Castles

I woke up early today to head to Sintra, the ancient town 40 minutes north of Lisbon. I was extremely excited because Sinta is home to several castles, and as I dream of someday becoming royalty, I love castles.

The town is charming, full of windy, cobblestone streets. I wandered around for a bit before heading into the first castle, which was one of the first castles of Portuguese royalty. The other castle I really wanted to see is at the top of the mountain and is an old Muslim ruin. I hiked up the hill (not easy when wearing sandals on cobblestone) and explored the old ruins, which give a 360* view of the surrounding area.

After reading outside for a bit, relaxing from my hike, I took the train back to Lisbon. I walked through the city to the ancient Castle ruins and then saw Se Cathedral.

I had traditional Portuguese chicken in chili sauce (piri piri) for dinner then went out with the hostelites. We went to one of the clubs along the wharf called Lux, full of the trendiest Portuguese and not properly attired American/Canadian/Australian bunch. The Portuguese stay out as late - the club hadn't even closed yet when we left at 5:30am!