Sintra and the Algarve I
May. 5th, 2023 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakOnce more, I have to split up the accumulated photographic goods. We left Lisbon and first visited Sintra.
Never mind the above, though. That‘s Pena, and it‘s very similar to Neuschwanstein: late 19th century medieval fandom, overcrowded, and tricky to get to. Not my favourite Sintra palace/castle (the town has several). Also, I suspect, best seen from the outside, but I wouldn‘t know for sure, because when we arrived around ca. 10:30, the earliest tickets for the inside of the palace we could have gotten would have been for 14:00. ,which, no. Instead, we wandered through the park. But for the record:
The second castle lording above the town was built in the Islamic era and still looks impressive:
Then there‘s this one, which I only saw from a distance:
And now for my favourite, the palace within the old town, which has been lovingly restored and boasts of fantastic painted ceilings. This one:
Apparantly a favoured residence of Henry the Navigator‘s parents. Behold the hall of Swans:
Fireplace detail:
And another room with gorgeous woodpainting for a ceiling:
Enough with the birds, the mermaids say it‘s their turn:
State bed:
Between the Portuguese passion for seafaring and the Henry the Navigator connection, unsurprisingly there‘s also a hall devoted to boats on the ceiling:
The doors are mostly in the Manuelismo style, named after Manuel 1st.
Probably the most beautiful room in a beautiful palace:
The chapel was still getting renovated, in very loving detail:
Then there‘s the kitchen, aka the cause for the two chimneys you may have noticed in the photo of the entire palace:
One of the later era rooms boasts not just of a crytal chancelier but also of a mirror which looks like the one owned byRegina the Evil Queen of Snowwhite and the Seven Dwarves fame:
The courtyards are great as well. Here‘s one indulging the Portuguese fashion for tiles:
And another which strikes me as showing Islamic influence in style:
Having seen all this, we did not regret having visited Sinistra, despite Pena the Portuguese Neuschwanstein and its crowds. However, that was that in terms of the larger Lisbon era. We then embarked on a drive of several hours and made it to the Algarve, the Western-Southern coast famous for its rock formations and beaches. And indeed, most of them were breathtakingly beautiful. Let‘s start with the Praia de Marinha, which we saw first in a somewhat misty and cloudy light and then in sunshine:
Then there‘s the region between Porches and Albandreia, which is where we‘re located, wandering in either direction.
I was amused to observe a wedding on a cliff. Here are the preparations:
Moving on:
And here‘s the Yellow Submarine. I kid you not, the rock really is called this, for obvious reasons:
But look: it‘s hard to surpass a beach like this directly in front of one‘s hotel:
On to more natural gorgeousness in the next post!
Never mind the above, though. That‘s Pena, and it‘s very similar to Neuschwanstein: late 19th century medieval fandom, overcrowded, and tricky to get to. Not my favourite Sintra palace/castle (the town has several). Also, I suspect, best seen from the outside, but I wouldn‘t know for sure, because when we arrived around ca. 10:30, the earliest tickets for the inside of the palace we could have gotten would have been for 14:00. ,which, no. Instead, we wandered through the park. But for the record:
The second castle lording above the town was built in the Islamic era and still looks impressive:
Then there‘s this one, which I only saw from a distance:
And now for my favourite, the palace within the old town, which has been lovingly restored and boasts of fantastic painted ceilings. This one:
Apparantly a favoured residence of Henry the Navigator‘s parents. Behold the hall of Swans:
Fireplace detail:
And another room with gorgeous woodpainting for a ceiling:
Enough with the birds, the mermaids say it‘s their turn:
State bed:
Between the Portuguese passion for seafaring and the Henry the Navigator connection, unsurprisingly there‘s also a hall devoted to boats on the ceiling:
The doors are mostly in the Manuelismo style, named after Manuel 1st.
Probably the most beautiful room in a beautiful palace:
The chapel was still getting renovated, in very loving detail:
Then there‘s the kitchen, aka the cause for the two chimneys you may have noticed in the photo of the entire palace:
One of the later era rooms boasts not just of a crytal chancelier but also of a mirror which looks like the one owned by
The courtyards are great as well. Here‘s one indulging the Portuguese fashion for tiles:
And another which strikes me as showing Islamic influence in style:
Having seen all this, we did not regret having visited Sinistra, despite Pena the Portuguese Neuschwanstein and its crowds. However, that was that in terms of the larger Lisbon era. We then embarked on a drive of several hours and made it to the Algarve, the Western-Southern coast famous for its rock formations and beaches. And indeed, most of them were breathtakingly beautiful. Let‘s start with the Praia de Marinha, which we saw first in a somewhat misty and cloudy light and then in sunshine:
Then there‘s the region between Porches and Albandreia, which is where we‘re located, wandering in either direction.
I was amused to observe a wedding on a cliff. Here are the preparations:
Moving on:
And here‘s the Yellow Submarine. I kid you not, the rock really is called this, for obvious reasons:
But look: it‘s hard to surpass a beach like this directly in front of one‘s hotel:
On to more natural gorgeousness in the next post!
no subject
Date: 2023-05-05 06:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-05-06 08:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-05-06 04:05 am (UTC)And lol at the Yellow Submarine.
You definitely chose your hotel well!
no subject
Date: 2023-05-06 08:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-05-06 03:46 pm (UTC)And that is a lot of swans! But that one room, with the red-gold and blue-white -- tiles? -- that is fantastic.
And then those rocks and water! So preeeetty. What a fantastic and picturesque beach with those arches and also the dramatic way you've captured the light and shadow, woooow. (And hee to the Yellow Submarine!)
no subject
Date: 2023-05-06 08:21 pm (UTC)Re: Beach, having it only ten minutes away from my hotel room is really something…