Watching Through Lens: Shot no.25

Shot no.25 (Canon EOS M10 with lens Canon EF-M 15-45mm and Canon EF 75-300mm, Huwaei Mate 9)

Photos taken at Palácio da Pena, Sintra, Lisbon District in October 2017.

Quick trip to Lisbon to watch Benfica for the Champions League and on the following day, photo mission for the blog. Palácio da Pena in Sintra was the chosen place. I was meant to wake up at 8.30am and go early, of course that didn't happen! Woke up at about 9.45am, got ready very slowly, had a huge breakfast at the hotel (very slowly again), planned to get the train from Lisbon to Sintra but I was so lazy that I had to call an Uber to pick me up at the hotel door and drop me at the palace entrance. My laziness was probably due to the rain in Lisbon but fortunately, in Sintra, the rain only arrived in the evening.

Sintra is a very beautiful village, very posh, just about 30 minutes driving from Lisbon. Sintra was always a very important town in Portuguese history, from Roman times to modern history, that town has a castle from medieval times, several palaces, extravagant houses and beautiful gardens. The most important one is Palácio da Pena which was built in 1836 on the top of a mountain at 476m high and surrounded by forest that is part of Parque da Pena. From the start it was the favorite residence of Portuguese Royal Family until the end of monarchy in 1910. It's a beautiful piece of architecture visited by hundreds of thousands of people per year. I should have thought about that better because I don't really like to photograph crowded places and that palace was crowded (that is my excuse for so little photos and in none of them you can see the ground). Inside the palace the light wasn't the best, it was crowded and tripods weren't alowed so there is only one photo in this post from the chapel. The palace is the second highest place in those mountains so you have a great 360º view. Spent the whole afternoon shooting and in the evening (when the clouds started getting heavier) went down town to try Travesseiros de Sintra and Queijadas de Sintra, two typical pastries and they are just delicious!

One day in Sintra is not enough! There is several palaces to visit and the beach is not too far so it's a perfect spot for holidays, not far from the capital but not that busy! Certainly I'll visit it again!

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