Maribel, love your photos of Montserrat!
Mel, enjoying your photos! It's too bad you aren't liking the food, but at least you like the wine!

Mel's photos are wonderful and playful. The owner of the Wine Gallery of InComum really knows his stuff...He might brighten up your day!

Thanks, Karen,
It was just such a pleasure to visit Monserrate far away from the crowds and so very serene and peaceful.


Monserrate ceilings

Maribel, Monserrate looks amazing, thanks for the photos.

Helena, we're adventurous eaters and might try "Pezinhos de Coentrada" if we see it on the menu. I've had pig feet before, not my favorite, but I would try them again.

Not a fish or seafood eater thursdayd, which is part of the problem.

We had our best meal of the trip yesterday here in Sintra. A very late lunch/early dinner at a little place near our apartment and just steps from the historic center. We ran into so many issues finding a place to eat in Evora that we weren't optimistic - kitchens generally close around 2-3 but with sightseeing and moving from one destination to the next, we were eating pretty late - and ran into closures and full restaurants. Yesterday we got lucky though.

Lovely slow cooked black pork on mash for Bill (first mashed potato we'd seen on a menu in over two weeks), a nice vegetable curry for me and a shared dish of chocolate mousse.

It was the kind of food we'd expected at the Vintage House in Pinhao, but never got.

Getting a place at a restaurant here looks like an issue - at lunch anyway - as every single place is heaving. And then there's COVID to consider - not keen on being elbow to elbow with strangers in a tiny restaurant and outdoor dining areas are jam packed (not to mention it was pretty cold yesterday).

There's a strike planned for tomorrow Sat and Sunday (Easter weekend) that will affect every site in town except for Quinta de Regaleira - I overlooked the fact it was Easter weekend when planning this trip - so no idea how the next days will play out. Last night I tried setting up a taxi to Pena Palace for today (not sure we want to try the 90 minute climb with our already blistered feet), but was unsuccessful due to language barriers.

We'll give Uber a go this morning, but our taxi driver yesterday told us drivers are pretty scarce and they're all working their tails off. Not feeling terribly optimistic at the moment. So worried about things that I couldn't even sleep and am currently waiting for it to get light. Sintra might be bust.

Are there no more Tuk-Tuk drivers hanging around the bus stop or train station for your Pena visit? We used one once to get up to Pena.

Or rent a little 2 seater electric car for the day? Easy to drive, easier to park, gps navigation directs you site to site. https://www.go2cintra.com/
They use to have a little gas jeep we rented twice, but I don't see it. This allows you to visit Monserrate or the lighthouse at Cabo da Roca.

BTW, your picture of Sangria has influenced us, it has been the drink of choice so far.

Things are looking up. Got an Uber after three tries this morning and were up at the Palace when the grounds opened at 9 am. Got there before the crowds and before the clouds moved in so got some decent photos. Then walked all the main trails in the park and walked over to the Moorish Castle entrance and then backtracked via the hiking trail to Sintra.

Walked many miles; a successful day.


Pena Palace

Pena Palace

Pena Palace

Pena Palace

Pena Palace

Pena Palace


Pena Palace Gardens

Glad you had a successful Pena Park day Mel!
Yes, during high season it's near impossible to find a place for lunch in Sintra-Vila. Monserrate does have a café with outdoor tables serving sandwiches, cakes, pastries, maybe soups, if you find yourselves there at lunch time. It's kind of hidden away, so doesn't attract as many people as the café at Regaleira. It's called the Tea House (pink) in the old stables. Spotless bathrooms!

Looks like a gorgeous day and beautiful photos!

The wisteria at Monserrate should be coming in nicely. Beautiful gardens, with nice paths along waterways. Kinda a jungle feel to parts of it.

Daughter and SIL in April of 2019.

Are there no more Tuk-Tuk drivers hanging around the bus stop or train station for your Pena visit? We used one once to get up to Pena.

Yes, as are horse drawn carriages, buses and taxis, but we were well on our way before most of them were out. Trying to find a taxi at the train station to take us to our apartment was a PITA yesterday when we arrived in late afternoon because they were all elsewhere.

