Portugal 2014: Day 2

Our second day in Portugal was one of the fullest but also one of my favorites. We traveled to Sintra and Mafra, not far outside Lisbon, to see castles and palaces. Sintra is located in the mountains and getting from site to site can be a challenge, especially for those without a car, so Nana and Pop hired a car and driver to shuttle us from Lisbon to all the sites in Sintra. It made for an extremely easy, stress-free day!

Sintra is often shrouded in early morning fog.

Our first stop was the Palacio Nacional de Sintra (National Palace of Sintra), which dates from the 14th century. It is the only Portuguese palace from the Middle Ages that survives. 

Will read all the signs, everywhere we went.

The magpie room has a couple of different stories. Either Dom Joao I was caught with a lady-in-waiting and had this room painted with magpies to represent the chatter of the court ladies or he made an advance on one of the ladies-in-waiting and was caught red-handed, and had this room painted as an apology to the queen. Either way, it's an interesting room!

Family crest in the Salas das Armas.

Chapel.

Kitchen.

Oven vent.

Another view of the town of Sintra.

Our next stop was the 9th century Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle) which was one of our favorite places of the entire trip.

The ruins of the castle are quite impressive and the boys truly enjoyed exploring every nook and cranny there.

We made it to the very top of the castle!

After visiting a castle and a palace, it was time for lunch. Our driver took us to a delightful place where we enjoyed a delicious meal with beautiful views of the town below.

View of the Moorish Castle from the car.

Our third stop in Sintra was the Palacio da Pena, which was built in the late nineteenth-century and was used as a summer home by the Portuguese royals.

It was quite a hike up to the palace,

but we all made it!

Built by German architect Baron Eschwege, the palace was commissioned by Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and was built in a mixture of styles ranging from Victorian to Arabian. It is quite an ornate mixture of styles indeed. 

Looking down on the Moorish Castle.

 Violin for Henry.

Chess set for Will.

View of a large statue, thought to be of Baron Eschwege as a medieval knight.

Our final stop of the day was the the monumental palace and convent/basilica in Mafra. This palace was built in 1717 by Dom Joao V to commemorate the birth of his daughter. This massive, extravagant palace was a huge project: at one point there were more than 45,000 men working on it. It boasts 5200 doorways, 2500 windows, 880 halls and rooms, 154 staircases, 29 courtyards and two bell towers with 57 bells in each tower. It seemed like we walked for miles in this palace!

Walking and reading, as usual!

Bedchamber in the convent.

Kitchen.

Infirmary, which reminded me of the one I saw in Beaune, France years ago.

Henry as a soldier in the Guards Room.

18th century furniture.

Chandelier made of antlers.

We really wanted to see the library, which is one of the best in all of Europe. It has more than 35,000 volumes, including a trilingual Bible from 1514 (Camoes' Os Lusiadas) and the earliest edition of Homer in Greek.

It was a pretty spectacular room!

One of the many courtyards. 

Henry, in particular, loved all the courtyards and cloisters we saw!

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Our Sintra-Mafra day was very full, indeed!