What happens when the queen has a penchant for Moorish design, a German architect is hired, and the king wants to build a castle that will never be forgotten?

From below, Sintra’s Pena Palace’s red and yellow walls are the surprise of the morning.

Then coming round the bend on the last bit of the path up to the castle, Astonishment! 

It’s impossible to describe how charming and eccentric this castle is.  We’ve decided that Vietnam has Hoi An, Ethiopia has Lalibela, and Portugal has Pena Palace. All of these UNESCO World Heritage Sites are fantastic!   

José our intrepid guide from Lisbon on Wheels took us from the courtyard to an—-elevator up to the inner chambers of the castle. Beautiful! This was just as I was complaining that despite all the walking we were doing, I’m sure I’m gaining weight. He said, “well, all I do is weight lifting. I lift the wine in this hand, and I lift the cheese in this hand!” And then he proceeded to demonstrate. 😂

No wonder we love this guy!  

No photos are allowed inside the castle chambers except in a few spots that do not have furnishings. If you’re curious about the furnishings you can Google images: Pena Palace, Sintra. 

After the rooms, the balconies:

And of course, the shots I couldn’t resist:

José got us moving right away in the morning so that we missed most of the crowds. When we came out the lines of people and tour buses was astounding. I can’t imagine doing this in summer. After Pena Palace? Lunch!

And the winery where the vines are grown in sand with extremely long roots that go down into clay.

The day came to an end in Estoril where there has been a casino and hotel forever. I loved seeing these because they are part of the story in A Small Death in Lisbon by Wilson. And this is where Ian Fleming spent time when he really was a spy and where Casino Royale was set.

No more words today. Tchau!