Sintra

Today we visited Sintra - former residence of Portugese royalty and a UNESCO heritage site. The day did not start well - there was long queues for train tickets and we'd to stand on the 30 min train ride. The village however was beautiful and worth making the effort to get there. We climbed up to 9th C Moorish Castle with impressive battlements, saw the Palacio Nacional, and finished up at an elaborate garden and estate called Quinta Da Realeria - which was a bit like walking into a Harry Potter movie - the estate is full of fountains terraces and grottos.
The train ride home was a lot quieter and all in all a excellent day out.