Sintra

Friday 4 July
A rest day before the WMOC final.
Drove to Sintra which is a large plateau / mountainous forested area just north of Lisbon. It is famous for its fairytale castles. We visited three - first the National Palace. Owen was taken with the Magpie room - full of painted magpies on the ceiling - a cyclist's nightmare? Next the Moorish castle, although Moorish in origin it has been much converted into 19th century romantic version. Set on a mountain top, with lots of open walls, ramparts, towers, it was very photogenic. Finally the Pena National Palace - was reconstructed in Bavarian style in the 1840's, very quirky, colourful - a jumble of styles and again very photogenic. Saturated with castles, we drove home.