Yesterday, we visited the town of Sintra . It’s in the mountains about 40 minutes from Lisbon . You would never stumble across it unless you were a llama. For some unknown reason, two nutty royals built castles there. I guess you don’t need a moat. You need a ski lift. Seriously steep roads.
Imagine the love-child of Salvador Dali and Walt Disney. Now, imagine that kid on acid. Now, imagine that tripping kid decided that he wanted to build a palace on top of a mountain. You’d think he was nuts, right? Since he was married to the queen, they let him do whatever he wanted. Pena Palace was the result. It’s WILD.
The OTHER palace in Sintra is the National Palace . It’s almost boring in comparison. It’s most recognizable for the two massive conical chimneys that rise of its kitchen. Apparently, that’s what you need if you’re going to cook a whole cow on a rotisserie in the kitchen. Whatever.
Our latest observation is that the Portuguese are the world’s most relaxed people. Nothing seems to bother them. The trams/subways/buses/funiculars all accept a travel card that the passenger holds in front of a validator as you enter. In theory, a green light goes on and your passage is ‘legal’. Half the time this process doesn’t work and you get a sour ‘honk’ and a red light. Tourists spend considerable time repeating the process hoping for ‘the green’. Old Lisboetas give it one try. If it goes green, fine. If not, screw it. The card goes back in their wallet and they sit down. The driver ignores everyone.
Obviously, one builds a castle on a mountain to protect oneself from invading marauders. How they got all the materials up there is another story. I'm guessing helicopters.
ReplyDeleteI wish the transport was as casual on the TANK. If get the screaming "NO" tone, you're out the door.
ReplyDeleteThe castles sound lovely. More pictures, please
-j.