Portugal 11 - The Pena Palace - Sintra - a collection of utter madness

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One of my daily thoughts for the day written by Thich Nhat Hanh says that I should smile and I was trying to do that, to breathe, yes I was breathing very deeply and finally go slowly. As far as going slowly that seemed impossible in Sintra. Wherever you were there were crowds. You could not get away from them. They hustled and bustled on the hop on , hop off buses, on the little taxis that furrowed a path through town and they crowded into every shop, café and palace. You needed to smile and to breathe in very slowly before trying to move on. On top of all that my bum was painful as the bruise spread like a wildfire in the Australian bush. It was slowly but surely turning my rear end purple.

Our next objective was the Pena Palace. We did get to it though only after another awful squashed bus ride. We paid our money again 12 euros 50 pensioner rate and 14 euros for me plus another 6 euros for the shuttle bus to the palace. This was packed again. If the sign said you could get 30 paying passengers inside the driver got at least another 20 and was intent on getting everyone who was waiting on her little bus.


Now you have to use your imagination. I am going to take you on a tour. A magical mystery tour. A tour of a castle built and conceived by only a madman who wanted to fuse every style known to man into his design. From a distance the main turrets look quite ordinary although they are painted a deep crimson colour. As you get closer you see Arabic styled domes painted primary yellow and bordering in parts on lime green. Next to these are Islamic style arches with writhing stone Tritons climbing the walls which are covered in blue Portuguese tiles. The riot of colour continues with gothic style towers painted crimson. Nothing matches. Nothing is subtle. The English architect Clough Ellis might have liked the idea of mix and match styles but he would wanted to see a more subtle pallet. I thought that at the time this building was erected our Queen Victoria was on the throne and purchased Sandringham - think dull style and unpretentious. She bought acres of Scottish woodland and a baronial pile in grey dour stone and got rid of the madness of King George her uncle the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Her only mad folly a white Italianate house on the isle of Wight and that was quite ordinary compared to the Pena Palace . I couldn’t see her and Albert living in a house like Pena Palace. It would have looked odd in Britain but here in Portugal it actually didnt look too much out of place.

It was built by Donna Maria II and Don Fernando II known as the artist King. Some of his paintings are on show in the palace. He wasnt a bad painter either . Its main façade has Moorish tiles in places and turrets and domes. Originally on the site was a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena. Probably a much more austere building than what replaced it . Neuwschanstein on speed, Alton Towers of its day and a sort of Disneyland theme park just for the delight of the royal family who wanted to get away from the madding crowds and heat of Lisboa. In 1503 it apparently became a convent and then the earthquake of 1755 which devasted almost all of Lisboa and the surrounds brought the whole complex to its knees. Between 1910 and 1912 it became a museum when Portugal became a Republic.

We followed the crowds. It was impossible to do anything less and found our way into the outdoor cloisters which had fantastic views over the Moorish castle below , the town below and some of the other palaces. Sadly photo opportunities were few and far between as every inch of space was taken up with a heaving stream of sweaty bodies. We were probably just as sweaty thinking about it. We moved with the crowds as it was impossible to get anywhere on your own and found our way into the chapel. Small dark and quite plain with just one stained glass window. The tour guides had followed us and Mr Bird of Paradise Flower had his group with him explaining the significance of the windows. We saw room after room. Many of them small and circular with very little furniture in them. Just fantastic views over the valley. A dining room set up for lunch with ornate silver ships in the middle of the table. Bedrooms with tiny beds. Painted walls and ceilings as far as the eye could see . By this time though I think Glenn in particular had had enough. The crowds were overbearing and there was no time to stand and admire anything. As he stood and admired a cabinet inlaid with green porcelain he got shoved ever onward. As I stopped to look at glass and chandeliers I was moved before I could take a decent photo. I guess you need to do one castle at a time and spend all day going round and round until eventually you either get fed up or get a decent shot of what you are trying to take.

Outside are fantastic gardens. You could visit in each season and see something different. The dovecourt , the Temple of the Columns, the statue of the warrior. There is Cruz Alta with its rugged cross set high on the hilltop, the valley of the lakes with their duckhouses, a fernery and an azalea garden in season and finally a chalet to the countess of Edia. We are getting too old for all this walking in this heat. There was more to see but I had another palace on my mind and I was trying hard to get Glenn to take on board another one. He was palaced out. I kept telling him this one would be quieter. It was English so would be different . In the end he agreed and we headed back for the shuttle bus which again was full. Off this one onto another equally full one for the long drive back to the main square where we would pick up the 435 to Monserraz

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