Quinta da Marinha riding stables, or
being adventurers in the treetops, all
buckled in with harnesses and ropes,
and swimming in the pools wherever
we stop. There is so much to do…
Especially Sintra
Sintra is a place where nature and
man intertwine perfectly. The
lushness of the area embraces you in
a mystical sort of way. Thick forests,
moss-covered rocks, vines that wrap
around trees, roots that curl through
century-old stone walls – hallmarks
of quaintness, a smattering of
restaurants and sleepy streets that feel
so charmingly old-fashioned.
For centuries, Portugal’s royal
family escaped the cities and headed
to Sintra. Local legend states that
Christopher Columbus accidently
docked nearby before continuing to
Lisbon, but it wasn’t until Portugal’s
King Ferdinand II arrived in the mid-
1800s and built a fantastic
holiday home that the entire region
became worthy of its current
UNESCO World Heritage status
with a thousand years’ worth of
architectural beauties. Amongst
this backdrop, my knight-mad
four-year-old is transported back in
time. It’s a short hike up a hill to the
romantic Pena Palace – the former
summer residence of the Portuguese
royal family – a jumble of colours,
canary yellow, bright pink, purples,
and towers, where we enter into an
imaginary world with the King and
Queen’s bedroom still intact. We visit
the Quinta da Regaleira estate and
the Seteais Palace, which must have
inspired countless fairy tales along the
way. As we head home after sunset,
the castles glow in the dark and the
children recite stories of all that is
going on within those grand castle
walls.
Curiously Cabo da Roca
No trip to the area is complete without
a visit to Europe’s most westerly point
– Cabo da Roca, which, for centuries,
was considered the absolute edge of
the world. Today, the scenery and
many hiking trails are the reason to
visit.
We spend the day in Lisbon and
take the tram to the Lisbon
Aquarium, where it’s actually possible
to book a sleepover right by the
shark tank, which, for my six-year
old daughter, is a dream come true.
Even three-year-olds can join in
on a Saturday morning orchestra
performance with the aquarium as the
backdrop.
A pause in the day takes us to the
home of the
Pastel de Belem
, or egg
tart as we know them in Hong Kong,
where the children dust them with
cinnamon and eat them fresh from
the ovens. We enjoy a
bica
(a good
Portuguese espresso) as they run
around in the leafy square, feeding
the pigeons. Since 1837, this patisserie
has been transporting locals to sugar-
coated nirvana, and our next stop is
to walk it all off along the seafront
where the great Vasco de Gama once
returned.
And then there’s the zoo, where
you can get right up next to the
dolphins, feeding them by hand. It is
an exemplary zoo, with 113 offspring
from 47 different species being born
last year. Lisbon Zoo, winner of
tonnes of accolades, also witnessed the
birth of three white tigers and a white
rhinoceros. It is hard to pull my three
away from here.
And then it is time to go, this time
by train to Madrid, leaving from the
most beautiful railway station I have
ever seen, on a sleeper with bunk beds.
It couldn’t get more exciting for my
three. Other cities make you feel as
though you will never get to be a part
of it, but Lisbon and all its surrounds
draws you in and ensures that a little
part of your heart remains – and you
must go back to find it.
January 2015
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