Tag Archives: castles

Slip Sliding in Sintra

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I had purchased tickets in advance for the Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle and today was “our” day to go. This meant we actually woke earlier than the past two days. After coffee and getting ready we left the hotel, with a bit of time to spare, but not much, to catch our train.

Except I realized, after getting outside, that I forgot the tickets! Yep, crazy me. And we both forgot to lock the safe. So back we went. (Turns out I also had the tickets on my phone and I could have used those, but we DID need to lock the safe, so I’m rather glad I thought about the tickets.)

By the time we got to the train there were no seats available, so we stood for the whole ride. Thankfully it was a smooth ride and aside from the very loud accordion player who blessed us with his music for a while it was just fine.

It was interesting to see other parts of Lisbon. Clearly poorer parts. Tons of buildings that remind me to the projects in the US. Not all is perfect in Portugal, just like any country, I’m sure.

When we arrived in Sintra we stood in line for a shuttle. Or so we thought. Wrong place … we instead had to walk for about an hour to get to the shuttle, as one guy who was trying to get us to hire him to drive us said. But hey, we are fit and can do a walk, right? So we turned him down and started the walk.


And then the rain came … which convinced us rather quickly that we should get an Uber instead. (It’s never a good idea to grab the guys who pursue you at airports and train stations, as we learned once upon a time in Amsterdam. They might scam you.) The Uber driver was quite helpful, pointing out where a trail was for the Moorish Castle, and then he took us to the palace shuttle spot. The line was so long and so slow we eventually decided to walk. Oh, and we bought a couple sandwiches from a vending machine. (After getting into the palace we learned they have cafeterias there. Oops!)

The walk wasn’t bad, but did go uphill a bit. I think this is preparing us for our upcoming walking holiday, though, so I’m sort of fine with uphills. (Downhills, on the other hand, are NOT my friend.)

And the palace! What a crazy place. At times it rained. At times we were in fog. And it was pretty chilly. And windy. Really crazy weather. (We are hoping all the weather we’ve had here means we’ll have less of the crazy stuff when we do the walk.) But back to the palace … it’s just a fascinating place. Photos will show things in bright colors and no discoloring, but the walls are full of various kinds of what I’m assuming is mold or mildew. I even took a few close ups of the stuff.

After finishing with Pena Palace we went back down and found our way to the Moorish Castle.

Part of the walk down was on a trail and the rain meant we had a muddy walk, but we got to our destination and headed in. The first part, going up to the castle, was quite pretty.

The castle itself is in ruins, but is quite impressive. We went up one stairway and were on the top of that side. Even for Dan one area was too windy! We then turned around and saw we could walk from one side of the top of the castle to the other, much higher side. But yours truly couldn’t do it. The wind was simply too much. It felt like it would blow me off the top! So we went down and around to climb the other side. But nope, the wind there go crazy enough I couldn’t go to the top there at all. Dan did go, though, and I am assuming I’ll see his photos at some point. As he was still at the top I went to a place where I’d seen some flowers I wanted to shoot. Then I went further down to find a sunnier, somewhat wind-protected spot and enjoyed myself there. Upon his return we went out of the castle area.

Then we had to hike back down a trail. It was muddy and slippery, and some of the stone stairs were quite awkward. Dan kindly would point out some tricky areas and occasionally helped me get down particularly high and slippery spots. And then Dan slipped, landing on his knee. I’m so grateful nothing was broken, but he was bleeding, and his pants were torn. Darn! Expensive pants, too. But it could have been much, much worse, so we both know he got off pretty much in the best possible way.

The walk down soon got easier, and we ended up going through an area that had identification signs for a lot of the foliage, and there were little waterfalls that we just lovely. As we exited we saw the sign for the place.

Finally we were back in the town. It’s really quite a pretty little place. We treated ourselves to a spot of Ginjinha — they say it’s medicinal, after all! And we saw people going and coming from a particular area so we went to see what that was. Turns out that was the third place I’d considered visiting, Quinta da Regaleira, but I’d not purchased tickets. I’m glad I didn’t: we simply didn’t have the time or energy for it!

We walked back to the train station, enjoying more of Sintra sights.

We arrived to the station a bit too early, but I was fine with sitting and waiting for the train. When it finally arrived we got on quickly, grabbing seats. Hooray! Both of us dozed a bit on the way back to Lisbon, clearly weary after all the walking.

For dinner we went to a place just around the corner. It was clearly a tourist sort of spot, but they had tapas and we were fine with that. Mostly it was nice to be close to the hotel.

