Wow what a place Sintra is. Today we toured a mansion, palace and castle that dominate the mountain towering over Sintra. The area has hundreds of chateaus and 4 palaces in the surrounding hills built from the 17th century by the very wealthy as summer houses. The Pena palace was the residence of the kings of Portugal until democratisation in 1910 and us now a museum. The castle was started in the 1100 by the Moors and built upon many others since. It and the castle have spectacular views over the coast and Lisbon. Like Lisbon, many are looking sad and in need of a bit of tlc.

We walked the 1.5 kms back down the mountain to Sintra from the castle late this afternoon through the forest including large stands of gum trees. The smell was very reminiscent of home.

Our accommodation here has been fantastic sharing a 4 bedroom apartment with Chris and Tony. Right in the middle of town with views up and down the mountain.

Of to Porto about 330 kms up the coast with a stop in Obidos for cork handbags (thanks Annette and Bob), for a 3 night stay and then back into Spain. Continuing to have a ball.