Sintra

Today was our day trip to Sintra. We met our guide Nadia at Plaça Restauradores, outside the front of the Hard Rock Cafe (which is as close as we will get to it). Seems to be a popular meeting point. There were five of us on the tour, a lovely young couple, John Paul and Sammy from the US and Marci, an older lady from Brazil who doesn’t speak any English, and us. Nadia our guide was vivacious, passionate and full of life, and she is very knowledgeable about Sintra. On meeting her, we were given hugs and kisses, and were soon on our way out of Lisbon and on the road to Sintra. As we don’t speak Portuguese and Marci doesn’t speak English, Nadia had to chop and change between the languages, which she did without issue. She also pointed out various things to us on the way to Sintra, and we also started to get to know John Paul and Sammy. On arrival in Sintra, which is full of small winding and narrow streets, Nadia pointed out some of the important landmarks on our way to Quinta da Regaleira our first stop. This was the summer home of the wealthy industrialist António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, who engaged Luigi Manini, a talented scenographer and architect, to design this quite romantic and luxurious estate with wonderful gardens, grottos, caves and a most magnificent well.

Nadia gave us some of the background to the estate, and then once she got us in, she left us to our own devices to explore the estate for the next 2 hours. On her advice, we made our way to the Poço Iniciático - Initiation Well - and it was magnificent. As it was early, the crowds weren’t too bad, and so we were able to explore the tunnels at the bottom of the well. From there we zig zagged across the estate discovering all types of wonderful little structures and gardens along the way. It was all beautifully designed, and paid homage to nature and the circle of life. The well was my favourite part of the estate, although the gardens ran a close second. This 19th Century estate is quite magical and fantastical in its design and a pleasure to explore.Read more