As we walked back it started drizzling. I guess we might have to get used to the rain. We bought little desserts to take back to the hotel, and enjoyed them in the quiet of our room.

Tomorrow we head to the next town, so the morning will be a slow one of relaxing and then packing.

First Full Day (Sort Of) In Lisbon

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We got a somewhat late start today, but we had decided today would be a lazy day as we adjust to the time. When we finally headed out, after having coffee in our room, we just rambled down to a square nearby, where there is some sort of spring market event, rather like the Christmas market set up. The weather was cooperating, despite my having read that we’d have a very high chance of rain.

From that square we walked toward the water, taking photos as we went. It’s so fun to be back in Lisbon! On our way we saw a place that had pastel de nata and, well, how can one resist those yummy treats? So we went inside, ordered one each along with an espresso for Dan and a cappuccino for me. We could see the man making the pastels nearly right in front of us. I wonder if he still likes to eat them. (I worked at a donut shop and I sure didn’t want to eat donuts after a while … but donuts are NOT these wonderful treats in Portugal!)

Then we continued our walk and reached the big square by the water. More photos, of course.

From there we headed to the area called Alfama. Lots of narrow streets and lots to see and photograph. We had intended on going there last visit and didn’t make it, so I was very happy that we got there on our first day this time.

While there Dan mentioned it was lunch time and I saw a sign up one narrow street that said lunch, so we went to have a look. As we pondered whether or not we’d eat there (and I tried looking up reviews) it began to rain. It was significant enough that we had to go for shelter and the restaurant seemed as if it was calling our names. So in we went, and we enjoyed an “Antú Pasti board” (the restaurant’s name is Antú) and some chicken wings, along with my mocktail and Dan’s non-alcoholic beer (aren’t we being GOOD KIDS?!). The food and drinks hit the spot.

From there it was more walking …

… and as we neared St. George Castle I mentioned that the tickets I purchased were available on my phone and they weren’t for a set date, so we opted to go there even while our plan was to do that tomorrow. The line to purchase tickets was pretty long — if I were more bold I think I would have told all those people to go to the castle site on their phones and buy tickets rather than stand in a line that must have taken at least 30 minutes to get through (when we left the castle the line was nearly twice as long!). It was fun to roam the grounds, and attempt to imagine what it was like when it was inhabited. When we first entered the grounds we heard some crazy shrieking. Heh. Yes, peacocks. And lots of them! Oh … and I did go out of my comfort zone by going up stairs and dealing with heights. The wind made me even more uncomfortable, but hey, I did it!

Then it was back out, and more rambling, this time toward our hotel. When we got there we took advantage of our free welcome drinks, ordering olives and croquettes to go with them. It was nice to sit and relax a bit.

Soon we decided we really should get some dinner. We aren’t eating on Portugal residents’ time — they eat late! — and I really do wonder how they can sleep after eating when they do. We walked out the door and down the street just a bit and saw a line going in to a seafood place. I thought it would mean there would be too long of a wait, but the guy outside said it would be only 5 minutes. Turns out they had another room almost right next door. He also told us (warned us?) that there was only one thing on the menu. It was sort of like paella, but a Portuguese seafood soup kind of thing. So we decided to go for it. Most people in our part of the restaurant were Asian, and while we sat there even more came in. Seems like the place must be in some guidebooks somewhere! The dish was a bit difficult to deal with: we couldn’t really manage to get much meat from the lobster or crab, and I admit I’m clueless about how to eat shrimp when it’s the doggone whole thing. But we did the best we could, and we survived. Will we return? Nope. Too much work for very little satisfaction. But obviously some people must really like it.

Since that wasn’t a great success we treated ourselves to some health food. Hah!

Getting back to our hotel room I booked our dinner reservation for a place we went to twice last time we were here we loved it so much. I’m assuming we will not be disappointed!

Because we did the castle today, we really have no plans for tomorrow at this point. We’ll have to peruse my somewhat lengthy list of possible things to do when we wake tomorrow morning. We’ll see what the day will bring!

Monday, December 2

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We began rather slowly today: it had been raining last night, and it was cold enough we decided that maybe taking our time would be a fine idea. But eventually one does have to just brave the cold.

One idea for today was the Documentation Center. Alas, it is currently under renovation and much is closed. I’m not sure we’ll get there this time. I suppose that means we’ll have to return sometime.

We went in the direction of the first Christmas market nearby, and then continued on, looking for a place to get coffee. Eventually we ended up at the entrance to the walled city that I remembered from the time we spent about one hour here, between wherever we came from and Bayreuth. Finally we found a coffee place that had a table for us to sit at. No way did we want to have to be outside!

