Day #35 - Sintra, Portugal

View from peak of Moorish Castle

8th century ruins

Great path

City of Sintra, Spain from peak

Looking down the trail

Sunday, April 18th

Today was a pretty relaxing day. I got up and went for a run and then had a great breakfast at the hotel. I hit the streets of Lisbon, walking to areas I could not cover yesterday. There seemed to be more people out today. I feel that the folks here are really nice and hard-working. Every time I go into a shop, there's someone there immediately. Actually, usually 2 people. 1 person appears to be a backup if the other cannot understand the language. There's better food options and bottles of vitamin water and orange juice. I can make it here.

I worked my way to an art museum called Museum Calouste Gulbenkian. This museum was formed from the private collections of Calouste Gulbenkian, a rich American oil tycoon who died in 1955, but had lived in Portugal since WWII. It was Sunday - so the museum was free. It was impressive I've got to say. There were alot of great paintings. Their claim to fame was that these paintings appeared real, and the items jumped off the canvas. There was also a ton of unique pots, plates, old rugs, coins, and sculptures. I can't imagine what all these items would cost. And for 1 person to have this collection - that's crazy. I know I'll never truly get it - but I really appreciate those who do and the passion with which they bring to their craft.

I next walked to the metro station and took a train to a small town called Sintra - located 18 miles northwest of Lisbon. I was only going to spend a couple hours here - but the town was so cool that I doubled that time.

My favorite thing about this town easily was the 8th century ruins of a Moorish Castle perched at the highest peak for miles around. I thought: "Hey, no big deal, I'll just climb to the top of that bad-boy" Well, I did it. But next time, I should pack a lunch. It was a major climb which took me over an 1-1/2 hours to get to the top - walking at a healthy pace. Good training. The path was great. When I got to the top, there were a number of people there who had taken the shuttle. See the pictures I've attached. You could see for miles.

I think I need to take a break from the old castles and architecture for a few days. I know that I'm not appreciating sites like I should. 8th century ruins? -- that's one of the oldest things I've seen thus far on the trip. I can't believe what had to go into building such a fort. I took several pictures at the highest point and took a casual stroll back into town.

I took the train back into Lisbon and called it an early night. Nothing earthshattering to report - but a nice peaceful day.