Wisteria everywhere as well. I've taken many photos of it.

The crowds in the center are overwhelming. Bill calls it the 'COVIDtorium'.

I feel bad for the people who live here - surely they can't all be in the hospitality business.

Forgot about your being there during Holy Week, mel. Hope you can have another nice, quiet dinner with (plenty of) wine tonight.

Mel, today Porto was impossible! I don't remember seeing this kind of crowds even in 2019! All restaurants were completely full, even the one where I use to go, and never saw a turist there before! Our Spanish brothers found it! So I'm just not starving because today is the "Queima do Judas", burn Judas, and locals at Sé neighborhood already have the dummy of Judas ready to be burned, and are selling some snaks in the street. The burning itself will be at 21:00h.

Maribel, grelos are turnip greens. I don't like turnip, but if they have a good and big greens, I buy them, and use the turnip for soup. There are also "nabiças", wich I think the translation is "collard". They are also very good, but the taste is less green.

Both very good and tasty, and I believe Mel would like it very much, but they are winter things.

A weirdly quiet day in Sintra....thanks to Good Friday and the Parques de Sintra workers being on strike for Easter weekend.

We'd been warned by the tourist office, so had intentionally visited Pena Palace yesterday and left Quinta da Regaliera (unaffected by the strike) for today, knowing full well that the crowds at Quinta de Regaliera would be intense.

Quinta de Regaliera

Initiation well from above

Initiation well

Initiation well

Initiation well from below

Quinta da Regaliera - ticket queue

Quinta de Regaliera

Quinta de Regaliera

Quinta de Regaliera

Early bird = worm. We were in line 50 minutes before the gates opened, and 10th in line to descend into the Initiation Well, which is the main draw. We then spent a few hours exploring the grounds, followed by a nice lunch and mojitos, then retreated to our apartment courtyard to enjoy the beautiful day, sip a lovely local red and play with the resident cats. Tomorrow, we're off to the biggest of the big smokes...Lisboa.

That's crazy Helena - when I say it was relatively quiet here I mean no tuk tuks racing up and down the hill taking tourists to Pena Palace. There are still plenty of people in town, but we walked right into Fabrica da Nata, which seems to be the most popular pastel da nata shop here based on the lines out the door the past two days.

Mel, I'm not sure if I told you this before, but while in Lisboa, to get up and down (well, mainly to get up) from Rossio/Baixo to Chiado/Bairro Alto, use the electric stairs at the metro station. There are also lifts at some stores, like "Armazéns do Chiado" or "FNAC", but well... it is not very polite to use their lifts and buy nothing.

Good to know Helena, thank you. Portugal is many things, but flat is not one of them

Mel, good for you to get that early bird-worm start! We too were about 10th in line at the Initiation Well but in the afternoon on a "slow" day. I can't even imagine how long the line would be on a "busy" day. Your photos are much prettier than ours--glad you enjoyed your Regaleira day.

Helena, thanks for the confirmation that grelos are turnip greens. That's what I thought. I love caldo verde and caldo gallego.

I'm getting very, very nervous now! The reports of crowds in so many places!

The photos are fantastic -- I can't believe how empty the Initiation well at the Quinta de la Regaliera is! And the blue sky -- as perfect a backdrop as could be! The early bird and all that...I'll remind my husband that the dawdling in the morning may not be the best idea.

Thanks for continuing to post...it's great fun to see the photos and to get your impressions. Helena and Maribel, thanks for your thoughts, too - it's so helpful.

progol,
You may want to purchase those Regaleira tickets online for your May trip (signs on the way into the ticket office highly "suggested" this, but we didn't because we went in the afternoon on a "slow day" and there were 5 ticket booths open). But by May it may even be more crowded!

Helena,
That's interesting that they do a "burning of Judas" in Porto too (and in Vila do Conde?). In the little villages of the Rioja, like Samaniego, we've seen it on Easter Sunday.

We considered buying our tickets for Regaliera online last night and then again when we were standing in line, but we didn't. We were almost first to get our tickets in the ticket line....we were even ahead of those who purchased online as the lines joined together. Then we walked up the hill to the well immediately and pretty much had it to ourselves.