Coffee and “we aren’t going to eat much” were obtained. Hah!

Then we continued our walking …

… ending up at the castle. It was breezy and quite cold, but we managed to stay there for a bit of time. Dan had his camera and was making photos while I just took my iPhone. I just haven’t had any interest in using the Fuji on this trip, and I think for travel and iPhone really does suffice. My Fuji is better for my flower photography at home. Somehow on vacation I don’t want the distraction.

After the castle we went back down to the big market, taking a bit of a side trip to investigate more. We even saw where the World Wide Web was stored! (C’mon, you know you think I’m hysterical.)

Then it was Kartoffelpuffer. Those are fried potatoes (kind of like has browns but not) and while I had applesauce last time it was cranberry for me this time, and Dan had the garlic sauce, I think.

We knew we wanted something a bit more after that, so we had another meal of the three little sausages, sauerkraut, bread, and mustard. Yep, tasty today, like it was yesterday. Both the potatoes and the sausages were eaten standing up outside, which is how most everything is devoured at the markets. Somehow the cold isn’t as bothersome when one is eating!

We ambled more, had some gluhwein, and bought some candied mixed nuts, which appear to be another popular thing here.

Oh … about the gluhwein. When you buy a small cup of it you are charged a fee for the cup. You can choose to keep it or return it and get your money back. Each town has their own cup design. I was tempted by the Heidelberg cups but was strong enough to resist keeping them. (We have too many cups at home as it is!) But this time we opted to not return them. The next stand we visited for a drink explained that we trade in our used cups and get fresh ones and aren’t charged another fee, so we opted to do that with these. Today we again exchanged last night’s second cup for new ones. Kind of handy … and yes, we’ll be taking home these souvenir cups. Just because I was strong in Heidelberg doesn’t mean I’m continuously strong! (After drinking our drinks we both attach our cups to our bags.)


Finally, we decided it was rest time (and iPad time), so we went back to the hotel. I fell asleep (no surprise since I’m still not sleeping at night) … hope I sleep at least a bit later, but we’ll see. I know a nap is not the best thing for insomnia.

Did I mention our hotel is at the border of the red light district? Sigh. We are avoiding going that direction. Don’t want to see it if I can help it!

When it was time to go out again we researched a spot for dinner: we didn’t really feel like a Christmas market dinner. Dan found a really nice place so we walked there: it was in a quieter area, right near a canal (yes, canals in Nürnberg!). In front of the door was a sign saying no availability for seating. In fact there were two signs. But of course we still had to ask (as did several groups after us). I went back and asked about tomorrow evening. Nope. So we will go there at 1:00 tomorrow. It just looked too nice to miss and reviews are excellent.

Photo from near the restaurant:

From there we walked to another place I saw, but it was full as well. And another. Meh … looked like Christmas market food.

Saw some horses …

… saw musicians, too! (Hah!) These tiny things are very expensive!

Finally Dan suggested one he’d read reviews from earlier. And yes, we could get in! We weren’t seated in the large room where loads of people were, or the smaller, quieter room that also appeared full at the moment. Instead we were in a side section that had higher chairs (like bar height) and only had two tables. FINE by me … I could hear! Plus we saw the kitchen, and were able to watch them work (very quickly!), hear them sing a few times, and watch the servers who sometimes looked to be arguing but who knows? I ordered carp and Dan, doing the “when in Rome thing” ordered the pork. I think mine was better.

When we left the restaurant we were greeted by rain. Well how ‘bout that? We both can now be glad we brought our rain jackets. We bought a new kind of drink for us, and I’d explain how it’s made but I really didn’t fully understand it. Something about soaking cones in rum and them pouring that into something … blah blah blah … patty has brain freeze and can’t really remember. But it was not as sweet as gluhwein and definitely better than the “winter warmer” I had last night.

We walked by more stands and Dan seemed to think I would want some marzipan.

Dan wasn’t wrong.

After buying that, though, we knew we needed to get back. The rain was starting to threaten us a bit more. So “home” we went.

Chamomile tea was made (for me) and we both had a bit of the marzipan.

Tomorrow … well … maybe a museum? (They are closed on Mondays.) We shall see. I’m always happy just to wander. I’m good at that!

Final Full Day in Edinburgh

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We had a late start due to our scheduled 9:30 breakfast. Having these breakfasts is fairly crazy for me since I normally only have a cappuccino in the morning. Today I finally went lighter — toast and a small bowl of cereal. To be honest I could have skipped the cereal!

Our first destination was New Town. This is an old area but newer than the older one. Got it? We just wandered around a bit, and eventually managed to get cappuccinos (the coffee at the hotel isn’t my fave and today I tried tea but that didn’t work for me either).

