#5: Ethereal Sintra

It was hard to say goodbye to the colorful, sunny Algarve.  We almost stayed, in fact.  As soon as we arrived in Sintra, however, we realized it would have been a mistake to miss this place!   It is as colorful as the Algarve, but its color is drawn from the feeling as if you are walking in a terrarium of moss, tropical flowers, and fairy homes.  The streets are made of polished stone (so polished, I slipped several times:  Teva's are not adequate for Sintra!)  We spent much of the day, after our drive from Carvoeira, exploring town.

Lord Byron called Sintra a “glorious Eden” while spending a formative time of his youth here in 1809.  He would have been intrigued by the neo-Gothic, nuovo-Romantico Quinta da Regaleira that was designed and built a century later.  In the magnificent hillside garden of this estate, the mystical past of spirituality and magical present of Nature combine to create an otherworldly experience.  Pagan statuary and grottoes hide subterranean passages that take you to places like the Well of the Initiates and the Fount of Abundance.  If Harry Potter met Joseph of Arimathea and Teresa of Avila in a Zoroastrian bar in Narnia, it might be something like this…

The House of Bells, our B&B in Sintra

John in front of the Byron cafe

herons!

The initiation well, which is believed to mystically transport one through the entire journey of life (or through Dante's inferno....I opt for the former ;)

John at the top of the zigguraut

shadow of a beautiful old tree

Shields taking a picture of the Regaleira cat

and the cat--a perfect lil' model

patron saint of surgery to protect the shoulder and thumb

lunch

After that, we added a layer (cooler here) and went out for dinner in a place that truly, though small, called to mind the treehouse in Swiss Family Robinson.  We ate an exquisite meal with mojitos that almost rival Kris' and watched the sunset over Sintra.

dinner