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Portugal

We were very fortunate to sample reds and white wines from the Quinta da Almiara winery, Very good wines. In addition we had a delightful lunch overlooking the vineyards surrounding the winery. Later we had a tour of the winery.

Departing the winery through rolling hills of grapes and agriculture. A great day in the Portuguese countryside.

The next morning driving out to the countryside again we see the famous bridge 25th of April with the statues closer than we have seen before and the Cristo Rei Lisbon in the background.

We also pass the Monument of Discoveries

Passing also the Tower of Belem. A different view than we saw the second day we were in this area. Much less congested from this view.

Driving along the spectacularly scenic coast route.

Beautiful beaches

Surfing is very popular here in Lisbon. If I did not know it I would think I was back in Southern California and not Portugal.

We arrive in the town of Sintra a beautiful town nestled in the forested foothills of the Sintra Mountains. A major tourist destination famed for its picturesqueness, the municipality has several historic palaces, castles, parks and gardens.

Narrow and steep steps lead to a number of tourist shops, a cantina or two and magnificent views.

Stairs wrap around the entrance to a cantina.

Narrow entrance to a corner Cantina after climbing a number of stairs with more to go higher also.

The buildings in the central square of São Martinho, across from the Sintra National Palace and Museum in the village of Sintra.

Outside Restaurant for eating and a coffee

Different view of the Palace Museum.

The castle stands on the top of a hill in the Sintra Mountains above the town of Sintra,

It is a national monument and constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th-century Romanticism in the world

The castle's history started in the Middle Ages when a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena was built on the top of the hill above Sintra.

For centuries Pena was a small, quiet place for meditation, housing a maximum of eighteen monks. It was the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 that destroyed everything. .

For many decades the ruins remained untouched, but they still astonished young prince Ferdinand. In 1838, as King consort Ferdinand II, he decided to acquire the old monastery, all of the surrounding lands, He then set out to transform the remains of the monastery into a palace that would serve as a summer residence for the Portuguese royal family.

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