We have done a lot of walking on this trip, but today was all about the stairs. First thing this morning, we boarded the train for Sintra and decided to walk up to the castle since it was cool. We could see the castle so how hard could it be? I should have known what we were in for from the start. The stairs begin right from the town center through winding alleys up into the forest.
3rd M insisted on walking a bunch of the hill on his own and, since he had the map, he was sure the right way was down. He would only turn around once we showed him he had the map upside down. This of course brought our pace to a slow stroll with all the stops, backpedaling and explaining.
We were both proud of his effort and the slower pace let us enjoy the view. In the future we will leave the navigation up to the “over 2 year olds”, though.
Once at the castle it was a short walk (up) to the Palace of Pene; one of the most stunning palaces I have seen. The combined beauty of the palace itself, the location overlooking the castle and the gardens that surround the palace are difficult to put into words.
We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Plus, we had all those stairs to walk back down. We actually took a different route down, so we did not have as many stairs.
What are you looking at 3rd M?
Oh I see, dad enjoying a drink after all those stairs.
So much fun to follow you on this trip. Love the photos and the dialogue. Who did the writing? It was great!
Thank you, the writing was done by 1st M also known as dad. 2nd M, mom, was the editor for most of the posts.