THE COUNTESS'S CHALET AND PARK - SLIDE-SHOW

Yesterday, when I opened my bedroom’s window and saw the dense fog descending over the bridge, I was very upset. My day’s schedule was going to be totally damaged, I thought. However, by noon, the sky had cleared up and the sun was shining strongly. One hot day, again. Great! My decision of having lunch in the park that surrounds the partially renovated Countess Edla’s chalet would be perfect.

Early in the afternoon, I reached Sintra town and could find my destination up on the hill, thanks to the huge stones seen here and there. Glad to have chosen the right path, through cool shadows alternated with the rays of hot sun. When I parked the car, it was really hot but soon I chilled out by walking under the shade of the trees.

After laying a big stone – geologists call it nefeline syenite - for lunch that tasted particularly good, feeling a soft breeze, breathing the scents of nature, I went for a long walk through the park.

The goats didn’t seem to like my camera, the horse, either. I waited for several minutes until he might move further from the electric wire fence but he never co-operated with me. I didn’t get into the Chalet. The restoration works of its interior are not yet concluded.

The Chalet, was originally built (1868) by a Portuguese king for his lover, the Countess of Edla, a famous Swiss-German opera singer, who later became the king’s official wife. It is a building in Romantic style, made of stone and lime, but with simulated wood exterior walls decorated with cork tracery. The Chalet looks like it was designed for a Disney movie!

I left the park, thinking how that Countess’s life would make a good movie or perhaps… opera.

It was not late, yet, and from there I drove to Regaleira Palace for tea… a magical place that is full of masonry symbolism, from the entrance to everything outside and inside it....

The day ended with a gorgeous sunset and now I am enjoying a beautiful moonlight over the river.

Have a nice weekend!

A ROMANTIC ENSEMBLE - THE SECOND AND FINAL SLIDE-SHOW

After the stroll in the Park and a bit of rest at the tea-house I stepped into the Palace. This was built in 1790 over the ruins of an old chapel and a few years later the English writer William Beckford rented the whole park and palace. Beckford did not live in it for a long time. He left Portugal and the property was abandoned. Many years passed since then until 1856, when Sir Francis Cook ordered the reconstruction of the Palace, in a romantic style, with gothic, Indian and Arab motifs.

The whole Palace is not yet open to the public but I could visit all the areas, whose restoration work has been recently concluded. The entrance hall with its Gothic arches and pink marble columns, the corridor, a succession of arches and columns, providing a sensation of depth, the octagonal-shaped main hall with Indian alabaster panels (Mogul style) used as screens and with a fountain in alabaster, as well, the Music Room with its dome in decorative plaster work, the stairwell - a marble structure decorated with an ivy leaved pattern - and its huge dragonfly, the library with the walls entirely covered by walnut bookshelves - the door, also in walnut and decorated in bas-relief representing Diana, the Roman goddess, all were beautiful! 

The sun was about to set when I left Monserrate, not feeling like walking back to the railway station. Fortunately, there was a shuttle bus that drove me to the center of Sintra. I was thirsty and was wandering around the historic center, looking for a non-tourist trap bar (easier said than found) when I stumbled upon the hidden gem A Raposa (The Fox), a tea-house/restaurant. I went in for tea and immediately fell in love with the decor... it was different and cozy. My outing had had a happy end!

A ROMANTIC ENSEMBLE # 1 - THE PARK (SLIDE-SHOW)

I admit I have a penchant for romanticism in Sintra. It’s easy to like Sintra, a small town I visit from time to time. It was hot but Sintra with its lush vegetation always makes me feel not only refreshed but also like I am staying (nearly) alone in nature. It’s particularly easy to become overwhelmed at the Monserrate Park and Palace ensemble, where I didn't remember to have ever been before. After a one-hour walk from the railway station I arrived at the Park.

Monserrate is one of the most romantic sights in the region of Lisbon, a Victorian mansion situated in a botanical garden of exotic trees and tropical plants. The gardens were landscaped in the 18th century by a wealthy Englishman William Beckford, writer of the Gothic novel Vathek, between 1793 and 1799 when he rented Monserrate. Around half a century later, another wealthy Englishman Sir Francis Cook bought the place and built the magnificent Victorian mansion inspired by Brighton Pavilion of Nash. Cook also transformed the gardens with a large sweeping lawn, camellias and sub-tropical trees from all over the world. Today Monserrate is one of Europe’s most richly reserved gardens and impresses its visitors with its romantic charm.

At the entrance, the gate is topped by a pair of  two mythological creatures providing an introduction to the fantastic beyond the gate. I started walking through the gardens, resisting to the temptation of going straight to the Palace. Passed by the Indian Arch, acquired in India by Sir. Francis Cook, and then walked to the relaxing cascade Beckford ... and stopped to admire the scenery. Here, were joined talents and ability to dream...

