Sintra

After breakfast in the TAP lounge, we are now aboard TP752 to Copenhagen as our four days in Portugal are coming to end. Yesterday morning, we once again rented a car, this time a Volkswagen Taigo, which we used to drive up to the Medieval city of Tomar and its 16th century Knights Templar castle which was delightful in the rain with all the orange trees and green courtyards. 

From Tomar, we then drove back to Sintra for a visit to Quinta da Regaleira which the boys had been talking about ever since watching “The Last Will of the Geographer” some five years ago. 

Walking down the “Initiation well” or inverted tower of sorts, we were once again grateful for having chosen to go here in February rather than in summer as we got to have the place more or less for ourselves. Though much of its grand architecture is actually quite modern, Sintra is still such a lovely place and perfect to explore on foot rather than behind the wheel. On Monday, we had failed miserably at finding a parking spot so, when returning yesterday, we had learnt our lesson and chose to park a bit away from the main attractions and walk around town. Now, I really should stop writing blog posts and return to my grant application but, already on Wednesday, another adventure awaits.