In 2008, I quit my corporate job, sold off everything I owned and moved overseas with my husband Drew. Since then we've traveled around the world, started our careers over as creative types and nurtured our love of sleeping in late. Oh and we had a baby. Cole, our almost 2 year old has been traveling since he was four months old and probably knows more Thai than me (not that he brags).
Sintra Beats Disney to the Punch
If you were disturbed by the graffiti in the last post, just know that not all of Lisbon looks like that. In fact, the graffiti is probably the only negative thing you can say about this city. It’s as warm as Madrid, but with a wonderful ocean breeze. There are tourists, but mostly from Spain and France, so if you’re not careful you’d never notice them. They have an established cafe culture, like Paris, but with heavier seafood tendencies. They love a good espresso and a sweet pastry in the morning. The light is different here, casting a cool effect over the entire city. The cityscape is filled with white buildings with rose colored roofs. You can walk from one end to the other, albeit at some point it will be drastically uphill. If that’s not enough, then you can take the train for 1.40 Euro to Sintra, the place that Disney wished he had invented.
When I got back from this trip, everyone asked me if I had gone to Sintra. Apparently this city has charmed everyone who has seen it. When you walk off the train, you’re in the middle of a quaint village, with a main road that twists up the mountainside. I opted to take the tourist bus to the top, an adventure in itself, as the driver squeezed around corners barely scraping by parked cars and the stone container walls that flanked the street. Several times the bus burst into spontaneous applause as we squeaked past another impossible turn. The first stop, the Toy Museum. We weren’t budging. The second stop, the Moorish castle ruins, again we held firm. Finally we reached the Palácio de Pena at the top of the hill and the bus unloaded. Seems like everyone had the same idea.
In the brochures, the Palácio de Pena is described as being Disney-esque. In fact this is spot on. The yellow painted spire and the red clock tower have faded to an almost pastel effect. The facades display carved and hand formed creatures that could have been plucked from Disney’s own mind. The gargolyles practically grin.
From the top, there is a 360 degree view of the countryside and Lisbon, all the way to the ocean. The breeze is divine after hours baking in the sun, and would be worth the trip alone. I can’t remember the last time I experienced AC, but this was close enough.
