We got a great night’s sleep, but woke up suddenly and realized that the alarm which was set to enable us to have breakfast and get to our van to Sintra and environs had not gone off (somebody had muted it!). We dressed quickly and William ran and Elaine hobbled down the hill and up the street to the van pickup place. We had planned on a leisurely breakfast of pastéis de nata, but alas. Our very nice tour driver/guide, who was fluent in four languages and spoke three others, took a group of Italians and us to the Palácio National da Pena on the outskirts of Sintra, west of Lisbon. The guide had to deliver his commentary in two languages.
Our first view of the Palácio National da Pena. It was originally built in 1503 as a Hieronymite monastery which fell into disrepair. King Ferdinand II started construction here on his new royal estate in 1838.
The first portal on the way up to the castle shows the Moorish influence in the building. Several kinds of tiles are visible under the larger arch.
The other side of the portal in the previous picture is on the right. The gate on the left is decorated with cannon balls and snakes as symbols of power and after you pass through it, you cross a drawbridge that was built in the 1800s long after drawbridges were necessary.
Detail of the cannonballs and snakes on the gate.
As you walk through the palace you pass through many architectural styles and times, not necessarily in the order of the walking tour. This architectural detail depicts the struggle between the earth and the sea.
A tower in yet another architectural style with the beautiful sky above.
This courtyard was the collection point for the palace’s cistern, and part of the original monastery.
In a sitting room one of the royals created this mural.
After much winding through the palace, we came to this view of the cistern courtyard, from above. If you zoom in, you should be able to see the beautiful tiles.
A view of a castle on the hill below the palace we were touring.
This telephone room illustrates how long the palace operated.
You can see the Atlantic Ocean from the palace.
We posed for a portrait taken by one of our tour guides.
Back inside, we passed through the Noble Room, which included this iron statue of a Turkish king, one of the royal’s collectibles.
Our guide made the point that this stained glass window in the palace’s chapel included numerous foretellings of the future.
On our way out we caught another view of the palace.
We posed yet again.
At the end of our tour, Elaine bid a fond farewell to the palace cat.
The tour van took us to the village of Sintra, where we had 70 minutes to have lunch, look around the town square, and head back to the van. It wasn’t enough time to see much.
Our appetizer at Café Paris in Sintra was Pica Pau, which means “woodpecker” — appropriate because it is served with toothpicks. It is made with beef, not woodpecker.
William had fried sardines for lunch, and Elaine had grouper and shrimp. William was disappointed by his sardines, and was told later that it was not the right season to serve fresh sardines at a restaurant – so probably they had been frozen. Elaine’s dish was delicious.
Café Paris.
Palácio Nacional de Sintra. No time to visit.
Around the square in Sintra. Again, no time to explore.
Sintra’s little Christmas market, where Elaine bought macarons to eat on the way to the van.
William wanted to see the village of Azenhas do Mar (below) after seeing a picture of it on a Microsoft Bing screen. There is nothing to do there but take a picture from a neighboring bluff. However, it is a beautiful sight with the white buildings and red roofs, and the restaurant down below the town.
After our photo opportunity at Azenhas do Mar, our van guide took us to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in Europe.
Lighthouse at Cabo da Roca
Monument marking the westernmost point in Europe. It includes a quote from the great 16th century Portuguese poet Luís de Camões, which means “Here … where the earth ends and the sea begins”.
The Atlantic Ocean, with the mouth of the Tagus River somewhere beyond the bluff.
Elaine’s arm and a beautiful view.
Our last stop on our tour of the Sintra area was the lovely resort town of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. We drove past many mansions including one where Edward, Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson lived in exile for years.
Limestone cobblestones in the town square, decked out for Christmas. We saw numerous decorations like the globe in other towns at night time, when they are pretty remarkable.
Palm trees decorated for Christmas
Cascais waterfront and beach.
Boats in Cascais harbor.
We returned to Lisbon, had a little rest, then went out to find fado music and dinner. Fado in Lisbon is music that originated among the poor people who worked the docks. It is very plaintive and is usually performed in intimate settings such as bars and cafés. Most commonly it is performed by a singer accompanied by a traditional guitar and a Portuguese guitar.
We walked the short distance from our apartment in Bairro Alto to A Tasca do Chico where we found a fairly long line. We waited because A Tasca do Chico has a reputation for having the best fado music in Lisbon. We resisted entreaties from the restaurant across the alley, which had no line.
Tiles on the outside of A Tasca do Chico show the original owner with various female fadistas.
When we gained admission to the tasca, we were allowed to stand between the bar and the washroom. We had a great side-view of the guitar players. The singer stood on the other side of the post.
The singer peeks around the post to include his whole audience.
It felt like the fadista was singing just for us.
At a break we were moved to a table in the “main” dining room and had a great view of the Portuguese guitar in action. We shared a table with two lovely young ladies from Pamplona.
We didn’t understand a word of the soulful lyrics, but felt the fadista’s passion. Both male and female fado singers are called fadistas.
The Portuguese guitar, shown here at rest, has 12 strings and unique tuning pegs.
One last song in the set, and then we headed home for the night.
