Alright guys today is a day trip day.
We have left Lisbon behind.
We got on at the station in Rossio to come all the way out to Sintra and this place is
known for its castles and its palaces.
So yeah, we've been here once before but we spent a little too much time eating and hiking.
Not enough time visiting the palaces so we are back for round 2.
In terms of cost it was 5 Euros per person for a roundtrip ticket.
Yeah.
And it was about 30 minutes.
Yeah.
Not very far.
Just 30 or 40 minutes.
Not far at all.
And we've arrived and we're ready to explore.
We're here.
Let's begin.
But you guys know the drill.
First things first, we needed to grab a quick bite.
We spotted a cafe serving up pastries, paninis, and all sorts of baked goods, and that was
all the convincing we needed.
Oh that was a nice picture back there.
We're having food before we do any activities.
We've come to this nice little cafe.
It is really cozy.
It is called Cafe Saudade.
We've placed orders for paninis and we're also getting dessert.
We're getting a little regional cheesecake so yeah it should be delicious and that should
give us the energy to go explore the main attractions here.
Alright Sam introduce us to your meal of the day.
Well lunch is panini and we've had these a few times now since we've been in Lisbon.
Well, I should say in Portugal and they're such good value.
They're inexpensive and they're big and they're filling and usually delicious so let's try
that.
So you went for the classic and the cheese?
Ham and cheese.
Oh yeah.
That is awesome.
So my panini has also arrived.
This one is called the San Antonio and it came with sardines, goat cheese, lettuce,
tomato and a balsamic vinaigrette.
I've already had a bite out of this one.
It was so good.
It has got a lot of ingredients I've gotta say.
Mmmhmm.
I can't wait to try it.
Haha.
Really really nice.
So Sam is going to sample the desserts.
First off we are starting with the queijada.
We got two little local treats.
So this is the queijada.
Well we ordered the second one when we saw how small the first one is.
Yeah, that is true.
We needed one more.
That is a true story.
It does appear dense though.
Yeah.
What do you think?
Oh wow.
That is so different that I would have imagined.
Yeah.
It doesn't taste like cheese.
Like cheesecake.
It tastes like super very cinnamon-y.
Yeah.
Oh wow.
Overpoweringly with the cinnamon but it is very tasty.
And then over here we've got the this one is called the travesseiro.
It is coated in icing sugar.
Yeah.
And it is like a flaky pastry and it it stuffed with an almond paste.
Mmmm.
Oh wow.
With our appetites satiated, we continued our stroll through town, and then decided
we should probably hop on a bus, and save our legs for visiting the attraction that
brought us all the way out here: the Pena Palace.
Alright guys so let's talk about transportation because once you're in Sintra you still need
to reach the palaces and those are deceptively far away.
Yeah they are.
You can see them up on the hill but last time we were here Sam and I tried hiking and we
only made it to one and we had to call it a day.
So this time around public transport was our choice.
Was it 434 the bus number?
Yes, it is bus number 434.
These are the tickets and we paid five Euros and fifty cents per person for a roundtrip
ticket.
So that brought us up the mountain and we're going to take the bus down as well.
So you do have the option of hiking, there is a bus.
Tuk-tuks.
A local bus.
There is tuk-tuks and there is yeah one of those city sightseeing buses.
Yeah.
So there is a plethora of options to get up here.
Mmmhmm.
But we took the public bus and we're glad we did.
It was the cheapest.
Once we reached the gates of the Pena Palace we purchased our tickets, and began the climb
to this colourful, whimsical, and somewhat kitschy construction set atop a hill in the
Sintra Mountains.
Though Pena Palace’s history dates back to the Middle Ages, what you see today dates
from the 19th century, with construction of the current castle completed in 1854.
You may think that this place looks like a mish-mash of different styles, and that’s
because Pena Palace is a Romanticist castle, that was influenced by Gothic, Manueline,
Moorish and Renaissance architecture.
The commission for this castle was given to a German amateur architect, and the King’s
only request was that “this palace should reflect an opera” - whatever that means.
Alright guys.
We are now inside the palace.
We've toured the outside and enjoyed the colors.
Now we're going to see what the interior is all about.
The tour of the interior of the palace followed a carpeted-route that guided us through a
chapel, bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, and a kitchen - all decorated with historical
furniture to reflect how it would have looked when the Portuguese royal family lived here
before their escape to Brazil during the revolution.
Then we stopped for one more glimpse of the surrounding hills, and it was time to head
back down.
Well well we just finished touring Pena Palace.
Yeah.
Let's talk about that.
Yeah, we sure did.
So it is deceptively large.
So when you see it from a distance like when you first arrive in Sintra.
Oh that is a pretty small attraction.
Yeah.
But then as you start taking the bus or you're hiking up there and you actually reach the
palace you realize it is big.
And it takes quite a while to explore all of it on the exterior and then there is also
you get to tour the inside of it as well.
Yeah.
It is quite it is very colorful.
You have the bright yellows and reds and the colorful tiles.
Colorful tiles.
So many different styles.
Yeah.
It is almost it is a bit eclectic really.
It really is.
And you also get amazing views as well.
Mmmhmm.
And so it is the kind of attraction where maybe before you actually arrive here if you're
coming from Lisbon you think all yeah I've got all of the time in the world to visit
here also go to the Moorish Castle and also do some other things in the city.
Yeah.
But unless you arrive early in the day it is pretty rushed.
Because that takes a couple of hours.
You could easily spend anywhere from one and half to three hours here so.
Yeah exactly and initially we were planning on visiting the Moorish Palace as well.
And we've realized there is no way that is happening.
We're tired but we'll put a link right up here because that was two years ago we did
visit it.
Yeah, and so you can watch that video if you want.
Alright and now let's talk about the price.
Alright how much did we pay for it?
The price was 11.50 Euros for adults.
My parents got a senior discount at 9 per person.
And so yeah for the four of us it came to 41 Euros.
Um it was good value because like it is quite an impressive attraction.
And yes, that’s all we did in Sintra that day: ate lunch, rode a bus, and visited one
palace.
We’re not kidding about maybe coming here for 2-3 days, because there’s way more to
cover than you can on a day trip!