Friday, May 26, 2017

Sintra

Our next destination was Sintra, a 3-star site of royal palaces and gardens, etc., that everyone raves about. Our Sintra experience did not start well, missing a turn and the official RV parking lot. We parked elsewhere and got to experience a 2k hilly trudge to the main palace and environs. The place was overrun with tourists and tour buses and touristical tuk-tuks and trinket shoppes. We peeked in at the palace gift shoppe, and, upon examination and reflection, decided we'd leave royal Sintra for another visit. Maybe another life-time. We nonetheless plodded the crowded alleys and further shoppes, and then had a more or less peaceful walk back, through one of the gardens, to the parking lot and our camper. We proceeded on.
One of the palaces, the one whose gift shoppe we toured

Checking out what we were considering, en video

Ditto

OK, if not jaded, we were a bit tired

Panning around, looking up at the ancient Moorish castle way
up there in the heights

More panning

More castle

Based on Cinderella's castle
 
The town

Would you believe Sintra has not one, 

Not two, but three Byron restaurants? He wrote of the place as
"Eden"; one wonders what he'd make of it now; would he have
liked tapas or queijos? Super Bock?

We stopped of course at Piriquita's for a pastry fix

Obviously wearing Kevlar pants

The park was impressive, and nearly deserted

















Royal tennis courts?

Big beauty

Magnolias in bloom




















1 comment:

Tawana said...

Now, we loved Sintra. I had never heard of it before, but Cara had looked it up and decided we should go. We enjoyed the town...rode the train there, I think. Had a port tasting at a little shop, and ate at a RS recommended restaurant for a meal that was wonderful. Not hordes of tourists when we were there, so maybe that is why our experience was different.