Sintra and Cascais

Parque and Pena Palace

King Ferdinand ordered the Park of Pena to be planted in the Palace’s surrounding areas in the style of the romantic gardens of that time, with winding paths, pavilions and stone benches placed at different points along its routes, as well as trees and other plants originating from the four corners of the earth. In this way, the king took advantage of the mild and damp climate of the Sintra hills to create an entirely new and exotic park with over five hundred different species of trees.

Garden of Queen Dona Amelia - former vegetable garden and 16th century orchard of the Monastery transformed into a garden by Queen Dona Amelia.  It is all up hill from here.

Sequoia trees 

the natural limestone rock

a peek at the palace.  It would take days to see all of this park.  Our guide John told us you could easily get lost in here, especially on foggy days, of which there are a many.  Today just a lot of rain and clouds.

Camelia tree

one of many walking paths in the park surrounding the palace

It's getting closer

It is interesting to note that this palace is a "summer" palace and not a year round residence.  The King wanted a place to go during the summer where it was cooler.

"The Palace of Pena stands atop a rocky peak, which is the second highest point in the Sintra hills (the only place higher than the palace itself is the Cruz Alta, 528 metres above sea level). The palace is situated in the eastern part of the Park of Pena, which one has to pass through to reach the steep ramp built by the Baron of Eschwege that provides access to the castle-like building. The palace itself is composed of two wings: the former Manueline monastery of the Order of St. Jerome and the wing built in the 19th century by King Ferdinand II. These wings are ringed by a third architectural structure that is a fantasised version of an imaginary castle, whose walls one can walk around and which comprises battlements, watchtowers, an entrance tunnel and even a drawbridge".

"In 1838, King Ferdinand II acquired the former Hieronymite monastery of Our Lady of Pena, which had been built by King Manuel I in 1511 on the top of the hill above Sintra and had been left unoccupied since 1834 when the religious orders were suppressed in Portugal. The monastery consisted of the cloister and its outbuildings, the chapel, the sacristy and the bell tower, which today form the northern section of the Palace of Pena, or the Old Palace as it is known".

First entrance

Turret Minaret with Moorish dome

the King ordered that the limestone rock be incorporated into the building itself

The peak is the highest point of the Sintra hills about 1735 ft. (529 metres) and on it is a cross carved in stone as intertwining branches.  Called Cruz Alta and erected by Don Joao III in the 16th century.  That peak where you can hardly see the cross is inside the park (a little perspective on its size).

King Ferdinand began by making repairs to the former monastery, which, according to the historical sources of that time, was in very bad condition. He refurbished the whole of the upper floor, replacing the fourteen cells used by the monks with larger-sized rooms and covering them with the vaulted ceilings that can still be seen today. In roughly 1843, the king decided to enlarge the palace by building a new wing (the New Palace) with even larger rooms (the Great Hall is a good example of this), ending in a circular tower next to the new kitchens. The building work was directed by the Baron of Eschwege.

Although it was a palace and not a castle, there was a drawbridge, shown just as you pass through the first arch.

The Coat of Arms of King D. Fernando II of Portugal and Saxie-Coburg-Gotha  on the ochre colored palace (new palace)

 The 1994 repair works restored the original colours of the Palace’s exterior: pink for the former monastery and ochre for the New Palace.

In transforming a former monastery into a castle-like residence, King Ferdinand showed that he was heavily influenced by German romanticism, and that he probably found his inspiration in the Stolzenfels and Rheinstein castles on the banks of the Rhine, as well as Babelsberg Palace in Potsdam. These building works at the Palace of Pena ended in the mid-1860s, although further work was also undertaken at later dates for the decoration of the interiors.

Triton - represents the symbolic gateway of the Creation.  Half-man half-fish figure

One of many views from the palace

On entering the old palace is of course a bust of King Don Fernando II, creator of the Park and the Palace

Manueline Cloisters - original part of the 16th century Monastery decorated with Hispano-Arabic tiles (c. 1520)

A look at a few of the rooms.  Much of the furniture is original to the palace.  

The last King of Portugal 

"Manuel was the younger son of King Charles and Queen Marie Amélie. Charles supported the dictatorship of Joao Franco and was repudiated by most of the political leaders. On Feb. 1, 1908, Charles and his elder son, Louis Philip, were assassinated by anarchists in the streets of Lisbon, and Manuel unexpectedly found himself king at the age of 18. Franco resigned, and Manuel asked Admiral Francisco Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral to head a government composed of equal numbers of the two main parties, the Regenerators and the Progressists, with one or two others.

