We interrupt our regular programming to describe a magical, surreal land – a mysterious place covered in misty clouds that come and go without reason, defying the weather forecast on a daily basis and layering surfaces with moisture and moss and mildew. Here, the hilly environs shelter numerous majestic estates and castles, hidden by dense, jungle-like foliage of incredible variety. Palaces and ancient castle walls soar high above narrow cobbled streets. Intricate and colorful tiles adorn building facades and tiny benches, and you’ll find the street names stuck to the sides of walls in beautiful little groupings of hand-lettered tiles. Secret stairways transport you steeply from moss-covered path to narrow street, or garden, or viewpoint, or to another set of stairs. The woods issue forth mysterious sounds and smells – spicy eucalyptus, fierce wind, random opera singing, bells, the many languages of international visitors. This is Sintra, and I really do think it’s magical!

Originally a retreat for the wealthy from Lisboa’s heat and hustle, Sintra is now a 40-minute train ride from the middle of Lisboa. The pile of windy, hilly streets made us nervous driving in, but we managed to park by our place and haven’t had to use the car much.

We’ve had to dodge unpredictable rain, but when the skies cleared enough for a hike, we headed uphill to see the Palácio Nacional da Pena, a palace affectionately dubbed the “Ketchup and Mustard Castle” a few months back when our kids first saw a guidebook picture. We gained over a thousand feet as we hiked through parks, woods, narrow streets, and up stairways.

Rain rolled in and kept us from hanging out for long, but before heading down, our kids had a celebrity moment with some Koreans who started talking to us about our kids, saying they never get to see babies at home. They asked to take our picture and to then take a picture with us. Then we stood in the rain and airdropped pictures back and forth. From Danish scowls to Korean adoration, it’s always interesting to travel with four kids!

Hiking downhill became its own adventure when we sought shelter from the rain in an amazing little cave. And, never one to turn down a chance to interact with poultry, Laila caught a bewildered rooster in a park. I’m guessing the poor guy had never had a young American chicken lady grab him by the tail feathers, since he appeared quite confused by the incident. Thinking about the different types of terrain, history, human and animal interaction, and architecture we saw on this one hike makes a typical walk at home sound, well, very boring.

Laila’s rooster is a resident of the Parque da Liberdade that we cut through frequently in Sintra. We have seen some beautiful parks in Portugal, many of which are very old and thoughtfully designed. With the mild climate, we saw a few plants blooming even in the middle of winter, and we wonder what it would all look like at other times of the year. What a treat to see flowers in January!