"Reizen door Portugal is reizen door het verleden", Tessa de Loo

Portugal: The Oldest European Nation...

"Reizen door Portugal is reizen door het verleden."

(Tessa de Loo, nederlander writer, who has been living in Portugal since the eighties.)

" Viajar por Portugal e viajar pelo passado." diz-nos Tessa de Loo, autora do celebre romance De Tweeling (1993), que vive em Portugal desde os anos oitenta.

Tessa de Loo tells us about her trip in the south of Portugal in Byblos Reizen.

Tessa was in the magical town of Sintra, nearby Lisbon...

"In Sintra herinneren paleizen en quinta’s temidden van weelderige parken en tuinen eraan dat hier ooit de zomerresidentie van de koningen en de adel was."

Tessa de Loo comeca por nos falar de Sintra, dos seus palacios (paleizen) e quintas, rodeados por luxuriantes (weelderige) parques (parken) e jardins (tuinen), onde os reis (koningen) e a nobreza (adel) se alojavam no Verao.

Let me show you what she is talking about...

1.Palacio Nacional de Sintra/ National Palace of Sintra

The only surviving palace of the Middle Ages and Royal Residence for more than six centuries.

From Portugal

Click on the links below to see the beautiful fotos of the rooms:

Sala dos Cisnes;
Sala das Pegas;
Sala Arabe;
Sala dos Brasoes;
Quarto D. Afonso VI;
Capela Palatina;
Cozinha;


and, of course, the exquisite tiles of the Palace...

So, did you like the fotos? What is your favourite room? Did you notice the Arabic influence in the tiles? :-)
Have you ever been in this Palace? How was your experience? If so, please tells us about ;-)

2.Palacio de Monserrate e os seus jardins luxuriantes/ Monserrate Palace and Gardens

"It was built in 1858 for Sir Francis Cook, an English baronet created visconde de Monserrate by King Luís. Monserrate turned to an English architect, James Knowles Jr., for designs. Though its Moghul-inspired details are unique in Portugal, its eclecticism is a fine example of the Sintra Romanticism."

(From Wikipedia)

From Portugal

From Portugal

From Portugal

From Portugal

The Monserrate Palace was visited by Lord Byron, an english poet of the 19th century.
He was there in 1809 as you can read in his poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage".

Please, click here to watch some slides about this magnificent Palace.

(to be continued)