Those lovely days when Maria gives me a meme or I have some other excuse not to bother to use my brain.
Today it is Katie's turn.
Her latest post documents a visit she made to my old stamping ground in Cascais and she laments the fact that having visited Sintra she completely failed to see the castle.
Yay! Cheap post!
Coming up: photos of Peña Palace and Sintra Castle.
Katie, I wasn't sure whether it was the castle itself or both it and the Peña Palace that you missed so I'll post them both.
For anyone who's not been to that particular part of Portugal, just up the coast from Cascais is a cute little mountain around which the oddly Bavarian-styled town of Sintra nestles picturesquely.
Up on top of the mountian sits the utterly bonkers Peña Palace, one of the world's most wantonly unhinged buildings.
Apparently designed by an architect who had taken acid to try to cure a migraine it is glorious gibbering madness on a monumental scale.
Subtle it is not.
Though fairy tale romantic it may well be.
You really don't want to know what's going on here.So anyhoo … Katie is not alone in having missed the Moorish Castle that shares the mountain with Peña Palace.
The first time I went there it took over an hour of battling through trackless woodland to discover the completely unsignposted mediæval stronghold clinging to the side of a lower slope where it could overlook the town and the sea in the distance.
I don't know what it's like now - they've probably built a road and a car park since my time - but back then the castle was gloriously unspoilt and overgrown, only visited by the few people mad enough and fit enough to do the Indiana Jones bit needed to reach it.
So, Katie. That's what you missed.Pretty, huh?
An outpost of Islam in Christian Europe.
They brought us civilisation, mathematics, science, philosophy and trade with the world and we kicked 'em out and went back to the dark ages.
Sigh …
20 comments:
Dive, you take me to the most romantic places! How sweet of you my dear.
I just love "unhinged." There's no better way to live life.
Ah, deep down I am indeed a romantic soul, Katherine.
Mind you, it is so deep down that you'd need a drilling rig to find it. Hee hee.
Unhinged is definitely the way to go.
HEY!!!!! It's Thursday. Where is my racquet? Hummmph.....
Sorry, Prudence; the old rackets were getting less than half the comments of the other posts so I stopped bothering with them way back in November.
You're the first person to notice.
I might start it up again later this year if I feel sadistic.
fanciful i'd love to see all of that in person one day. right now, i have a fanbook in front of me trying to decide about which particular grey will suit this kitchen and i'll like in 6 months....but i digress, unhinged is a grand word and one, i think, i might stencil on my brain for a few days. xoxoxo
I remember the first time you posted photos of that castle—amazing—like a fantasy story from Dr. Seuss.
Grey for the kitchen, Savannah? Weird!
Good luck with that.
An unhinged colour might be more fun.
xoxoxo
Hi, Robyn! Yes, I am a sucker for a cheap post. A real no-brainer. Hee hee.
Unbelievable! How on earth could I have missed the castle and palace and been RIGHT THERE?! I too remember seeing a few of these photos of yours a while back and I obviously completely forgot that I'd been to this area until I unearthed my travel journal from 1985. I do believe a return visit is in order!
I love the last shot, though the general design is a bit fussy for me (stands back in gust of windblast from Dive).
Peña Palace - an Iberian Chitty Chitty Bang Bang castle. Nice.
Hee hee, Katie. The Peña Palace at least is pretty hard to miss, though the castle is hidden away so I can excuse you that one.
It's been a long time since either of us has been there. I think we should add it to our list of "places to go during your annual European vacation".
I'm applying for the post of guide.
Lynn: It is so totally überfussy as to be ridiculous, but is quite beutifful in its own silly way.
Yay, Istvanski! You've got it in one!
A perfect description.
Note to self: Add Portugal to list of "places to visit before turning 50".
Ahh you take be back! indeed a fairytale place in a fantastic country... you said you 'old stomping ground' Dive - did you live there?
Dive I think the parties need to schedule a meet and confer to discuss whether agreement can be reached concerning your application for the post of tour guide. I'll have my people call your people.
Wow, the Pena Palace is quite "fugly". When was the monstrosity built? My guess is sometime in the mid 1970s? (There was some bad acid going around at about that time.) Are there any avocado green, burnt orange or mustard gold walls?
The Old Sintra Castle is wonderful! I love the rambling stone walls overlooking the countryside. Not bad for a cheap post!
By the way, I agree with Prudence. I miss the racket too!
I would love to spend an afternoon exploring that incredible place. I love hearing about history. The place appears to be quite sturdy. Nice post Dive.
Rapunzel!
Dammit I sailed along that coast of Portugal in... 1981 and stopped in Cascais and Sagres - I knew nothing about this castle or else I would have taken the hike. This is extraordinary. I particularly liked the spiked turret. Imagine a princess locked up in there and her prince standing at the bottom of it, trying to devise a way of getting out of there. How come Disney hasn't used the location yet? Thanks for the visit Dive.
I just followed your link to Engrish, hadn't been there for ages. Oh dear it's so good to get a good laugh. The adult section is too good to be true!
I remember these photos. Amazing and the commentary is just as amazing. Thanks Katie, for prompting this.
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