Castles and Climbing
My final day in Portugal--a day-trip to Sintra

On Sunday, December 30, 2007, I got up at 8 am, got out by 9:15 am, bought another transit day pass for €3.85 ($5.60), took the subway to Jardim Zoologico, walked through to the Sete Rios station, bought my train ticket to Sintra.  After arriving in Sintra, I caught the Scotturb bus #434 to the Pena Palace (round-trip ticket €4 [$5.85]).
	First stop in Sintra was the Pena Palace.  It's in a park, so after buying a ticket (combo ticket for the palace and Moorish castle was €10 [$14.60]), it was an enjoyable walk up to the palace.
The Pena Palace is a sherbet-colored palace.  So pretty!
	The outside was more interesting than the interior.
From this outlook at the palace, I had a view of the Moorish Castle (where I was heading next) and the water.
	More palace views.  Look at all the people! It was like everyone in Lisbon descended on Sintra the same day I did!
It looks like a fondant-covered pastel wedding cake!
	Once last view before leaving.
Next, I took the bus #434 from the Pena Palace to the Moorish castle.
	While I was severely underwhelmed by the Pena Palace, I was bowled over by the Moorish Castle.
Anything that starts with this type of trail is usually good! (Exception: Devil's Hole in Niagara Falls, New York, when it's raining)
	I wish I'd had the time to walk down to Sintra.  Next time!
Wow!  From below, I had a view of both the Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle ruins!
	The Moorish castle fulilled my hilltop-castle-ruin-climbing fantasies.
It was a **long way up** to the top of the Moorish Castle ruins. The views were amazing all the way! I was **very glad** it wasn't raining!
	More views of the Moorish Castle ruins.
I made it to the top, along with quite a few other hardy souls.
	Look at that view out to the water! Look at all those steps down! The Moorish Castle ruins made the trip out to Sintra worth it.
I caught bus 434 (30 minutes late) to head back to the Sintra train station.  By 4:00 pm, I was back in Lisbon.
With the precious little daylight left in my trip to Portugal, I decided to visit the free Gulbenkian museum.  While I thought my favorite would be the Lalique collection, what I really enjoyed was the illuminated Bibles.
	Since it was in the same neighborhood as the museum, I decided to try dinner at my store, El Corte Inglés.  While in the picture, it looks delicious (pizza meal for €5.20 [$7.60]), it was not particularly appetizing.
On my final morning in Portugal, Monday, December 31, 2007, I got up at 3 am, showered, changed, and checked out by 4 am.  The front desk man called a cab for me (as Lisbon public transportation doesn't get going until 7 am), and it arrived within 3 minutes.  The meter was set to tarif 1, and the drop charge was €2.50 ($3.65).  I was in the cab about 15 minutes, and the meter read €6.85 ($10) at the airport.  I hate cabs, and I was so happy that I hadn't been gouged, I gave the driver €8 ($11.75).
I ate my chocolate donuts and drank my OJ and passion fruit drink while waiting for the check-in desk to open.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures of my trip to Portugal!