Sintra – Quinta Da Regaleira

Quinta Da Regaleira made me so happy with its quirky surprised. Sintra charmed me with its quaint alleyways and gardens. I gave Montserrat and the National Palace a miss, so I have something else to explore next time I come back!

I started the day at 9AM with a full breakfast of pear, kiwi, orange juice, coffee and toasted hand and cheese sandwich. I prepared myself to explore what I came here to Portugal for: Quinta da Regaleira!

I walked around 15 mins from Moon Hill Hostel, got there around 10:30sh, and left around 2:30sh. I don’t know why they say 1.5 hours is good enough! For only 7.40 Euros entrance, there was sooo much to see and explore!

I initially only knew about the initiation well and the palace. So I went straight to the Initiation Well; photos I saw of it didn’t do justice. At the bottom awaited a pleasant surprise: an underground passage connected to a cascade and a pond. There was another passageway, it was quite dark… and it ended up in another well. I actually discovered that from above ground… I saw “Unfinished Well” sign. There was nobody around. I found a staircase that led down the well. It was rustic, unfinished, but more interesting than the initiation well. When I reached the bottom, there was again an underground passage. It connected to the passage that went to the initiation well and the cascades.

The Regaleira Tower reminded me of Rapunzel. There were few towers here and there… got a good view of Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle walls from the tower.

The place revealed more areas of interest. There was a chapel with colorful stained glass window, only a hundred meters walk to the palace.

While Gothic and Rococo style at the same time, it was very bright inside. For a gothic style, the vibe was uplifting and vibrant.

Manini the artist, was a genius!

I walked down the road paved with sculptures… I was ready to leave but my curiosity led me to the labyrinth by the lake. It was another underground network of passages that ended up by the lake. It was pretty cool really. That was the best part! The grand finale before I left what I was looking for. I ended up experiencing more!

I walked back to MHH. On the way, walked through the alleyways of shops, lots of which are ceramics. I bought ceramic souvenir magnets., 2Euros each.

I stopped by the National Palace of Sintra, I didn’t have enough time to go in — there was a very long line of people waiting to get in.

After searching for a quaint place to eat nibblies, I finally found one, around the bend of the road from the MHH.  I had traditional Portuguese pastry, both savory and sweet. Had a second serving of the sardine puff. The shrimp pastry was nice, and the custard like pastry did it for me. I was satisfied and had a good view of the national palace from where I sat, sipping my Americano. They serve it really strong I had to ask for extra water!

It was time to say goodbye to Sintra. I caught the 4:40 pm train to Lisbon. I wish I stayed longer, but I had to give Lisbon a ‘visiting’ chance.