I hired a guide/driver with expertise on the castles and palaces of Sintra to take me on a day trip to explore the area. He picked me up at 9am and we spent the whole day exploring the magnificent architecture and the breathtaking coastline of Portugal.
Pena Palace
The first stop was the most popular palace, Pena. We arrived shortly after it opened but I still had to wait about 30 minutes to get inside. The tourism drove me to the edge of insanity but the beauty of the palace was incredible. There is an old palace built on the ruins of an old monastery and then a newer addition added to later.
It was quite the hike up to the palace from the bottom entry
There are huge gardens around the palace you could spend a lot of time in
The spectacular Chalet da Contessa D’Edla built for King Ferdinand II’s second wife
Quinta da Regaleira
A crazy Gothic monster that is dripping with adornments everywhere you look! I chose to tour a different palace than this one(could only pick 2 to go inside because of time), but my lovely driver Goran took me by so I could see it and get some photos. I’m so glad we did, it really is pretty amazing!
Monserrate Palace and Gardens
Save the best for last, in my opinion! I was in awe of the gardens and the amazing beauty of Monserrate!
I’m not one to ooh and aaah over gardens but these were amazing! Fern gardens, waterfalls, a Mexican garden, rose garden, reflecting ponds….it blew me away!
The Mexican garden was by far my favorite most impressive!
These were the most gigantic succulents I’ve ever seen! People on the left for scale!
We then left Sintra and headed to the coast. Goran knew I loved architecture, so he took me on a special stop to Portuguese architect Raul Lino’s family home in Azenhas do Mar. It was a cute little structure, designed in a very traditional Portuguese style sitting on the most amazing cliff overlooking a huge drop down to the ocean. I loved the colors and the narrow windows!
I hate heights, this is a forced smile
Cute Azenhas do Mar. The crane is shoring up the side of the cliff so it doesn’t fall into the sea! Really cool pool that fills with ocean water on the beach too.
Next was on to Cabo da Roca, the most western point of Europe. This was a tourist hell hole and mobs of Chinese people were waiting to get their picture taken with this dumb stone tower. I took a quicky and we got the hell out of there!
Quick stop at Boca do Inferno
Last stop was Cascais. I was so tired I just grabbed a tea and walked around a bit. Pretty boats in the harbor!
Where's Lindsey? 