Friday – we’ve done as much as we can do with paperwork etc so we take ourselves off to Sintra on the bus.  Everyone says it is a magical place and so it proves – it was the hilltop holiday home of Portuguese royalty and is full of castles, palaces and mansions.  We enjoy lunch in the square and a delightful wander round royal gardens with whimsical statues, grottoes and waterfalls.  It’s the perfect antidote to the last couple of days and recharges the batteries perfectly.