Where the Wild Things Are - Portugal - Sentra and Lisbon

When summer started drawing to a close, it became time to decide where we wanted to spend our autumn trip. We considered not going anywhere this year as Brian took on a new job in Alaska and he's still working more than full time in Sedona, so the idea of not adding anything else to the schedule was tempting. But we have his niece Lili living with us this year and she offered to watch the kids if we wanted to go, so we took full advantage because that has never been an option before. Plus, Brian's going to be in Alaska for almost nine months this next summer, so I don't know how many big European trips we'll have together for a long time and I wanted to get one in before he leaves. 

We've loved visiting Spain this time of year, but flights were pretty steep. I've been keeping an eye on Sardinia and Corsica as well, but I really want to go when the weather is nice and the water is warm and this year's trip was a bit later than most - well into November. Brian wanted to visit somewhere new and I've been wanting to visit Madeira for a while now, so we decided on Portugal! I booked a flight to Lisbon and then another flight to Funchal with about 6 hours in between to explore. 

The flight went great, but by the time we arrived in Lisbon, we were sooo tired. We got a cappuccino and croissant and tried to talk ourselves out of the just going to the airport lounge to nap before the next leg of our trip. Of course we opted to explore because we knew that, even if we were dying to sleep, we would never regret spending that time sightseeing. That was the best decision ever! We checked our carry-ons in a locker at the airport and then caught the next train to Sintra...the first UNESCO cultural site. 

We got off of the train, walked through the old town, and then set our sights on the remains of the Moorish Castle, sitting atop a mountain nearby. 

We found a hiking trail up through the most beautiful gardens and eventually found ourselves at the tippy top of the mountain. It was hot and sticky but I was grateful for the thick vegetation to keep us shaded on our hike up. The views were so beautiful too! 

We finally made it up to the Castle of the Moors and spent about an hour walking around an exploring. I wish we'd had more time because there was so much to see and it was such a beautiful day!

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the airport for our flight to Madeira.

At the end of our trip, we had an afternoon planned in Lisbon. Our flight from the Azores was mid-morning, so we took the train to our hotel in Lisbon and dropped off our bags before setting out on foot to explore the city. The hotel was literally a block away from the Marquess of Pombal Square so we found some of the best Doner Kabab we've ever had in our lives and then walked along the park to the top of the hill and then ventured into the old part of the city and St. George's Castle. 

We arrived as the sun was starting to set and we had some of the best views of the city from up there. 

Once the sun went down, we just walked around the historic center of Lisbon, got some gelato, and explored. We will definitely be back to Lisbon to spend more time because we really liked it. Then it was a shower and an great night's sleep before our flight back home the next morning. But my next post will be about our time in Madeira so stay tuned!