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Originally Posted by REDeYeS88
please report back...i'm curious what you think. when in doubt, ask the waiter/waitress what they like.
in regards to Sintra: Pena Palace is the big draw and it's worth seeing the outside because it's so damn wacky and the overlooking views are great, but IMO it's not worth the cost and time to take the inside tour. If you don't mind hiking we enjoyed the gardens/forest that surround the Palace much more than the inside tour. the High Cross is the highest point and offers the most distant views, but just down the hill St. Catherine's Heights has the best view of the Palace if you push to the very end of the trail and scramble over a few boulders. the park map is on the second page of this link:
https://www.parquesdesintra.pt/wp-co...na_2018_EN.pdf
the Moorish Castle is just down the hill and dates from the 8th century. for some reason i enjoyed walking along the Moorish Castle walls more than the Pena Palace. probably has something to with 1300 years of history.
really wanted to make it to Quinta da Regaleira specifically for the Initiation Well, but just couldn't make it work.
Primavera do Jeronimo was really good. Atmosphere was cool and as you described, a really intimate place, we were one of only two English speaking parties there (the other was a hilarious old Irish couple we were sat directly next to. The guy kept giving me **** when he found out I was American, claiming that I worship Donald Trump. I feel like Irish people are constantly busting balls and I love it). I had lamb in some sort of au jus-like sauce which was amazing and my friend had caldo verde which I also got to try and enjoyed. Maybe it's a fail to get a non-seafood meal in Lisbon but I have no regrets.
Sintra, very cool. We did Pena Palace and Quinta de Regaleira. The weather sucked, about 60F and rainy, so crowds were sparse and we were happy to spend a lot of time meandering in the Pena Palace. It's an absolutely crazy looking building, as you said. The entire grounds of Quinta de Regaleira were beautiful and interesting. Requisite picture of the Initiation Well below, but honestly there's tons of stuff to see there beyond that. Would have stayed way longer if it were dry that day.
Couple other notes:
*Spent Friday night at Damas. Awesome bar, probably the place I most want to go back to in Lisbon. Has the feel of a Budapest ruin pub, where every room has a different vibe to it.
*Saturday night met up with a local (friend of friend) and he took us to Pink Street. Meh, felt very intense and touristy, but we did a couple rounds at Bookstore Bar--its exactly what it sounds like, it's a bookstore that turns into a bar at night--and I'd go back there.
*I was not expecting such a strong wine culture. It's difficult to find a glass of non-Portuguese wine on a menu, and that's totally fine because they've got some really good stuff. We struck up a long conversation with the owner/bartender at Little Wine Bar and he may just have convinced me to come back for a trip to Douro
*Went to Time Out Market-- don't expect a good atmosphere, it's kind of like Eataly in NYC, but if you want to sample food from restaurants around Lisbon it's not a terrible idea. I had anchovies served nigiri style from Sea Me. They were excellent.
I'll try to stop hijacking CJD's thread but wanted to post this review since you guys seemed interested. Eager to hear the upcoming report on the Baltic states!