and dark tunnels running off in different directions.

We of couse had to explore all the tunnels and only one of the was actually lit, which added to the adventure and lets face it, you can have a bit of fun with the right person in a dark tunnel.  At the end of the tunnels, we ended up at a large grotto and the fun began again as you picked another dark tunnel to get back to the tower! 

Again time was our enemy and we had to leave as it was nearly dark and the Regalia was closing, so we made our way down the wide, elegant avenue lined with grecian statues and out onto the street.

After reluctantly leaving the Quinta, we ambled back into town along a pretty, tree lined road lit with fairylights, the little shops looking all warm and welcoming. We went into one of these cute shops and bought lambs wool ugg boots - daggy but very warm and comfortable.  We made the acquaintence of a local with a massive St Bernard whom strolled along with us, telling us how wonderful Sintra and Portugal are (couldnt fault him on any point) and they both made us feel very welcome. Although after cuddling his adorable dog, we discovered too late the dear thing had not been bathed in some time and my 'moist wipes' were back at the hotel - oh the joy.

Back at the square, the christmas tree was alight as were the trees with more fairlights, the winter chill had descended, people sat in the cafes drinking coffee and having animated conversations - it comfirmed that  this place truly is a living fairtytale.