Our Day Trip to Sintra...

This morning, we boarded a train for the 45 minute ride to the quaint historic center of Sintra, a town considered part of the Portuguese Riviera. Sintra is known for its many 19th-century Romantic architectural monuments, which has resulted in its classification as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although its heritage in buildings and nature is the most visible face of the historic individuality of Sintra, a whole literary heritage has made the area a legendary reference in Portuguese culture.

We spent most of the day in the exceptional Palácio da Pena (Pena Palace), one of the finest tourist attractions of Portugal which exemplifies the 19th century Romanticism style of architecture. The palace is a hedonistic mix of vividly painted terraces, decorative battlements and mythological statues, all of which stand at stark contrast to the lush greens of the forests that encircle Pena.

The palace, in its present day form, was commissioned by Ferdinand August Franz Anton from Austria , who married into the Portuguese royal family and became King Ferdinand II. King Ferdinand II marveled at the stunning views from the rocky outcrop and wished a castle built to rival the Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria. His only design input was that the palace should reflect an opera and is it was left to Baron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege to create the magical feather palace.

The colors are a feast for the eyes!

The interior of the palace is equally as fascinating, being restored to reflect the decor of 1910, when the Portuguese nobility fled to Brazil to escape the revolution.

Queen Amélia spent her last night in Portugal based in the palace before escaping the country for Brazil. Many of the state rooms have been restored to how they were in 1910 and many of the original fittings still remain (this was her kitchen).

Statue of the Warrior, viewed from the Palace, is a granite sculpture (1848) made by Ernesto Rusconi. This is a figure of a knight that forms part of the beautiful scenery. Even the views offered history lessons.

I was intrigued by the image above. There was something special about the stone depiction of a mythological Triton, symbolizing the allegory of creation of the world.

King Ferdinand II spent much of his later life, based in the palace, with his second wife, Elise Hensler (his mistress). On the death of Ferdinand, the palace was inherited by her. She became Countess d' Edla.

Since it was such a beautiful day, a stroll through the Pena Park was necessary. This burst of nature, is a vast forested area completely surrounding the Palace and spreading for over almost 500 acres of awesomeness. The park was created at the same time as the palace by King Ferdinand II, who was assisted in the task by the Baron von Eschwege and the Baron von Kessler.

We hiked to the Cruz Alta, 529 meters above sea level. This stone cross is situated at the highest point of the Sintra hills. It has been placed at the spot where King João III had already ordered the building of a cross in the 16th century.

Built on the grounds of a 16th century monastery, there were many 'monk hideouts' hidden on the grounds.

The exotic taste of the Romanticism was applied to the park as it was to the palace. The king ordered trees from diverse, distant lands to be planted there. Those included North American Sequoia, Lawson's Cypress, Magnolia and Western Redcedar, Chinese Ginkgo, Japanese Cryptomeria, and a wide variety of ferns and tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand.

This is the duck castle! Yes, there are several duck "houses". Interesting.

The Queen’s Fern Valley is an amazing collection of tree ferns planted in a valley with special climatic conditions. The ferns were brought here from Australia and New Zealand, having undergone a prior period of acclimatization in the Azores.