Walking more, we just sort of enjoyed the sights. We did walk to Queen Street Gardens, but apparently it’s not open to the public. Ah well!


Finally it was nearing the 1:00 entry time for the Edinburgh Castle, so we headed over in that direction. We even went in a souvenir shop, which is rare for us, but we were sort of killing time. I never really find anything I want there. What I would like the most is simply more expensive than I can handle and larger than my suitcase can handle! Yes, that wonderful Harris tweed coat … and one for Dan too.

But never mind. We don’t need them and we have no room for them.

This is the pub Jameson recommended and we returned to after the castle.


And then it was the castle. Shortly after entering we bought a light lunch on the grounds. And then we just ambled about, using the audio guided tour at time. We ended up spending over three hours there.


Nearing dinner, but not quite, we went to a pub Jameson had recommended. We thought we’d be getting dinner there as well, but they stop serving food at 4PM so never mind that. Instead we enjoyed a pint. Sitting next to us was a man in a kilt. Later a man in FULL regalia walked in and chatted for a short time with the other man. It’s really amazing to see the full dress. Dan joked with the man at the table next to us that he felt a bit underdressed. Heh.


From there we went to a pub that did serve food and I had a veggie/lentil pie and was surprised it came with no crust. Dan had the fish pie and the same went for that. I’d had a chicken one earlier this last week and it was a true “pie” so I was somewhat disappointed, but I guess “pie” doesn’t necessarily mean with crust. In any case it was delicious and much better for me than fried food!

We then went back to our hotel, via a new street to us that seemed to claim Harry Potter connections. I wonder how many cities and villages claim HP in some way or other.

This is a line to get into Mary’s Milk Bar. It’s the shortest line I saw there, as it usually stretched up the stairway.
This is where we had dinner last night. I missed this sign yesterday.
Our hotel street.
The hotel entrance. Yep, just that exciting.

Tomorrow it’s a train day, as we say goodbye to Edinburgh. Time is passing far too quickly and I’m sad about that, but I know we can’t travel forever.

G’night!

Moving On

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We woke, packed, and went downstairs for coffee and a croissant. We could have paid £15 each (or was it more?!) for a bigger breakfast. But no thanks! We thought we were getting one chocolate croissant each and it turned out we each were given two. No clue if that’s normal or if the person just opted to be generous. Second croissants were saved for the train ride.

The final view from our hotel room.

Walking to the train station was easy — just a gentle downhill. And then we waited, because of course we were early. For this (and the last) train we (I) had booked first class, only because the price really wasn’t much different. Both times we didn’t end up in first class because we didn’t see that carriage quickly and just wanted to get on board. When Dan talked to someone who worked on the train he suggested we NOT buy first class, because if we then opted to move there we would just pay for the upgrade on board, but he didn’t seem to think it was worth it. Ah well. Too late now, as this was our final Scotrail ride.

Waverly Station in Edinburgh

And now here we are, in our very old hotel, in Edinburgh! When we arrived the room wasn’t yet ready, so we dropped off luggage and headed down the street for sandwiches at a nearby spot. When it was 2:00 we were back at the hotel to check in. Breakfast comes with the price, so we scheduled tomorrow’s at the leisurely time of 8:30.

The fourth grader in me wants to get a black pen and put an “I” between “TO” and “LET”. Yep. That’s my brain!

I think this is the most basic of places we’ve had, but it appears to be clean and the room is a decent size. It’s just a walk away to the city center. I can’t remember now why I booked this: odds are it was a Rick Steves recommendation or some such thing.

We then caught up on our sites, emails, and set up our charging area (we both have a tri-fold device that charges phone, watch, and if necessary AirPods. I’ve realized that I could easily leave a number of cords at home since the tri-fold charger takes care of all but my iPad. It had been recommended that I get an extension cord, but so far I’ve not used that at all. I really need to start a list of what to leave behind next time. Basically less of everything!

When we started up we both thought “Meh” … not impressed. Turns out it’s just our area. I know I’d read to stay slightly outside the center, and I guess when one does that it’s not the most splendid spot. I’m sure, though, it’s much more affordable.

Near where we are staying … but with a glimpse at the castle above.
I had to stop to take a photo of the clematis. They were stunning!

A short walk later we saw a whole lot more people, and things were quite lively.

Our goal was to get up to the castle, so we headed that way. And stairs — lots and lots of stairs.

Looking down at the first section of stairs.
Okay, sometimes it wasn’t stairs we were going up on.


We saw what used to be The Tollboth Kirk, and is now “The Hub” … used by the Edinburgh International Festival.

