The castle that we REALLY want to visit in Portugal is Pena Palace in the town of Sintra. Created in the mid-19th century as a summer palace for the Portuguese royals, it also serves as occasional host for state visits by foreign dignitaries. This is Sintra day, so we walk to the subway station and take that to the train station, where we buy round-trip tickets to Sintra. And off we go!

The train naturally leaves us at the Sintra train station, so we need to catch a bus which takes us to the Palace grounds and the ticket office. That bus, in turn, leaves us at a parking lot replete with restrooms and map signs. The sign indicates that, before we encounter the Palace-which is on top of the hill, we have to start walking towards it. So walk we do.

We explore a clearing on the way up. This is the “Picadeiro”, an area where the young Portuguese princes learned how to ride horses and where the game of tennis was supposedly first played in Portugal (late 1800’s)-although there are no signs of any tennis courts visible. There are, however, beautiful magnolia trees here.

We resume our plod upwards, this time on broad steps, until we arrive at the base of the Palace.

Part of the yellow-orange Palace is now visible, as is unusual vegetation, such as a tree growing on rocks and various flowers-both white and orange.

Before we arrive at the Palace proper, we have to follow a walkway through the main entrance gate. Now this decorative archway looks like Portugal!

Once past the entrance gate, another entrance over a moat awaits us. However, we have a “timed” entrance (to control crowds, no doubt); so we have to wait a while before proceeding. When our “time” arrives, we queue up for access to the Palace.

Our queue winds its way around what looks to be an interior walkway (with niches for decorative vases and flowers) until we get to the true entrance and our tickets are inspected. I bet the foreign dignitaries who visit Pena Palace don’t have to plod uphill or wait in line. Just saying.

When we get inside the Palace, the first place we see is the interior courtyard. Called the “Manueline Cloister”, this space serves as a transition point between the Palace rooms. It is stunning with its blue and white tiles and Moorish style arches. From some angles, you can even see the red clock tower from here. This courtyard (obviously not in its current style) may have served as a cloister for a monastery (16th through 18th centuries) that pre-dated the Palace on this site.

A tea room (with table all set for the beverage) is followed by the formal dining room, which is similarly accoutered.

The royal dining room used to be the refectory of the monastery. It’s not overly big, seating only ten or, perhaps, twelve people. It was clearly meant for private dining and not hosting dignitaries. There are several china cabinets against the walls, however. So maybe the room is bigger than it looks.

King Ferdinand II considered himself an artist, and was actually known as the “King-Artist”. He was outdone in this instance by his grandson, King Carlos, who painted nymphs and fawns all over the fabric walls of his study. Early pornography. Too bad King Carlos was assassinated in 1908 before he could finish them.

The Palace was designed and built in the mid-19th century in the Romantic style. Consequently, there are a lot of touches of what the designer (Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege) conceived to be “Moorish”-such as windows, ceiling vaults, and wallpaper.

We now get another view of the interior courtyard and an even better view of the red clock tower. The courtyard must be a transition to the upstairs living quarters of the royals; but, first, we go outside to the terrace.

We can see the town of Sintra from here, the Palace crowds, and the Palace, itself, from the crenelated walkway. Orange, red, and gray seem to be the dominant colors here. The arches lining the outer walls of the Palace are a bright orange.

We re-enter the Palace via the “Coral Gate” presided over by a triton-half man, half fish. King Ferdinand apparently came up with this idea and insisted on its accomplishment. The symbolism is too deep to understand or get into here. The Palace is a hodge-podge anyway, so it fits right in.

No two rooms are alike in Pena Palace: there are different ceilings, wall treatments, and furnishings in each. It was designed that way.

King Ferdinand’s bedroom is an example of this. In it, there is Islamic decor, a 17th-century canopied bed, and revival furniture. It’s like he couldn’t make up his mind.

Just to make things even wilder, he had a modern (for the times) bathroom installed just off of his bedroom. I don’t know if the fixtures still work since we can’t get into this room.

Ferdinand hoped to share this bed with Queen Maria, but she croaked in 1853. So he shacked up with his lover, the Swiss opera singer, Elise Hensler, who also happened to be the Countess of Edla. He married her in 1869 and made her an honest woman. Ferdinand, himself, died in a fall in 1885. He was just 60 years old.

