A Visit to Sintra and the Monserrate Palace & Gardens

After a great visit in Porto we flew to Lisbon on TAP. After a short delay (appears we needed to wait for a wheelchair porter to roll a lady down the ramp) we had an uneventful 30 minute flight! Our bags were off quickly and our guide Jony was ready to take us on our tour.
After a +/- 45 minute commute we arrived in Sintra. This hilltop retreat for generations of royals from all sorts of countries is the perfect place for a walk! Our first stop is to enjoy a ‘pillow cake’ at a 161 year old pastry shop called Casa Piriquita ( www.piriquita.pt ) Next, we took a little uphill detour to enjoy a shot of Ginja in a chocolate cup!!
The views of the many castles here are eye candy!!
After an hour of snooping around we jump back into Jony’s luxurious Renault van and head to the Monserrate Castle and Gardens. This was spectacular! The garden boasts over 4000 plant and tree varieties. The castle itself, features a strong East Indian vibe. We are fortunate that, after many decades falling into disrepair, the Portuguese government stepped in and began restoring this property about 12 years ago!
Our last stop before heading to our hotel is the western most point of continental Europe, a dramatic way to end our tour!!
This video was captured entirely on an Apple iPhone 14Pro and edited in Apple’s iMovie app.
The soundtrack for this video is Nuestra Casa by Yuri Liberzon

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Beautiful images! The flowers and plants were stunning! And the architecture, too!