From there we went toward the castle.

Looking back at The Hub

Turned out today was sold out. Not a big deal since we have more days here, but it made us realize we’d better buy tickets in advance. In front of it it looks like they are setting up for the Tattoo, but that doesn’t happen until August.

Since we couldn’t even walk close to the castle we headed back down the “Royal Mile” and landed at St. Giles, a Presbyterian church. It’s a very impressive church, although seeing a craft fair taking place IN the church brought to mind Jesus overturning tables. Hm. I opted to ignore that section (no photos of it at all), and enjoy the rest of the once Catholic cathedral.

We continued down the Royal Mile, only visiting one store: a Harris tweed shop that was out of this world gorgeous. For £299 I could have bought a fabulous coat, as could Dan. Ah well. We headed onward instead, and eventually turned around and looked for spot for dinner.


Running somewhat parallel to the Royal Mile we found a place to eat. It was what appeared to be quite a tourist street so I wasn’t expecting much, but actually my duck was pretty darn delicious!

The photo below was on the wall right above us at the restaurant. I liked it. That is all.

And then it was back to the hotel. Time to figure out what we do for tomorrow since our tickets for the castle aren’t until the following day.

Cheers!

A Stirling Day

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It’s odd not getting up and having no walk or train ride to prepare for. Not that I’m complaining!

There are far too many photos on this post: I don’t think I can continue to post this number, but since I have them, I’ll put ‘em up today because I have enough time.

We woke, had our lovely breakfast, spoke with the hostess who talked to Dan a lot about the Mitchells of Dundee … and I remembered to take a few photos of the bar and the “library” before we went to our room to ready ourselves for the day.


It was rainy.

It’s Scotland.

This is not unusual for this area, although our first few days in Scotland were so unusually sunny I thought perhaps we brought the area great weather. (Yes, I like to take credit for things like that.) But no, it’s rainy and likely to be that way on other days. No worries, as we are prepared. I was happy that I brought my nicer raincoat. I also have my hat, a scarf, and an umbrella. So what’s a bit ‘o rain, eh?

We took our time getting out and about, and when we did we headed in the direction of Stirling Castle, for which we had 1:00 tickets. On the way we saw a few things that caused us to stop and take photos, including a building that had “Boy Scouts” on it. I’m guessing it’s not the same as the US Scouts, but who knows? I just liked the witty sayings on the building.

In case you can’t read it, this one reads, “Quarreling is Taboo”.

Then we spotted the Church of the Holy Rude and took some time in there. I was dismayed when the person taking the fee to visit gave us the “Concession” (as in senior) discount without asking. WHAT?! Don’t I look like I’m in my forties … or even fifties?! (Kidding!)

Before our castle appointment we figured we’d grab a “little” lunch. I have a feeling Scotland doesn’t really do little … or else we are just picking the wrong places. But lunch was definitely enjoyed. So were our tiny beers.

In some ways I found the castle overwhelming. We purchased the audio tour, which we listened to via our phones. I think most places are doing that now and I highly suspect Covid might have been the start of it (the narration makes it sound like we should have a device they hand out) and I’ll bet they continue with this method — works just fine for me.

There is much to hear about the castle, and a good amount to see. We chose to be outside first, knowing that, while it was not sprinkling at the moment, it had rained earlier and would rain again.

Sure enough, rain came. So then it was the indoor places to see.

We grew a bit weary after listening to the tour recording for so long, and eventually opted to go back to our hotel and eat some of our leftover goodies from our walk lunches. We needed to be sure we had something in our stomachs because …

Next up … a Stirling gin tour at the Stirling Distillery. We walked over to the distillery, which was a mere 10 minutes or so away. There was only one other couple there for the tour. Small samples of gin were set in front of us, along with one cocktail. The tour guide, Kate, was wonderful and I learned quite a bit about gin. This distillery is somewhat new. I would highly recommend visiting it.

We purchased four of the tiny bottles: we simply have no room at all in our luggage for more. But I really want to see if we can order some at some point. Thanks, Kate, for the great tour. It was a lovely experience!

Tour over ‘n out … time to walk. I have been admiring so many stone walls with plants growing in them I finally took a photo.

From there we walked over to a pub called Nicky-Tams Bar & Bothy. We had simple dinners. Nothing to write home about, but just fine. This time the beers were a bit larger. (A nice thing about beers over here is that many are lower in alcohol and you can safely enjoy a larger glass!)

And back to our hotel we went.

Tomorrow we head out on the train again. I’m hoping for a less rainy day, but … well … it’s Scotland!