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Published: February 2nd 2008
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After the rugged walk through the Moorish Castle we get to the fairyland atmosphere of the Palace of Pena!
The artist king consort Don Fernando II completed contruction of this fanciful palace around 1852, on the site of monastery. Convent of Our Lady of Pena 1503. Earthquake of 1755 did serious damage to the monastery and it falls into decline, Don Fernando purchases it and it becomes the beautiful palace it is today. Royal families lived here from Fernando's reign thru Don Manuel II in 1910. The rooms are furnished as they were at that time. Cozy arched ceilings, rooms with Persian rugs, carved furniture, paintings, some done by Fernando, and beautiful luxurious fabrics on the windows and beds. Courtyards and niches covered in colorful tiles! The forest surrounding the palace was installed by Don Fernando. He brought in species from the Portuguese empire, and had them planted in the barren rocky hills. Trees and plants from China, South America, India, Africa, and his birth country Germany. The forest park occupies about 200 acres and has developed it's own microclimate.
This area is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Cultural Landscape of Sintra. And it truly is a
universal place.
Visiting the palace would take at least one and a half hours, I am told. So I figured that's all I would spend, and agreed to meet my ride after that amount of time. Once inside the main gate there is still a hill up to Pena, and a tram ride to the top. I think each of us on the ride spoke a different language, but the oohh's and ahh's were understood by all. Little did I know that one and a half hours was hardly enough time! I didn't get to the gardens! I won't go into the detail and just how magical this place is. I am running out of ways to communicate my fascination. Maybe even the most cynical tourist would be amazed by this palace. In the fabric covered rooms, you can imagine the king listening to the opera. By the way, he married his mistress opera singer after the death of his wife.
The entire area of Sintra is magical. In reading about Sintra, I came across many quotes. Poets have been insipired to write "castle of the Holy Grail", "a place more for dreaming than describing". Lord
Byron wrote "I love not Man the less, but Nature more".
There are many pictures, and imagine how many I would have loaded on to this entry if tourists were allowed to take pictures of the rooms. Lots of rooms. Including a big bathroom with it's tub fitted with a hot and cold shower enclosure, and a lounging chaise. And the chapel with it's carved alabaster altar, and stained glass window. But, with these photos, I hope that you can see how pretty the palace is. Keith wasn't with me, and I think he is a little tired of hearing about it! " Yes, Pete that's a pretty photo, yes and that one too..."
The next day we head west to the sea.
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