Monday, November 17, 2014

Portugal: Sintra

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Fortunately for us, our hotel was closer to Sintra than it was to Lisbon's city center! We rented a car and were there in less than 20 minutes. What can I say about Sintra? It is truly, truly amazing.

Like Bruges, Sintra is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Even though it is mostly known for its 19th century buildings, it has been settled for a very long time. In fact, Paleolithic era settlement indications have been found!

Our visit happened on a...temperamental day in regards to the weather (heavy rain one moment, searing sun the next). We saw the town's "center" (although it is not the center exactly...Sintra is actually made up by two cities), and visited the Palácio Nacional da Pena and Quinta da Regaleira. Both are pretty awe-inspiring and impressive, although Quinta da Regaleira takes the cake with it's creative use of underground passages and constructions. I mean, it has inverted towers!

Sadly, we were only able to spend a day there, so we did not get to see everything. We will definitely return some day to see all it has to offer.

This is a but a sample of the pictures taken on our trip. If you want to see more, please visit my Flickr album.

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