DawnO and I arrived in Sintra, just a short train ride outside of Lisbon. This small getaway spot rests in the foothills of the Sintra Mountains and is the home of numerous palaces.
Our first stop was the brightly coloured Pena National Palace. It sits atop one of the tallest hills in Sintra and is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
As we explored the palace I was reminded of a place I used to visit when I was a kid called Scandia. It was a giant theme park in Kelowna that housed a massive arcade, go-carts and an indoor mini-golf course. When I was 8 I thought it was built entirely out of LEGO. I’m convinced the same architect who built the Pena Palace later found work in the Okanagan.
The Pena Palace has one of the best views of Sintra, including the Castle of the Moors which was a 15 minute walk down the hill.
Today called for rain so we decided to visit Quinta de Regaleira, another palace which was within walking distance from where we were staying.
Whenever my family would drive to Kelowna, there is one thing that constantly eluded my sister and I. We never got to visit the Enchanted Forest, the most magical place on earth conveniently located on the Trans-Canada Highway just outside of Revelstoke, British Columbia. How do I know it’s magical?
I believe.
Every year we would ask our father to stop there, and every year we saw the Enchanted Forest for about 6.2 seconds as we throttled passed it at 120 km/hour with our faces pressed against the car window. Sadly, my father would not indulge in any enchantment on our annual road trips. He needed to “make good time”. What does this have to do with Quinta de Regaleira? Well, I believe I finally found the Enchanted Forest, but for adults. We spent the better part of the day walking through this wooded wonderland. I now choose to believe that this was exactly how the Enchanted Forest was in 1986.
Initiation Well 
View from the bottom 
Main house
Tomorrow we meet up with DawnO’s parents in Lisbon for a few more days of exploring before I fly home on Sunday.