After my visit to the glorious Pena Palace (can I move in please?), I caught the bus to the pretty little town of Sintra itself.
It was midday and I was hungry but I was there to visit a little bakery called Piriquita. I walked in and decided against getting a table, as the wait was too long and I had lots to see today. Instead, I ordered one of their famous pastries at the counter - the Travesseiro, a pillowy pastry with an egg cream and almond taste. I took it outside and stood in the shade to eat it...
After chowing down what ended up being my lunch, I took to exploring Sintra a little bit. It was a cute little village, but not very big so it didn't take too long. I went back to the public bus stop and caught the bus to my next destination. The bus services were pretty good, considering we all had to rely on them. The area of Sintra was really hilly and not very walkable so it was necessary to catch the bus. Especially if you, like me, wanted to cram as much as possible into the day. I'd worked out how long it would take on the bus between places and the opening and closing times of places so that I could see everything I wanted to see and maximise the one day I had there!
I jumped on the bus to my next destination: the park and Palace of Monserrate. It was quite far away from Sintra, but I really wanted to visit. You'll see why...
I got there at about 2pm, then wandered through the garden to the palace. The current palace was built by Englishman Francis Cook in the 19th century but there had been buildings on this site since the 16th century. The palace was designed to incorporate both Romantic and Moorish architecture, reflecting the history of the region. The gardens were also designed to bring in plants from all over the world, even Australia! The gardens were pretty, but nothing compared to the palace - it was all so dreamy. They were setting up one of the rooms inside for a wedding - it would be a gorgeous place to get married!
It was 4:30pm by the time I left the Palace of Monserrate. This left just enough time to travel to and visit the Quinta da Regaleira, which closed at 6pm. I got there at 5, zoomed around the garden and buildings, then caught the bus back to the train station at 6pm.
The Quinta da Regaleira is a weird place, built in the early 20th century to look like a much-older place, with a palace and chapel, wells, grottoes, fountains and other structures that added an element of fantasy to the place. It was owned by a guy called Carvalho Monteiro, who evidently had a lot of money to splash around. I thought I would start at the top of the garden with the Initiation well, a well not used for water but for ceremonial rites. Like I said, it was a weird place.
I got back on the bus to take me to the train station, then back on the train to Lisbon. Then went back to my Airbnb to change for dinner.
Being a solo traveller is sometimes hard when it comes to dinner places and tonight was no different. I went into this one restaurant, plenty of seats available including tables and at the bar and asked if they had a table for one. They said no. It was about 8pm so peak dinner time, and empty tables. I scoffed then turn and left. Feeling a bit dejected, I then stumbled upon this little restaurant and had the best meal I had the whole time in Lisbon and it was a really enjoyable experience.
The restaurant was called Casa Dos Pecados (no website unfortunately) and it was a lovely little French/Portuguese restaurant was very reminiscent of restaurants I have been to in France, with a cheeky owner and bar staff and friendly, jovial vibe. I started dinner with the goat cheese salad, which the owner paired with a nice light red wine. Dinner was the most tender pork I've ever eaten, in a gorgeous red wine sauce with garlicky carrots and potatoes. Yum. And the owner selected another red to go with this one, a punchy, full-bodied red that complemented the meat. I would highly recommend it if you find yourself in Lisbon.
I went home happy, and fell asleep almost immediately. It had been a long day.