As we make our way into another tea room (tea must have been awfully popular with the Portuguese royals), it occurs to me that I have been too hard on Ferdinand II of Portugal. He spoke several languages and was considered one of the most brilliant men of his era. He was also wealthy and purchased the monastery and land that was to become Sintra Palace and Park with his own money. So he had the right to be as eclectic as he wanted to be with Pena Palace.

The Countess of Edla used the “Queen’s Office” until it was taken over by Queen Amelie (wife of King Carlos) and made it into a real office of sorts. In fact, most of the stuff in this room dates from the Countess’ time. There are bookcases, candelabras, and figurines in here.

Of course, the guys had to have a place to smoke; so a special smoking room was established at the Palace. The candelabra is the most notable piece in here. The room is round, contains a table, lots of chairs, and is full of mixed artwork. It is also known as the “Indian Room”, since many of the furnishings came from India.

It is about this time that we lose the group we came in with and yet still were ahead of the next group. So, essentially, we have the Palace to ourselves. One of the Palace/Museum guards was so impressed with this that he offered his services (free) as a private guide for a room or two. Cool.

Now we go up a staircase. The bannister looks like it came from a fun house. Consequently, we lose our free guide as he must return to his post. Adeus!

There is a lot of allegorical art in Pena Palace-plates, clock faces, and even some chests have allegorical stories.

Now we have at last reached the “Great Hall”. It is the largest room in Pena Palace and also was once called the “Billiards Room”; but any billiard table is long gone.

Although it is the biggest compartment in the Palace, there were no balls or dances held here. It was more for mass socialization. This Great Hall is marked by Ferdinand’s collection of stained-glass windows, candelabras (both hanging from the ceiling and held by matching torch holders), and a beautiful parquet floor.

There are lots of tables and sofas in this room as well; and the many mirrors probably make it look bigger.

I suppose it is in an ante room to the Great Hall that we find an intricate wood carving depicting a chaotic battle scene. I wish I knew what battle it purported to show. Anyway, a painting of King Ferdinand II serenely looking on is nearby.

The last room we visit in Pena Palace is the “Stag Room”. This circular hall is where they actually held banquets in the Palace. There is a blue tree trunk-like pillar supporting the ribbed dome, which has plaster stag heads (with real antlers) circling around the room. I guess they fit right in if they served deer for dinner. The room is circular because it is located right below the turret.

As we came up to the Palace through the park, that is how we descend…but, this time, we do not follow the beaten path. Rather, we put the wide trails and steps aside and use smaller paths through the park.

While there are some architectural elements inside the Park (a bridge, water wheel, and fountain), there is no formal garden-at least that we know of.

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The bus takes us back to the train station, and since we have time, we decide to walk into Sintra to explore the town. It was hard to miss the Sintra Town Hall, it is so flamboyant. It resembles a Disney Castle rather than a city building. Completed in 1910, this building defines the word “busy”. Its thick tower is covered with reflective green and white tiles, while its other spires make it look like a cathedral.

Of course, there is a lot of tourism in Sintra, and the town caters to it. We take a brief detour through an ultra touristy section to buy sweets and check out souvenir shops.

Nor far away (in fact, just across the street) is the National Palace of Sintra. This also used to be a residence for the Portuguese royals, who inhabited this place from the 15th to the early 20th centuries. Its outside is even more distinctive than the Town Hall, with its massive, white chimneys that look like nuclear towers. We don’t go inside the National Palace. It is very similar to Pena Palace, and our visit there was enough.

Walking back to the train station, we can see the Moorish Castle towering above the town. It was, indeed, built by the Moors in the 8th and 9th centuries as part of their strategic defense. It was conquered in 1147 and fell into ruin until King Ferdinand had it restored. The Moorish Castle was included in the land he bought for Pena Palace.

Finally, as we head back to the Sintra train station, we pass by the Fonte de Pipa. It looks like a shallow cave, but it is lined with azulejo tiles and it has a natural spring where people used to collect water (no more-there is a bar located behind it now). You don’t see one of those every day.

On the train back to Lisbon, I was glad we had visited the Palace at Sintra instead of Castello Sao Jorge in Lisbon. Nice to know that King Ferdinand’s dream is still going strong. As for us, the next day we keep heading south-chasing the sun.

Musical Interlude: “Flamenco, Accordion & Violin Ever”-FlameVolk