Booked a full day tour to Sintra (and more). Our little group of 8 met and headed for Pena Palace, which sits on a hilltop with a view of Sintra National Park and the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately for us there was no view today – the fog was thick, but it added to the mystique. The castle itself was 19th-century Romantic and in three parts – all different architecture which sounds dreadful, but it worked. It reminded me of Neuschwanstein – bigger but not quite so overdone but the crowds were just as thick. It was good we got there early. We then had some time walking through the beautiful gardens before making our way into the town where we had some free time for lunch but a few of us decided to skip lunch and visit to Quinta da Regaleira and visit the wells which you can go down 27m into, stroll through the great gardens as well as inspect the house which was built by a millionaire for his summer house. Inside was beautiful but outside could have been built for the Adams family. It was quite unique. We then headed for Cabo Roca for a stroll and some photos on the westernmost point of Continental Europe. Our final stop was at Cascais, a former vacation destination for the Portuguese Royal family where we discovered an excellent ice cream shop in our wandering around the old town. An excellent but long day – over 13 km and so much of that was up hills or stairs. Discovered that the bar in our hotel does €6 mojitos.
