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Travesseiro da Casa Piriquita

 

What a wonderful day, full of many views and many, many, steps. Today we visited the famous Pena Palace and its grounds in Sintra.

This stunning palace was built by King Ferdinand the II of Portugal as a vacation house for the Royal family. The wonderful thing about this palace is that it was built to look magical and beautiful, not to serve a specific protective purpose. It was built on the ruins of an old monastery, which was badly damaged after the 1755 earthquake.

We got there early at 9:30am to visit the interior palace, and it was good that we did! Afterwards the lines were huge.

Beautiful palace views

Exploring the palace early before the crowds

The yellow portion of the palace
Happy exploring the castle 

The exterior is painted partly gorgeous yellow and partly a bright red, the interior rooms are eccentrically decorated, and the grounds are ridiculously immense. The romantic structure of the building draws from moorish, renaissance, and gothic styles.

Inner courtyard with views on the red bell tower 

Intricate natural details inside

Beautiful hand painted tiles

Eclectic flower chandelier 

More stunning tiles lining the walls

It was so cool to see the palace in person, there were so many fantastical details everywhere.

Afterwards visiting the Pena Palace, we walked around the grounds, which are not to be missed! We hiked up to the tallest point in the Sintra Mountains for a gorgeous view of the golden side of the palace. 

Pena Palace yellow walls

We then wandered through wooded paths to the Moorish Castle. This was a functional castle on the same mountain that the Pena Castle is on. When King Ferdinand the II built Pena, he also ordered the restoration of the old moorish castle.

Resting on the moorish walls

Walking along the old walls

This castle is mainly long winding walls with beautiful views. From this side of the mountain, you can see the red side of Pena Castle.

Red side of the Pena Castle

After all this going up and down hills, we finally headed down to the historic city centre… in search of Travesseiros! Travesseiro in Portuguese literally means “pillow”, and these pastries look like little pillows. They consist of a delicious flakey, crumbly crust which encases an almond-sugar-flour filling. These absolutely melt in the mouth and are a must try from Sintra. 

Travesseiro da Casa Piriquita

The place most well known for this signature pastry is Casa Piriquita, a bakery right in the old town of Sintra. And if the lines are too long here, walk right up the street to Piriquita II, a second store of the same bakery selling the same pastries!

Sign for the bakery

We also tired some Ginja today. Ginja is a liquor made from sour cherries and is commonly served in a chocolate cup! It’s so good that we had to go back for seconds…

Cheers with ginja in chocolate cups!
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One last thing I must mention are all the beautiful, beautiful ceramic tiles that line the houses and streets in Portugal. These Portuguese tiles are known as “azulejos” and they’re an art form that date back to the moors in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Today I visited a small authentic ceramic shop in the morning… and I had to run back in the evening because I decided to get a small ceramic coaster for home. The gentleman was so kind and opened up the shop just so I could buy it. This lovely interaction only reinforced my belief that the Portuguese people are some of the kindest out there. 

Outside the ceramic shop

Inside the owner’s ceramic studio

Beautiful hand painted tiles



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