For our last full day in Sintra, we’re back to touring. Today we visited the Pena Palace on a guided tour. We used the company “Get Your Guide” once again and we were happy with our choice.

Unfortunately, we have a rainy day ahead of us. It appears that ‘cloudy day’ is a code used by the weather people to indicate rain. No sense scaring away the tourists.

To start, we met our guide Jorge by the train station. It turned out to be just Sue and I on the tour. Jorge was great. We started by talking about the day ahead and looking at some maps while he talked about the history of the palace. When he finished, we were off.

The road to the top of the mountain is narrow and twisty. It’s mostly one way, but there were a few stretches where we had to share. The parking areas are madness.

Once we were able to park, we bought our tickets online and then headed for the entrance. Ironically, we met up with our guide Jorge from our Quinta tour. We missed him on our way out two days ago, so we were able to give him the gratuity we had for him.

We bought tickets for the outside part of the Peña Palace, which included the gardens and outer structures. While it may have been nice to view, the interior didn’t have the original furnishings and would be crowded on this rainy day.

Jorge has an interesting background with one of his passions being landscape design. As we walked along the paths through the gardens, he shared some interesting insights about the surrounding flora, trees and microclimate.

The cloudy, grey skies made the gardens and trees feel very somber. The fog and rain we could have skipped, but it went along with the location.

All along the path, we passed by stands of trees including Sequoia, Camelia, Cypress, Magnolia and Chestnut. We saw some Bay trees and Jorge plucked two bay leaves for souvenirs. He explained that the trees, plants and herbs growing throughout were specifically chosen for the gardens and come from many different places around the world, including the U.S., Australia, Asia and South America.

When we arrived at the palace, it was interesting to see the blending of styles and to learn of the symbology. There are two main gates used to enter the complex, and then a main entrance into the courtyard.

The Chapel which dates back to the original monastery:

The gardens and lakes provided a lovely backdrop for our stroll to exit the palace. Jorge went to get the vehicle and we would meet him near the gate.

Our visit to this jewel on the mountain was enjoyable. The rain and fog took away some of the splendid color elements, but not its natural beauty. King Ferdinand II combined culture, power and nature and left a legacy that is a treasure.

We drove back to town and Jorge was nice enough to drop us off near the hotel so we wouldn’t have to walk back from the train station.

Sue and I immediately (after the requisite restroom stops and clothing changes) plopped down to rest our legs for a while. We love the scenery, but the hills are murder on these old legs.

We would just relax and stay dry until dinner time. When dinner time arrived, it was still raining.

After our enjoyable happy hour excursion the day before, we decided to go back to DizTinto for dinner. Luckily, we had made a reservation as they had a full house. We had a wonderful bottle of wine to help warm our cockles, along with some Shrimp in a garlic sauce. Then, Sue went with the braised pork cheeks with smashed citrus sweet potatoes while I had the John Dory fish with jasmine rice.

Everything was delicious and the servers were a delight. By the time we left, the whole gang came over to say goodbye.

Long day, fresh ‘wet’ air and lots of walking – time for bed.

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Woke up this morning raring to go. We took our showers, got dressed and then waited. Waited to check out just before noon and then waited for our Daytrip driver to arrive.

It’s just a half hour ride to Lisbon and we’ll be there soon.