Today was our last full day in Lisbon until we pass through on May 3rd on our way to Porto so we wanted to make sure to visit Sintra. We took the metro 2 stops to Rossio Station then the train to the end of the line, Sintra.

After avoiding all the crazy tuk tuk drivers and guides who hassled us for over 30 minutes, we settled on a taxi up to Parque e Palácio Nacional da Pena (Castle Pena). Now this place is a kid’s dream – colorful with turrets everywhere and on top of the hill. Both the castle and views from it were absolutely spectacular! You could not help but feel like a kid and goof around. Once again, many of the spaces were too small for Jesse.

As for the inside of the castle, it was fully furnished and you can easily imagine how royalty lived in the past. Many of the furniture pieces were beautiful and intricate. My favorite was the lockable desk for crowned jewels that masqueraded as a secretary desk. Genius, but the cat’s out of the bag now. 😮

We walked the 0.8 miles from Castle Pena to the Moorish Castle via a cobblestone garden that connected the two castles. The path had amazing views of the Moorish Castle, beautiful greenery and flowers and a lovely breeze that was refreshing after another 80 degree day.

Unlike Castle Pena, the Moorish Castle does not have livable quarters but the lack of crowds and 360 degree views were worth the trek to it. The walls traversed from one tower to the other reminded me of the Great Wall of China. Yes, we goofed off in the nooks of this castle too …

After hours of walking to/from and in/out of castles we were beat and our feet were on fire so we headed down the rest of the way to the center of Sintra. A cold beverage was in order before hopping back on the train back to Rossio Station.

Once in Rossio, we decided to bail on dinner and Fado in Alfama. We were bushed and all we wanted to do was get an early meal and head back to our hotel so we found a good rated restaurant and headed there. The place was quaint but charming, the waiter friendly and the Portuguese food very good. We were happy!

After a fantastic last meal, we took the 28E tram back, laughing, giggling and sticking our heads out the tram windows and taking pictures in motion like teenagers. 🤣 Life is good! It was a great day!

Tomorrow we all check out. Penny’s meeting her bike group and starts her biking journey. Jesse, Sue and I head to the airport, pick up our car and head South to Lagos with a pit stop in Evora. The adventures continue!