Sintra, Portugal, Mon, 10/11/21

 

Our Road Scholar trips are packed from the moment we land till its time to say goodbye.  We learn, have fun adventures, and go-go-go.  We like this because who wants to waste time while on such a great trip?  This morning after breakfast, we were on the bus, driving the scenic route (Ave Marginal) to Cascais and Sintra.  Both places we wanted to see/visit.  Our little group is 15, plus our guide, Ulises, a congenial young man of Spanish descent who speaks English, Spanish and Portugese.  We spotted forts and lighthouses and all manner of wonderful estates as we rolled along near the water.

We began our day with this stellar sunrise at breakfast.

The Bugio Lighthouse is like a beacon for landlubbers, too, seen so easily from land.  It's situated on an island in the estuary of the River Tagus on the Fort of São Lourenço do Bugio, about 6 miles west of Lisbon.  My pic is obviously zoomed in!

Lisbon, perhaps all of Portugal, must be Smart Car heaven, 'cause we've seen lots and lots.  Most of the autos we've seen are smaller than US cars, and most seem to be new/ish and shiny.  Gas is roughly 1.67/liter.

We saw surfers and swimmers in the ocean,

but you know the water has to be cold.

The bus stopped at this vista point for a photo op.  Behind Jimmy's head is Cabo da Roca or Cape Roca, which forms the westernmost point of the Sintra Mountain Range, of mainland Portugal, of continental Europe, and of the Eurasian land mass.  Closest to America we could get, so we all waved to our American friends and relatives.

I am enamored of all the tile work I've seen.

We'll hear more of Fado as the trip progresses.

We passed through Sintra's wonderful park landscape on our way to the historic city center.  Sintra is famous for its 19th-century Romanticist architecture, historic estates and villas, gardens, and royal palaces and castles, resulting in its UNESCO classification.  We arrived at lunchtime, dismayed to see three or four huge buses already parked before us.  Narrow cobblestone streets and alleys were swarming with tourists ... the negative aspect of a popular and picturesque place.  Can you see the people on the alleyway climbing to the light yellow building?

Isolated on its lofty perch on one of the peaks in the Sintra Hills, the Moorish Castle, above, is a fortification founded in the 10th century during the period when the Moors occupied the Iberian Peninsula.  It's decaying and not open to the public.

Lunch was on our own and a particular cafe was recommended, but we'd have been better off hoofing it around the skinny streets looking for someplace else.  Above is my "ham sandwich," which was kinda hard to eat!  

With more time and far less hordes, exploring Sintra would be a delight.  Though it is Up and Down!

Jimmy's favorite tile.

We made our way to St Martin's Church (Igreja de São Martinho) in Old Town.  Originally erected in the 12th Century, it exhibited Romanic architecture.  After the 1755 earthquake, it naturally looked different, taking on an 18th Century aspect.

One of three paintings from the 16th Century displayed on the church walls (this one:  St. Peter?), attributed to the artist known as the Master of São Quintino.

Even my new Canon camera had difficulty capturing St Martin's splendor.

It was impressive.

Finally, here's Jimmy in front of a souvenir shop showcasing fancy tins of Portuguese sardines in a wacky, circuslike atmosphere.  All those cans in the shop are dated by years.  You can purchase a can for the year of your birth from the 1940's to today.  The girl in the shop assured us that the sardines in the cans were NOT from the year shown, but were fresh from this year!  We passed.  Sardines are a big product in Portugal.

This was our morning!  Next I'll post on our afternoon at Palacio Nacional de Queluz.  Being on the move leaves precious little time to blog, but we like sharing our trips with you, albeit abbreviated posts such as this, so stay tuned for more.