Portugal - Sintra II

Some more photos of the day I spent walking around Sintra.
My parents had left me at the top of the village while they went to the "Third age University". Apart from both attending classes my Mom also teaches.  I had a few hours to roam around and later on would meet them where they had left me.

 Quinta dos Lagos

The rendezvous spot - Quinta dos Lagos (Lakes Villa). I love that gate!

Sintra City Hall

After a 20 min downhill walk along "Volta do Duche" , I came across the Sintra City Hall with it's lovely tiled tower.

Street art and crafts

Walking downhill I came across a whole row of different statues, some amusing, others serious, mostly portraying royalty in various forms.

Along this area there were a few people selling crafts. They are registered with the municipality, and there's a variety from jewellery to paintings (forgot to take a photo).
I negotiated a painting of Lisbon's yellow tram which I would collect on the way up.

Moorish Fountain

Further down is this Moorish fountain (Fonte Mourisca), built in 1922 by local sculptor Jose de Fonseca.

Town's Palace



From here you can see to the right the Town's Palace (Palacio da Vila), from my previous post.

Moorish Castle



To the left, looking up the hill you can see the Moorish Castle, (Castelo dos Mouros), which was built during the 8th and 9th century.


You can actually take a bus from the Town's palace all the way up and also visit the Pena Palace (Palacio da Pena) while up there. 

Avoid bringing a car into Sintra if you can, as it's a nightmare to park near any of the attractions when the town is full of tourist buses, etc.

Moorish castle - amazing photo from the net.

Across the Town Palace is a tiled building.

One of the cobbled laneways with restaurants and little shops. 

The old church (photo below) is now the Post Office.

              

Sintra specialities - Queijadas

Before going back up to meet up with my parents I bought "Queijadas", moorish little tarts traditionally made in Sintra, and I collected my painting from the sidewalk craft market.

Where I will hang it I still don't know as my walls are full of art already, but I couldn't resist a little memento of Lisbon and I enjoy supporting local crafters. 

I also bought a few pieces of jewellery made with cork and fridge magnets made with cork too to give to friends.

                            Queijadas de Sintra - (photo from net)

The painter - Paulo Pasoca - with the Lisbon streetscape I bought for 15Euros.

Windows and doors

Sintra's doors and windows

Instead of walking, you can hire a bycicle too as this advert attached to the bike says. Cute too. There are also tuk-tuks and romantic horse-carriages...

This concludes my visit to the beautiful village of Sintra, hope you enjoyed getting to know it.