Day trip to Sintra and Cascais
Because we don’t have a lot of time in Lisbon, we decided to do a tour of the nearby towns with a guide. Reasonably priced when you consider it was a private tour, just the 4 of us, and they picked us up and returned us to the apartment. Also seemed like a good deal because it was raining, not hard but just enough to get good and wet if you decided to walk.
We’ll visit two towns, Sintra and Cascais (pronounced, “kash-k eye sh) with a company called, Walkborder, who specializes in private and small group tours. This is an all-day adventure with an early start so we beat the dozens of other tour groups that descend on these two towns each day.
First on the agenda is Sintra, a popular tourist town located about 40 minutes outside of Lisbon. The town, situated in the Serra de Sintra mountains in western Portugal, and because of its’ cooler temperatures and milder climate, has attracted kings and other nobility to build castles, mansions and vast gardens here. Out tour will take us to Pena Palace, a Romanticist castle built by King Ferdinand in the early 19th century, and then into the town of Sintra where the National Palace is located and then on to lunch.
Palacio de Pena, as it is called in Portugal, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. Legend has it that near the site of the palace, an apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared in the 16th century. Soon after, a chapel was built to honor this event and later a monastery. But our visit today will be the Palace. Built between 1842 and 1854, the palace is a mix of several architectures including, neo-Gothic, neo-Islamic, Romantic and others. No longer used by royalty, the castle is today a tourist attraction maintained by the state.
Model of the castle
A foggy entrance
Seashell representing the Earth on 3 turtles (American Indian belief)
Courtyard
The kitchen
Moorish gate
The family dining room
Ye Royal tub
Finished our tour of the castle and drove down to the town of Sintra to see another palace, the Sintra National Palace. This well preserved medieval royal residence is easily recognized by its distinctive twin conical chimneys and mullioned windows. The palace was closed when we arrived due to renovation so we took a few snapshots of the outside and the vistas then off to lunch.
National Palace
Sintra
Sintra
Remains of Moorish castle
National Palace chimney
Carlos, our guide, suggested a local restaurant for lunch. It was a small place known by locals to serve “genuine” Portuguese food at a reasonable price. We settled in and had appetizers before our main curse arrived. These were traditional dishes of various sausages, croquettes, and clams, some with sauce and some with bread. All were pretty tasty.
Clams
Croquettes
Sausages in a bun
Our main dishes were just as traditional, a Jewish sausage called ‘alhera’ that’s made from various kinds of meats but no pork, and “on horseback” meaning with a fried egg on top; a seafood souffle; and a rice and seafood dish. To complete the meal, good local wines.
Alhera on horseback (with a fried egg)
Seafood and rice
Seafood souffle
After the meal we had one last local specialty to try, Ginja. Ginja is a cherry liqueur made locally but sold everywhere in Portugal. Just the thing to cap off a good lunch and long morning of walking.
Yeah, that’s a smile, not a grimace
As luck would have it, the rain never stopped. Something about going to the beach in the rain just doesn’t appeal to many folks. We did do a drive through Cascais, but that’s where it stopped. Lots of waves, rocks, sandy beaches and rain! We’ll come back here when it’s not raining. Time to head back to Lisbon for a glass of wine and relax. Another day of exploring tomorrow so until then- caras mais tarde.
Cork trees
Cascais coastline
Cork tree harvested in 2007
