Showing posts with label Palace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Palace. Show all posts

Sunday, 12 November 2017

Shot no.27











Shot no.27 (Canon EOS M10 with lens Canon EF-M 15-45mm and Canon EF 75-300mm)

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Photo taken at Farmleigh, Phoenix Park, Co. Dublin, Ireland in October 2017.
So another sunny day in the Irish autunm! Another day where I planned to do a bunch of nothing but couldn't help to grab my camera after a morning spent in the gym. I had to make a quick decision because normally the Irish sun doesn't last for the whole day. Where to go? Easy, Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park. The Phoenix Park is always my first option when I want to go to take photos but not far from home. It's so big that I still have too many places to photograph there.
After my workout I was very hungry so my first stop was at the Boathouse Restaurant by the lake side. The food is delicious and the view of the lake just makes you want to stay sitting there forever! Of course I was too relaxed and comfortable in there so totally forgot to take a photo to show. 
Farmleigh was built by the great-grandson of Arthur Guinness, Edward Cecil Guinness, in 1880's. The property was bought from the Guinness family and currently is managed by the Office of Public Works. The house has guided tours and it's grounds are used for several cultural programs through the whole year. The house is also the official Irish State Guesthouse and has welcomed guests like Queen Elizabeth II, Barack Obama, the former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and most recently the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.
I have visited this place several times but still haven't had a chance to do a guided tour. Normally I have something to eat in the Boathouse and then go for a walk in it's parklands like the sunken gardens, the walled garden, the fountain lawn and the clock tower. I always have to go near the clock tower, it has some kind of hypnotic effect on me. Curious fact, I have been working in the same hospital for the last 3 years and from the 3rd floor I can see a beautiful clock tower far in the landscape. I always asked people where that tower was or the name but no one knew. Last year I visited Farmleigh for the first time after 2 years working in that hospital and I accidentaly discovered that it is the clock tower in Farmleigh! Like I used to say, Dublin still surprises me!


PT (este texto não está redigido com o novo acordo ortográfico)

Foto tirada em Farmleigh, Phoenix Park, Co. Dublin, Irlanda em outubro de 2017.
Então, outro dia ensolarado no outono irlandês! Outro dia em que planeei fazer um monte de nada no entanto, não pude evitar pegar na minha câmera depois de uma manhã passada no ginásio. Tive que tomar uma decisão rápida porque o sol irlandês raramente dura um dia inteiro. Onde ir? Fácil, Farmleigh no Phoenix Park. O Phoenix Park é sempre a minha primeira opção quando eu quero ir tirar fotos, mas não muito longe de casa. É enorme e ainda há muito que fotografar por lá!
Depois do meu treino, a fome aperta, então a minha primeira paragem foi no restaurante Boathouse, ao lado do lago. A comida é deliciosa e a vista do lago apenas faz você querer ficar sentado lá para sempre! Claro que eu estava tão relaxado e confortável que esqueci de tirar uma foto para mostrar.
Farmleigh foi construído pelo bisneto de Arthur Guinness, Edward Cecil Guinness, em 1880. A propriedade foi comprada à família Guinness e atualmente é administrada pelo Escritório de Obras Públicas. A casa tem visitas guiadas e os seus jardins são utilizados para vários programas culturais durante todo o ano. A casa também é a Official Irish State Guesthouse (casa que recebe personalidades em visitas de estado) e recebeu convidados como a Rainha Elizabeth II, Barack Obama, o ex-secretário-geral das Nações Unidas Ban Ki Moon e, mais recentemente, o primeiro-ministro do Canadá, Justin Trudeau.
Já visitei este lugar tantas vezes e ainda não fiz uma visita guiada. Normalmente, quando visito Farmleigh, como algo no Boathouse e, em seguida, dou um passeio pelo "sunken garden" (jardim afundado), o "walled garden" (jardim limitado por muros altos), o jardim da fonte e a torre do relógio. Eu tenho sempre que ir perto da torre do relógio, parece que tem algum tipo de efeito hipnótico sobre mim. Facto curioso, trabalhei no mesmo hospital nos últimos 3 anos e, a partir do 3º andar, dá para ver uma bela torre do relógio longe na paisagem. Sempre perguntei a pessoas onde ficava essa torre ou o nome, mas ninguém sabia. No ano passado eu visitei Farmleigh pela primeira vez depois de 2 anos trabalhando naquele hospital e descobri que é a torre do relógio em Farmleigh! Como costumo dizer, Dublin ainda me surpreende!

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Wednesday, 25 October 2017

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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