An Unplanned Year

We left the Algarve and headed north to Lisbon for a tour of auto shops that might sell snow chains. No luck and instead of searching more, we have ordered off Amazon for delivery tomorrow. ( 🤞🤞)

On the way here we saw plenty of stork nests in electrical pylon towers. Some had so many they looked like stork apartment blocks!

We then headed to the Palace of Pena in Sintra. A bendy, windy, steep (thankfully one-way) road up the hill to the parking, then a dash up the hill to make the entry time – they’re strict about arrival time here!

(If anyone watches the US version of The Amazing Race, you may have seen this location in a recent season.) Views from the top were amazing. You could see for miles.

Tonight we’re also trying something a bit different, renting a room in someone’s house. In theory this is cheaper and sociable. In practice it is cheaper, very quiet (we feel like we don’t want to disturb anyone by making noise) and cold!! It is single digits outside, the house is cold, we feel like we shouldn’t close all of their open doors and windows and aren’t sure if we are allowed to turn on the heating outside our room!! Oh well, we’ve cooked and eaten dinner and are tucked up in bed in our warm-ish room, at 7pm.

The following day, after taking delivery of our snow-chains, we went for a bike ride tour around the Sintra region.

Thankfully it was an e-bike ride so we had assistance on the hills – although it has to be said, an e-bike is definitely NOT a moped, you still have to do some work!! Our tour started in Sintra, stopped for a coffee and Pastel de nata at a cafe that has been operating for >160years!! We then went halfway up the hill to the Pena Palace that we went to yesterday, then veered off along the top of the mountain range to Sanctuary of Peninha. There were amazing views from there, the sun even peeked through the clouds for a few minutes.

We then rode to a great tucked away restaurant where you chose a piece of meat (or burger or kebab) and the meal is cooked for you. The local Black Pork kebab was amazing!

From there we rode our bikes through some gorgeous narrow (2-way) streets to reach Quinta de San Michel, Vinhos de Janas, a winery where we sampled some unique and delicious local wines!

In contrast to our last big bike ride in Europe, no one fell off or was injured!! Our bums and knees are a bit sore now, thankfully our room has a bath and hot water!!!

NB: Rodrigo does bike tours, short and long in many locations in Portugal if that’s your thing, take a look at his website.

After a few nurofen and a good night’s sleep we started in the direction of Porto, first stopping at Fátima. We were literally driving with 3km of it, and it is somewhere I recall hearing about from my Grandma – I’m sure she’d have rolled in her grave if she knew I went so close and did not stop. For those who don’t know, Fátima is where three young children, Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta received apparitions of Mary (although the signs at some apparition sites said it was angels) over a period of 6 months in 1917.  They were told to pray the rosary every day for world peace. (Possibly still very relevant over 100 years later.)

We visited the two homes where the children lived and the site of the second appearance. That location was really peaceful with some lovely birdsong.

We then went to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima. That place is MASSIVE (And free to visit and enter everything) with an outdoor chapel used every half hour for a rosary or a mass, an outdoor altar used for big events and a completely separate other giant church for larger services. Even a specific parking lot where they bless the cars daily!

We wandered around, bought a candle to light and walked through the Basilica. At either side of the altar are the tombs of the three children with a lovely sculpture above them.

Then I felt that I should probably sit and do a quick decade of the rosary,  again, Grandma would be disappointed if I didn’t. Sadly I think she would also be disappointed that I had to Google the words to the Hail Mary… Vatican.com came through for me. (Meanwhile. Kevin was sitting behind me, deliberately not using his phone in order to be appropriately respectful!)

I’ll put an apology here to mum also for wasting 13 years of Catholic education! (Kevin suggests it wasn’t wasted as I learned how to research there.)

We then headed back to the car – not sure if it was blessed or not – via the candle/intentions place then jumped in the car to drive to Porto.

We’re in Porto for the next few days.