Today we travelled to the town of Sintra, which is about 30 kilometres from Lisbon. Some of us travelled by train from Rossio train station which is near to our apartment and others (Steve and I) by Uber, which was about $20 EUR.

Sintra is certainly a tourist town enclosed by beautiful pine forests, windy roads and castles. If we come back to Portugal again I would certainly consider spending a night here in Sintra, as there is so much to do and see but simply not enough time – unless you want to race between things and not have the time to breathe in the incredible feeling of this almost whimsical little town.

The Quinta da Regalieira is a neo gothic mansion (which you can quickly race through – as there isn’t much to see as it is undergoing significant refurbishment) because it’s outside where you truly want to be.

The garden has lots of hidden passages with lots of mystical symbols. We didn’t have an audio guide and I would recommend grabbing one as there is so much to see and experience. The main attraction is a Knights Templar (Poco Iniciatico) well. It is extraordinary, I found it very easy to imagine getting lost in the tunnels or hearing the chants of the Knights Templar. The well expresses the symbolism of life and death, paradise and hell and that you cross between these by passing several stages. The stages are represented by each of the floors – truly fascinating and a tinge Dan Brownish…

We then we walked down the hill for lunch in the village and caught up with the rest of the group who had been through the Castle of the Moors and Peña Palace. The general consensus was that the Castle of the Moors was the more interesting of the two.

We finished our adventure to Sintra going through the National Palace of Sintra. The Palace is a bit of a mixed bag of architectural periods, medieval, gothic and romantic. The Palace dates back to the 14th century and was a resident for the Royal family until Portugal became a republic in 1910. Like the streets of Lisbon the Palace is decorated with magnificent Portuguese ceramic tiles many that have Moorish geometric styles.

And the remarkable wooden ceilings ..

And finally the massive kitchen which is well equipped if you are having the neighbours over for a bbq.

A train ride home which included just a touch of excitement which a mad dash to get on board for our last night in Lisbon, take out from our local Italian restaurant Nonna Goes Crazy.

Lisbon has been incredible. So much to see so I’m glad I had sneakers packed as we’ve hit 10,000 steps a day without any effort. Tomorrow we head for Morocco.