Sintra
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Tue 26 Aug 2008 23:08
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Sintra
Sintra was the summer resort for
Portugese Royalty, the town is in the 1,000 places to see book, so off we went
on the bus with Ann in her "Pathfinder" role.
  Our first view of the steep vista,
falling in behind "PF", a stunning house.
Lord Byron had already seen his fair
share of the Continent when he wrote to his mother from Sintra calling it
"perhaps the most delightful village in Europe", a "Little Eden".
 Commanding the highest peak are the
dramatic 8th century ruins of a Moorish citadel, the Castelo dos Mouros, with
amazing views to the sea. The Palacio de Seteais is just one of four palaces
built with views in mind.
   This water fountain was built in
1922, a view from the village centre. The Palacio Nacional, the two "pointy
things" are silos for grain.
 Pena Castle
   Ann gathering info in the tourist
office, team talks produced the planned route, but not before we went to
this delightful cafe for tea and cakes.
   After a bus journey around the
hillside, not for the faint-hearted. We went into the Toy Museum. I couldn't
resist Batman and looking at Skipper I saw "no differences at all" I was jealous
of this N gauge layout.
   This is a Barbie Special Wedding
Dress by the American designer Bob Mackie in 1992. A boy dolly from days gone by
and a set of toys from Milawi.
 
 The display cabinets were crammed
full of every kind of toy, for a trip down memory lane. You were given a
catalogue to take round with you during your visit, describing in detail all the
relevant information.
 
 Time to catch our breath outside the
museum of tiles, housed in the Palacio Nacional. Two more pretty
views.
 
 The town hall, the village centre and
if ever we were in doubt "Just follow that hat". Ann organised us to get a
different bus back to Cascais, taking a longer route that took 75 minutes. What
a journey, not just fabulous views of the coastline, but also a bus driver who
took no prisoners. He didn't wait for anyone to sit down and tried to wear
through a set of brake pads. His favourite sport was to see how many people he
could get off their seats. We saw an elderly man go flying and a lady lose her
dignity. After that, no stamina left for shopping, so back to Beez for a well
earned beer, wine and paella.
All in all well worth the
trip.
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