This morning we said goodbye to our home base in Évora and boarded a train for Sintra. Actually, it’s two trains but we got there late in the morning. We quickly found our accommodations and were just going to drop our backpacks off and go explore. But our room was ready so we checked in. The young man who was at the desk was a wealth of information so we picked his brain but then set off on our way. We meandered a bit but ended up heading to the Moorish Castle. It’s sort of neat but it’s done up well for the tourists (which there were a bunch today). The best thing about it is it’s location which, if you climb to one of the high lookouts, provides very nice views. But after paying next to nothing to visit some really cool spots, we felt the 8€ was a bit overpriced.
After our visit we made our way back to our place and got cleaned up and headed out for a good meal. We didn’t want the typical heavy Portuguese meal. And Joan found a place hidden not far from the Main Street called, Ráiz. It was delicious!
Afterwards, we wandered and wandered trying to find some pleasant places to walk that didn’t cost money but we found little.
Eventually, we ended up back near our hotel and we found a little Pastaleria where we scored some desserts to enjoy tonight. We spent a good part of our evening washing clothes and planning our day tomorrow.
Accommodations: Sintra Bliss Hotel – Clean, modern place. Fairly quiet. Complimentary coffee and treats. Helpful staff.
Ed & Joan Walk in Portugal 