ok, before all of you that live in sintra roll their eyes saying that the title is a misconception of sintra, let me explain! ok, first let me say hi to all of you! how are you doing? preparing your weekend? i’m actually pretty excited for getting away for two days! but don’t forget that i’ll be blogging during the weekend, mainly because we have a new feature for sponsors (have you thought about being a sponsor here? oh come on, don’t be shy! it’ll be awesome!) and also a new feature on saturdays, but you’ll see that next saturday! and now moving on to our topic today: why did i mentioned sintra on stories from lisbon feature? no, sintra is not in lisbon and you can’t actually just walk to sintra from lisbon. you need to drive there or catch a train, because sintra is about 30km away from lisbon. but the thing is that most tourists that come to lisbon, take a day or two to go to sintra, and my advice is that you should definitely do the same! well even if you’re not a tourist, you should do the same!
sintra is magical… is out of this world. though i love lisbon with all my heart and my face cringes every time the idea of moving away from lisbon crosses my mind, i think that i would like it if i moved to sintra. and though i know the place, i don’t go there that often, at least as often as the place deserves. last week i went there and i spent a morning on the main park and walking around the streets on the historical part. i couldn’t believe such beauty in one place. i was in love and excited and upset, because my battery was not full and my film camera was at home. a promise to myself was made, i had to go back.
this park is called parque da liberdade and it’s free (way to go sintra!). when i walked inside the park i honestly couldn’t believe that no one was charging me, because the park is so beautiful and filled with corners, trees and flowers… perfect for a photo session, i thought immediately. though i rushed my visit a little bit, because of the camera, i believe i could spend several hours there, capturing so many details. the light is amazing under the trees and then you go up like if your going up a mountain, but with stairs, and when you reach the top there is this magnificent view over sintra. then i got out and wandered a bit through the very narrow streets and found so many houses i would love to live in.
sintra is perfect for a weekday walk, because during the weekends is crazy with all the tourists and portuguese people that go there. so if you’re able to go there first thing in the morning it’ll be smooth! i parked my car easily and though there were many tourists, you can walk through the streets and don’t feel squeezed between everyone walking there as well! and if you want something to eat, it’s much more peaceful, which is actually pretty important! another thing that had my heart beating fast was the gorgeous architecture you find here. and the sad thing, but also pretty mysterious and magical, is that you find many buildings and family houses completely abandoned and/or for sale. the thing is i’m a bit scared of going in by myself, because we never know what we will find, right? but if mr twiggs was with me, i would certainly explore more, because these places tell so many stories…
i was particularly enchanted by the ivy growing up on so many houses… though i know that’s not that good for walls, i find it extremely beautiful and mysterious. and that is what sintra is all about… beauty, magic and mystery. i’ll go back for sure, because you need to know what sintra holds, because you’ll want to come here like tomorrow!
ps. have you noticed that society6 is having another week of free shipping? it goes through sunday! rush rush rush, there are plenty of news here & here!!
Iro - Ivy says
Hello there from a confessed Sintra lover!
I’m one of those tourists you are mentioning here (hehe…) but as there was a long enough weekend beginning form a Wednesday night till Sunday evening planned to spend in Lisbon, we wisely chose to visit this magical place during week days. The car ride there itself was enjoyable and when we reached the place itself, I was delighted.
Once was enough to fall in love, a second visit followed & should there have been more time, a third one would have been made for sure! We both went crazy photographing around, enjoyed dinners & coffees, walks and visits to gardens & palaces.
A year has passed and the feeling is still alive (nostalgic smile here…) Certainly visiting magical places leaves the most wonderful traces inside us. I’m glad to have returned with many pretty pictures (which I know I haven’t shared) but I’m still so happy to go through them.Thank you for the reminder, it will be a nice thing to do to relax :*)
It’s interesting to see how you capture its corners as a Portuguese & how I did as a tourist, feeling so familiar with the place though for some reason…
Much like you, I also loved the ivy plants on houses & have drunk water right there from this natural source.
Well, have a great weekend while away :*)
twiggs says
oh sweet friend, i’m really really happy that i made you smile looking at these photos and reminding you the delightful days you spent here. it’s always so good when we remember the good times we spent while on vacation. when you said dinners & coffees, i immediately imagined you and jan at a restaurant, under some low lights, having dinner outside smiling at each other and reminding the good things that had happened that day, what you saw and what you plan to see next! and yes miss iro, where are those pictures??? i’m so curious to see what you saw when you were here a year ago.
i’ll come back to sintra of course, because there are yet so many amazing things to capture! have a lovely friday!!!
Iro - Ivy says
Have a lovely Friday yourself! still laughing out loud… “yes miss iro, where are those pictures???”
I’d honestly love to have the time to go through them, choose some favorites, work on them and even post some but it wouldn’t be a fair + correct choice for the time being. Remember that you shouldn’t only judge from the pictures of the new place I’m sharing, as there is still lot ad lots to do. It has been a rather exhausting week.
Clearly planning a complete make over + renovation is indeed a lot of work itself, but when compared with actually doing it while everyday life in it must also be coordinated + functional is pretty tiring to the least.
My knees hurt. My back hurts. And I don’t smell like perfume every day. Sigh.
But I’m glad to be able to afford some hours of hiring a good + worthwhile hand worker so that details are done, which though requite much more effort + time than other works.
Oh I do need me a proper closet. Boxes won’t do any more. Thank you.
I hope you are convinced that I’d honestly love to sit and go through pictures, including sharing them.
But again, everything is its time my once wise ancestors said ; )
(Boy, am I talkative around the web today!)
Enjoy your weekend
Dulce says
Quem gosta de fotografia perde a cabeça em Sintra tal é a riqueza arquitetónica e paisagistica da vila …
Não sei se já conheces a Quinta da Regaleira e o Palácio de Monserrate, são sítios absolutamente fantásticos e recomendo vivamente uma visita .
Eu como munícipe tenho entrada livre em todos os monumentos e parques ao domingo de manhã, então aproveito para conhecer estes lugares mágicos…
Tenho um post sobre um desses passeios a monserrate espreita lá a ver se não é uma tentação ;)
Em breve colocarei um sobre o Palácio da Pena e brevemente quero regressar à Regaleira, com a chegada da Primavera a Quinta torna-se um sonho :)
Parabéns pelas fotos sempre tão bonitas ! Continuação de bom trabalho :)
twiggs says
é uma verdade dulce! é tão fácil chegar e ficar completamente rendido e não querer sair dali enquanto não se tiver fotografado cada canto! eu senti-me no céu assim que cheguei. fui lá algumas vezes, mas a mudança de máquina fotográfica, o desenvolvimento de competências nesta área faz com que esta tenha sido para mim como a primeira vez. já conheço o palácio da pena e a quinta da regaleira, mas tenho de os repetir sem dúvida, porque já faz cerca de 3 anos que visitei ambos. e o palácio de monserrate é que ainda me é desconhecido. obrigada pelo apoio ao meu trabalho!!! ;) beijinhos
Traveling Mama says
Oh wow! It looks so magical! I want to go there!! I’m going to live vicariously through you because nothing is blooming here yet!