PORTUGAL 2005 Part 5

(This story continue from Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - and Part 4)

**ONE DAY LISBON TOUR (Part II)**

++SINTRA++

My next stop after the fair Roca was Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on account of its 19th century Romantic architecture, a major tourist attraction in clude 3 palaces. One of the three, Palácio da Vila (Village Palace) de Sintra, was built more than 5 centuries ago. The other palaces was built / recontructed in 19th century. The town has very long and great story (of course, our guide has told all these to us in the bus...I was blinking stupidly, remember nothing);

During the Islamic domination there was built (or enlarged) the Islamic Castle (Castelo dos Mouros), perched on the crest of the Serra (alt. 450 m), and also, in the area called "Chão de Oliva", now Vila Velha (Old Town), the residence of the islamic princes that was the origin of the Paço Real (Royal Palace).

After the Christian Reconquest - Sintra surrendered to the army of Dom Afonso Henriques in 1147, a few days after Lisbon had been taken - the Portuguese king granted a franchise to the thirty inhabitants of the oppidum of the Castle (1154).

In the reign of Dom Dinis (1279-1325) the town was donated to the Sainted Queen Isabel. Great works took the palace in enlarging the Royal Palace and the life of Sintra was given new impulse. After the crisis of 1383-1385, the town was granted new statutes giving it autonomy and then began its golden age.

At the start of the 16th Century, King Manuel ordered further amplification and decoration;this being accompanied by the literary and cultural burgeoning that was increasingly inspired by the Renaissance.

According to a tradition, of which there is no proof, Luís de Camões even read the original of his epic poem The Lusiads in a wing of the Royal Palace, to King Sebastião on the eve of his ill-fated Moroccan expedition. The 16th Century was in fact, for Sintra, a flourishing period and a centre of decision-taking.

But it was above all in the 19th Century, with Romanticism, that the region was rediscovered and recovered in international terms. Romantic artists such as William Beckford (1787) and Lord Byron (1811) sang its unsurpassable beauty, engravers such as William Burnett (1830-1837) immortalised the most significant parts of the countryside, men of sensitivity like King Fernando II lent impulse to planned afforestation of the Serra de Sintra and helped the construction of sumptuous revivalist buildings such as the Palácio da Pena.

Unlike the Cabo da Roca, Sintra was covered by mist when I was there. I couldn't even see the palace located in the hill-top. We started with entering the renowned Palácio da Vila de Sintra, an oldest palace of the three, located in the centre of the town.

++Palácio da Vila de Sintra (or Palácio Nacional de Sintra)++

'Bom Dia (Good Morning)', said the guard and the front gate information centre as we gathered together in the front of the palace. I looked at my watch and thought, "Oh, yeah!...it's not yet noon". 'Bem-vindo ao Palácio da Vila de Sintra.' the guard continued, welcoming us to the palace. Then he guided us to the main front hall where I knew that 30 EUROs each for this one day trip didn't include the entrace fee. Our guide said, "It is up to you whether you enter.". As you thought, I, and may be others, had no choice but to pay a 4-EURO entrance fee with the understanding that =We can't take any photo inside=

Our guide guided us from room to room, from one hall to another, from the chamber to the kitchen and the jail. Everything was preserved in good condition. The palace has been built by many kind of architecture; Gothic, Mudejar, Manueline and Renaissance. Moreover, there are the wonderful azulejos (coloured glazed tiles) from the 15th and 16th Centuries in various halls and patios, and in the Royal Chapel.

It was after mid day that we finished a tour inside the Palace. Our guide gave us free time for an hour which we needed to find something to eat ourselves. So, it's my time to stroll around (Passeio - in Portuguese, if you want to know) this quiet town.

So hungry I was, looking to and fro in front of the palace for small restaurant but found no solution which way I should go in this stong mist and almost rain. The christmas event was just one month ahead and the Portuguese started to decorate places into the Christmas theme. It was very cold. You can see the very beautiful old road in front of the palace which was built using cut stones.

Crossed the road, we found many shops selling souveniors, azulejos (coloured glazed tiles), chicken (symbol of Portugal), and christmas stuffs. I and my colleague, Mr. Praphon, did many windows photographings ^_^ there.

We then turn in and out many streets finding some local restaurants to have some food but couldn't. We ended up with a cafe and ate a piece of cake and coffee/tea. Not a poor time as I might, the cake I ate there was stuffed with the most delicious whipped cream I had ever known. I'll be fat if I stayed in Sintra longer.

After our lunch, rain poured and we had to run through the coldest rain I've ever known to the meeting point. The bus was there and we're heading back to Lisbon...

THIS STORY CONTINUE ON PART 6

More stuffs

1. Map of Sintra
2. Palácio da Vila de Sintra

Detailed information in this part are from:

1. Virtual Portugal
2. Wikipedia