Beja and Sintra

June 16 and 22, 2023

By Hector Gonzalez

July 22^nd, 2023

On our way back from Algarve we stopped by a small city called Beja for lunch and to visit a Roman ruin. The ruins include an olive press, some original floors, and the outline of the house itself. Hard to imagine that anybody two thousand years from now will marvel at my kitchen appliances, but maybe someday somebody will.

The town itself was pretty and seemingly covered entirely in bathroom tile. Which is a Portuguese thing, apparently.

Not far from Lisbon is the town of Sintra, which has a famous for its various old castles and royal playgrounds. We visited the most famous one, which sits on top of a hill that is steep even by Portuguese standards. But first we explored the former royal gardens. I was happy to take pictures of flowers, and Asa was always happy to pose.

The castle is very fairy-tale-ish. Maybe like a child's fever dream. Some kid with lots of imagination and full box of crayons must have come up with this. Which isn't really a criticism. For everyone who says that every castle in Europe looks the same, well, here's a totally different one.