October 16 Sintra

Started the day with a quick look at the Blue Jays games - a huge win. We then walked to Rossio station to catch the train to Sintra. Just missed the 11:01, but caught the 11:41. Lots of seats.

Super touristy at first - hounded by people wanting to guide us about. We by passed them and headed up a steep path to the Moorish castle at the top of the hill. We’d been told by tourist office that it was a difficult 2 hour climb and we should take the bus. The first part was lovely, but it did get steep later, with lots of uneven steps - meant a bit of scrambling but was doable. Entering the castle of course required a payment - 10e for seniors. John negotiated to get us on as a family of 4 for 30e.

The view was impressive. As it was now after 3, we negotiated with a young woman who drive us down to the city for 20e. Well worth it - she was from Brazil and spoke some French but little English. Learned a bit about her life. She recommended a restaurant and a young guy from Nepal served us. He was super charming, heard all about his life - 26, wife in Nepal, 4 year old son. As for beers, I ordered a tall one. He said Mount Everest - I said yes. - it was huge. . . .
We easily caught the train back and had our « last supper » of scrambled eggs, toast & salad, plus beer and the remaining red wine.
Overall a super fun time in Lisbon.Read more