Where are the forest fairies?

Devonne and I caught a cab to our hostel as we got in at 8pm and needed to have supper still. The cab ride went well, and after being shown our rooms we headed out for some good Portugese food. We found some! The waiter was sort of a jerk, but the rice with fish was delicious. I don't know what kind of sauce they use, but it's amazing. I could definitely eat more back in Canada if I can figure out how to make the sauce!

The first full day in Portugal found us doing a day trip to Sintra.  I felt like I was placed in a magical forest. Everything was blanketed in lush greeness.

We first headed to Quinta de Regeleria which was suggested to us by many ppl. It was not a disappointment with beautiful green grounds, tunnels that made you feel like you're in a story and smells that transported you out of Europe. I'm not exaggerating. This area was so picturesque and smelled so fresh, words cannot describe it. I would defInitely go back to this place.

We had delicious Portugese pastries (travesseiros and queijadas) and coffee (best coffee I've ever tasted was from Portugal) after Quinta. We checked out a few shops which had so much hand painted porcelain, and Devonne found some neat pieces, but sadly nothing caught my eyes.

In the late afternoon we headed to Pena, another palace which was bigger than the last, but also more of a touristy thing than Quinta de Regeleria.  We got there pretty late, so we opted for walking around the park which were actually the grounds for the palace. While walking to the highest Sintra hill, Devonne and I felt like we were back home, walking in Jasper or Banff. It was very refreshing to be surroundes by so many trees and green. The view from the top was awesome and worth the trek up to Pena --- oh yeah, Devonne and I walked for about 45 min to this place when we thought it would only take about 20 min. We got some nice photos from this location, but it was getting late and we were ready for some good Portugese food!

Back in the town we went to a restaurant that was recommended to us called Apeadeiro. It turned out to be absolutely wonderful,  with such nice waiters. Actually,  when we asked for the bill, the waiter first came by and let us try some port. Yum! I really enjoyed that stuff.

We hopped on the train back to Lisbon where sleep got the better of me. I was definitely tired but didn't want to accept we only had one more full day in Lisbon.