The wisteria is blooming a month earlier than normal. Winding and dancing its way around fences, stonewalls, and abandoned villas and thickening the air with fragrance in the fairytale town of Sintra, forty minutes north of Lisbon. While I am normally quick to lose patience with masses of tourists, it outshines their presence and makes any visit to Sintra worthwhile. I’d come to see just the flowers, no need for a castle visit, as long as I can take in all the flowery goodness here!