We are feeling refreshed this morning after a good night’s sleep. I think we are getting on top of the jet lag. Looking back at yesterday the three things I liked the best were:

The Castle of the Moors. There was just a raw, brutal honesty to this place, nothing superfluous or frivolous. The Pena Palace was one cultured and artistic powerful man’s fantasy at his summer palace and the Quinta Regaleira was another wealthy man’s fantasy about Templar and Freemason rituals. The castle was built from materials at hand on the site, was as efficient and economic as possible and at the end of the day its success or failure was a question of life or death.

The Initiatory Well, Quinta da Regaleira. This was just such a wonderful, crazy thing to do. Even without the hidden meaning of the number of steps and columns etc it is just so eccentric.

The Kitchen at The Pena Palace. When walking through historic palaces, homesteads, colonial cottages etc, I get a bit over going through grand halls, dining rooms, bedrooms, nurseries and the rest, but I always find the kitchens fascinating and the one at the Pena Palace was a beauty.

If you are in Lisbon then a trip to Sintra is a must. Places are quite spread out so it is a full on day to get to even three things as we did. If you want to see more then multiple trips are required or else go out and stay at Sintra for a day or two.

There are dozens of companies in Lisbon who run guided tours to Sintra. We wanted to visit three places but most of the tour companies only visit two as they almost all include going to Cascais, an historic fishing village now a swanky beach resort and Cabo da Roca which is continental Europe’s most western point. The most western point of a European country is Bjargtangar in Iceland.

The Pena Palace

The Castle of the Moors

Quinta Regaleira

And the rest.