The admiral elected to play for calm, but the parties were deeply divided, neither of the party leaders appearing in the cabinet. Amaral proceeded with elections in Lisbon, which the republicans won. They intensified preparations for a revolution, while the monarchist parties formed ineffective coalitions, alternately advising the young king and blaming him for taking their advice. In the summer of 1910 Manuel went to Buçaco, but on his return the revolution, supported by the fleet on the Tagus River, broke out. His palace was shelled, and Manuel fled first to the National Palace in Mafra and then into exile in England.  The doors to the castle were closed with all that was in it and remained so for many years.

The King's andQueen's who occupied the palace

The dining room in the old castle

The King's bathroom.  Note the spigots for hot and cold water.  I particularly like the decorated commode and bidet.

A restorationist working on a window

Telephone

Love the ears on this chubby couple

Tea set

Unique floor-candelabras 

One of the chandelier's 

The stag room

beautiful ceiling

unique hand rail on the stairs

and last the kitchen 

back outside a little clearing of the rain

and hot coffee while we wait for the other three folks on our tour

The one next to Terry is Japanese from Tokyo.  I couldn't pronounce her name nor say it.  The other is from Mexico City although Brazilian by birth and her name s Bryce (pronounced Breezy).  Our lone gentleman whose name I also can't remember is from Afghanistan.  

From here we walked back down the hill in the rain and headed into the old own of Sintra for lunch and free time.  

As we were on our own, we decided collectively to stay together to find a lunch spot and headed, up of course, the walking street.  It was quite narrow and steep.

window display of ceramic ladies

Found a little cafe just above the shop.  Bryce speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese, so she played interpretor.  Some got Cod fish crepes, some codfish cakes (local specialties).  I got my usual ham and cheese croissant. Then we had one of the local desserts "Oueijadas", little sweet cheese cakes.

After lunch we headed on up the hill to explore some more of Sintra

Loved these tiles on the walls depicting Sintra

Beautiful view point

The National Palace of Sintra

Other monster palaces or manors 

There were two of us who had not tried the local drink Ginjinha (cherry Liqueur), so we all trooped into this little bar and partook.  This one was served in a chocolate cup.  Yum.  She also let us taste a liqueur made from almonds.  She poured the drinks and then squeezed lemon juice in it.  Very refreshing.

Ok on down the hill as it has started to rain again and our time is about up.  Went into a local artisan shop to get out of the rain and ended up buying a small handpainted dish that matches a tile I bought yesterday in Lisbon.  Couldn't resist.

John came with the van and we are off to Cabo da Roca.  

The headland of Cabo da Roca is the westernmost point on the European mainland, 

Situated at a latitude of 38º 47´ North and a longitude of 9º 30´ West, Cabo da Roca is an important coordinate for anybody sailing along the coast.  For a hefty 11 Euro fee, one may obtain a certificate saying that one has been here.  (Hmmm!  I seem to remember getting something like that when I went around the Cape Horn).

Roughly 150 metres from the sea, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the Serra de Sintra and out to sea over the coastline, all of which makes your trip here well worth the visit.

Historical records point to the existence in the 16th century of a fort at Cabo da Roca which played an important role in guarding the approach to Lisbon, forming a defensive line along the coast, especially during the Peninsular War. All that is left of this fort nowadays are some remains, together with the lighthouse that still serves as an important warning beacon for shipping in this area.

It is said when the Romans first came here, they thought it was the end of the earth. 

It has really started to rain now

I headed up to the area where we parked to find a rest room.  Nice place had a roaring fireplace which felt so good on our wet clothes and cold limbs

Written by the Portuguese poet Luiz de Camoes 

We are headed now to Cascais along the coast road.  It is beautiful but raining and the ocean is showing her stuff.  This is a huge surfing area, but John says quite dangerous as the currents are treacherous.  We are still where the prevailing winds come from the North.  John says that normally you can not stop here when the wind is not blowing.  He said the wind is so strong here that the said blows all over you.  Not today though, because the winds are from the south.  Just wet.

Once you pass through Cascais, the southern winds prevail and the ocean is much calmer on most days.   Today however the wind is coming from the south so the ocean is rough here also.  He stopped at a place they call "Hell Hole" and today it is.  Very turbulent.

Cascais

We stopped here for free time for an hour.  It was raining so hard that we just opted for warm and dry at a little cafe.  Coffee and a variety of desserts to share.  We sat downstairs in the shop where there was a nice warm stove burning.  We spent our entire time here.  

It is a lovely city and we shall try to come back on our own on a better day.  Now we just want to go home and get dry.  We slogged back to the van and drove through Estoril another coast town.  It is known as the riviera of Portugal and has casinos and lots of money.  We continued along the coast back into Lisbon.