We've Stayed in Castles Before. Now We've Stayed In A Palace. (Albeit a Small One).

Given that this is our first trip overseas since December 2019, I decided to make a splash in a big way.  Figuring that we hadn't spent money on foreign trips in over a year, I booked us a top floor suite in the Sintra Marmois Palace Hotel.  Little did I realize it was the WHOLE top floor.  

There is even a private elevator that opens directly into the suite.  And, two bathrooms -- one at each end of the spacious room.  Normally I don't write much, if at all, about the hotels/VRBOs, but this place was better than expected (warning, it is not cheap, but for two nights, it was fun to do).  I hadn't told Carol what I had done (mostly because I pretty much forgot the details), and her jaw just dropped when we walked into the room.

Not only did they greet us with champagne, but they had a fancy decanter of Moscatel, small pastries, and fruit waiting for us in the room (yes, I get that we paid for all that, but hey, it was still nice to be treated that way).  

The photo doesn't do the 

room justice, but it's a start.

Our hotel.  The top two windows in the 

middle indicate our room.  The two small

circular windows on either side were to

the bathroom.

We also had incredible views out the back window, including of the Moorish Castle on top of one hill, and the National Palace in the picturesque town.  Sintra is a must go-to if you are planning a trip to Portugal.  It's not far from Lisbon at all.  I'm told that on clear days you can see Sintra from parts of Lisbon (not that we had any clear days in Lisbon).

Doo, Doo, Doo, looking out my back door.

Well, actually window, but you get the idea.

Part of the Moorish Castle high on the hill.

The National Palace.  We thought these are

decorative, but they are actual chimneys

from back in the day.

Just a typical tower on a typical house.

The chimneys at night from our room.

The Moorish Castle lit up.

We walked into town for dinner.  The meal, at Incomum, is probably the best meal we had on the trip.  It was a five course menu and we choose the wine pairings.  The opener was a Chestnut Cream Soup with Foie Gras Ice Cream.  It is, without question (well, you actually CAN ask questions), one of the tastiest soups we've ever had.  It sounds interesting, but it tastes fantastic.  It was all good, but the soup was the top course for both of us.

The second course was marinated salmon with avocado and samphire.  You don't know what "samphire" is?  And here I thought everyone knew!  (I had to look it up, so can you.  It's not hard, open Google).  It was delicious.

The third course was sauteed scallops with mushrooms, followed by Iberian Pork Filet Mignon with Clams Polenta.  We could choose our own dessert, and I had the ice cream.

The wines in order were a sparkling wine, a rose, a vinho verde, a red, and a Portuguese liquor to top it off.  

I normally don't spend a lot of time blogging about food, but this was an exceptional meal.  Then we climbed back up the hill and returned to our hotel.