Portugal—Lisbon, Sintra

My first day in Portugal, I was exhausted from flying and was fighting to stay awake at 5 PM. Walk to a local park where there was a kiosk, selling food and drinks, filled with children, old people, locals. so I decided to have my first port. The park looked on to an aqueduct built in the 1850s.

this is all in lisbon. We stayed in a simple hotel just off the tourist area, which was a good thing. Lisbon is chockablock full of tourists. you almost cannot see the actual sites for the tourists. So we were super happy to be away from it all.

Jenny and sister that we take the train to Sintra, A town on our train ride from lisbon. It too was chokablok full of tourists, but was magical just the same.

Me and Johnny!

At Besteira Mansion in Sintra, location of film Ninth Gate, another Roman Polanski devil-worshiping vehicle. The mansion has its own lovely gardens on a hillside, but just adjacent is another garden, which is crazy full of stone monuments.

This is just one of them….an 8-story spiral.

A floor from the castle in the ornate garden. Each tile piece was approximately 1/4-in. in diameter so tons of detail. Roman influence is clear I think.