From Aveiro, we took the highspeed train back to Lisbon, then caught a commuter train to the nearby town of Sintra where we would spend two nights.
With a little help from Google, we found our hotel off a side street close to the train station.
The room was nice in a Marriott sort of way.
What we really liked about the room was that it had an electrically heated clothes drying rack in the bathroom. The curse of going carry-on is that we pretty much needed to wash clothes every day.
Home of numerous castles, palaces, parks and street-side artwork that would be banned in Texas, Sintra was arguably the most beautiful city we visited in Portugal.
Because of Dianne’s knee, we decided not to hike up to the hilltop castles.
Instead, we would stick to the lower level attractions such as the Regaleira Palace and Gardens.
Unfortunately, this was Sunday, and the line of people waiting to get in stretched down the sidewalk for several blocks.
Not worth it, we concluded. Instead, we continued onward toward the Seteais Palace, which is now an upscale hotel.
Through the arch, an outdoor stairway led to a stone deck from which we enjoyed lofty views of the surrounding countryside.
Retreating back to town…
…we passed restaurants…
…gift shops…
…and a Superman-worthy phone booth.
After lunch, featuring a bowl of the best gazpacho I’ve had this side of Spain…
…we bought tickets to the Palacio Nacional de Sintra, which sits off the main square.
Inside, we found that Portugal’s residing royalty enjoyed beautiful garden landscaping…
…spacious rooms…
…roomy bedrooms…
…freestanding bathtubs…
…and ceilings with swans.
There was even a fully equipped kitchen where the queen could cook up delicious halftime snacks for the king and his buddies.
As we toured the national palace, I remembered those pertinent words from America’s great philosopher and poet, Tom Petty:
It’s good to be king, if just for a while
To be there in velvet, yeah, to give ’em a smile
It’s good to get high and never come down
It’s good to be king of your own little town
We had dinner downtown, returning to the hotel at dusk. We grabbed our bottle of 10-year-old port, got a pair of wine glasses from the desk clerk and retreated to the hotel patio for a Portuguese nightcap under the stars.
Yes, it’s good to be king, if just for a while.
