Castelo da Pena, Sintra

So still as a continuation of Nadine's birthday present and because she'd asked that for her birthday she wanted to go to Palácio da Pena we set off early on Sunday.  

Boy but I certainly didn't know what I was letting myself into 😁😁

We were able to park our car at the park of Santa Eufémia but unbeknown to us due to the high level of fire hazard all the games leading to the Palace were closed except for one.  So we set off following the directions of google maps and having walked all of 40mins we came to the gate BUT it was closed!!  We pondered on jumping over the gate in fact Rafa did 😃but came out again.  Well to cut a long story short that's when the bus driver that happened to come by told us about the other gates being closed.  Pity they didn't think about placing signs telling the tourists that. 

Information: 

Gardens - 09h00-19h00, last ticket 18h00 /  Palace - 09h30-18h30, last ticket 17h30

Prices 2019/2020:

Palace and gardens:  adult - (18-64) - 14€  /  children: (6 - 17) - 12,50€  /  senior: (65+) - 12,50€  /  family: (2 adults + 2 children) - 49€

Train inside that takes you to the Palace - 3€

To prepare your visit go here... https://www.parquesdesintra.pt/planear-a-sua-visita/como-chegar/

 

 So after that long walk and the fact that it was already 11:30 we decided to go into Sintra centre and have lunch.  Rafa found us a gorgeous place called https://m.facebook.com/restaurantemetamorphosis/ and the food was absolutely delish!!  You can see from the photos below 👀The whole meal including 2 beers, orange juice and water plus 2 coffee's came to exactly 50€

Bacalhau grelhado (hubby had this, he said it was excellent)

Crepes com legumes which Nadine had (I tried it and it's to die for!)

Francesinha vegetariana which Rafa had and loved!

Bacalhau com natas which I only managed to eat 1/3 but it was delicious!

Bolo de chocolate eaten by Rafa

 

From here we went back to the Palácio, we parked in the same spot and set off via the track that we were told and after a walk of 15 mins we came to a Miradouro da Cruz

 and 5 mins after (which to me felt like much more due to being tired) we reached the gate and bought our tickets, two for the Palace gardens and 2 to the Palace and gardens (these last two allow you to enter the Palace and check out all the rooms with the furniture.  Obviously we took loads of photos and we ended our day with drinks feeling very happy and TIRED 💖

Look at my hair 😂😂

Cabo Espichel

So ever heard of Cabo Espichel, if not you'll find some interesting information here.

  It's on the southwestern tip Setubal Peninsula and has wind-blasted landscapes and towering cliffs.

Here you'll find a number of interesting tourist attractions, the five major tourist attractions are:-

• The Santuario de Nossa Senhora and the pilgrim’s accommodation. 

• The lighthouse (Farol do Cabo Espichel)  
• The small the Chapel of Ermida da Memória
• The Pedra da Mua dinosaur tracks.
• The Lagosteiros dinosaur footprints.

A visit of about two hours (time included for a drink and something to bite) and you could easily see the Santuario de Nossa Senhora, the Ermida da Memória and the lighthouse (a 10-minute walk from the chapel). It is a 20-minute walk around the cliffs to the Lagosteiros dinosaur footprints, and this route passes the only safe place to view the Pedra da Mua tracks. 

It is said that the  most fascinating vision occurred in the 15th century, when an apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared riding a giant mule, and ascended the steep cliffs from the ocean. On reaching the top of the cliffs (and more significantly the Chapel of Ermida da Memória) Mary vanished, leaving just the footprints of the giant mule. These giant mule tracks actually do exist, and can be seen as part of the Pedra da Mua.

The Santuario de Nossa Senhora do Cabo Espichel was constructed under the direction of King Dom Pedro II in 1701 and was consecrated in 1707. 

The first lighthouse was constructed in 1430, but the current 32m tower dates from 1790. On a clear night, the light from Cabo Espichel Lighthouse can be seen for 35km out to sea.

The Pedra da Mua tracks are embedded within the grey and sheer cliffs, directly below the Chapel of Ermida da Memória. These tracks were primarily formed by a herd Sauropods (colossal four-legged dinosaurs) and include juvenile footprints

 The Lagosteiros footprints were formed during the Cretaceous period, from a series of Theropod and Ornithopod dinosaurs, with the most interesting prints from a running dinosaur.

How to get there:  It is best to drive to the Cabo Espichel as there is very poor public transport. At the Cabo Espichel there is a large free car park (GPS: 38.419609, -9.21328) and a secondary one closer to the hiking routes to the dinosaur footprints (GPS: 38.42042, -9.20815). The drive from Sesimbra takes 20 minutes and follows the N379, while Setubal is a 50-minute drive away.

From here we live (Corroios) it takes about 46 mins by car.

After Cabo Espichel we took a drive to Sesimbra and due to it being choc n block with people we decided to go and have lunch at Freddo 😎