I followed the path downhill, to the Ferns and the Garden of Japan, and enjoyed the idea and outcome of creating a fake ruin of the chapel. When I was approaching the Garden of Mexico I was faced with a lawn hill - the first planted in Portugal, notable for its size and unusual cambered surface that required an imaginative irrigation system -  with fantastic places to lay a towel and sunbathe. Unfortunately, I hadn't any towel with me. On the top of the hill I saw the Palace. I climbed the hill to the Palace and I reached the highest point of the visit.  I walked around to admire its exterior. Until  recently this was the only option as it had been closed for restoration works. Splendid! One has to pay homage to those who built it and rebuild it as the summer house of Francis Cook. 

I decided not to enter, without firstly having rest at the tea house, where I could refill my batteries...

Hope you enjoy the walk in the Park...

TURKEY THROUGH MY EYES #6 - SLIDE-SHOW

The morning dawned warm and crystal clear. I didn't feel like staying at the resort, sunbathing by the poolside or on the beach. I didn't feel like joining an organized tour to visit Antalya city (30 miles away), either. I don't like to be guided to places that are not interesting to me. I don't like to listen to the information given by tour guides. Neither a tour guide nor a guide book makes me feel the pulse of the local life and.... I like feeling it.

On the day before, I had seen a bus stop not far from the hotel, which made me believe that there might be a frequent bus service to the city or somewhere else. Ok, I decided to walk up to that stop and wait for a bus coming, having assumed that the bus might drive me to the city. Approximately half an hour later, a bus without any passenger stopped. The driver didn't speak a word of a common language. I said 'Antalya' and he did an up-and-down head nod   as saying 'yes'.  I boarded the bus, he picked up some coins from my hand but I did not get any ticket. I took one of the front seats as I wanted to enjoy the landscape and if possible, take some photos. Assuming the bus would drive me to the city it would take up to one hour or so, I thought.

The bus interior was something I had never seen before. So many ornaments!!! The bus went through the rural area and I did not see bus stops anymore. Local people waved down the bus wherever they happened to be. Half an hour later or so, the bus was crowded and I started to wonder whether I was being driven towards Antalya. Perhaps, the bus terminal would be somewhere else in a rural area. I did not care. It would be interesting to get off at an unscheduled destination.

Actually, the bus terminal was not in the city but somewhere else named Serik. If I wanted to go to Antalya I should board another bus. I did it, thinking that on the following day I would come back to that rural town. After all, I already knew the way to!

One hour more of driving and I was in Antalya city, one of the most important tourist centers in Turkey. Following the suggestion of a Turkish lady who had immigrated to Switzerland and was revisiting her homeplace, I dropped off at a certain place in the city, in the belief that I would be not far from the city center. She had misinformed me... I walked and tried to get information from local people but once again nobody spoke a foreign language... I even got into a hotel - thinking that the front desk staff might help me - but nobody did. They had no city plan, either. In the meantime, I took photos of the places and street names that might guide me in the evening to walk back and take a bus to return to the hotel.

I knew the city center was not far from the city port. I often asked people for the direction by just mentioning 'port' but even though I was not understood. Later, at a coffee-shop, I realized that instead of port I should have mentioned 'marina'!!!

After a two-hour walk, I saw a little bit of blue colour on the horizon. Good, I was walking on the right direction...

I relaxed at an open-air café overlooking the scenic Mediterranean Gulf of Antalya. I visited the Ethnography Museum and I strolled through the picturesque old quarter with its narrow, winding cobbled streets of historic Turkish and Greek houses. This quarter is enclosed in ancient city walls, which now protect the peaceful quarter from the the noise of the concrete metropolies of a million people.

I passed by The Clock Tower that  has survived through the present day among the towers of the citadel surrounding the city of Antalya. In the past the total number of these towers was 80.

The Bazaar 'perspired' all the charm and hospitality that Antalaya had to offer, brought together in a single place. I got into a Turkish carpet store and bought three carpets after bargaining for more than one hour. Obviously, the seller was fluent in English and taking advantage of his knowledge, I asked him the best way to return back to the hotel. He wrote the bus direction name on a slip of paper and passed it to me. At that moment I felt confident how smooth the return way would be. Silly of me!!!

I walked for a mile or so and many buses were running ones after the others. Buses displayed a board on the windscreen indicating the route and number. For locals they must be easily recognizable from a distance, but for me it was difficult to decipher the route description quickly enough to wave down the right bus. Luckily, I saw a long queue of people and realized there might be the 'bus stop'. I showed the slip of paper to one of them and she nodded her head. Great... that would be the first stage of my adventure back to the hotel.

When the bus stopped, I showed the slip of paper to the driver and he made me a sign to hop on. I stayed all the time by the driver as the bus was crowded and I thought it would be easier for me to know where I should get off and take first bus to the rural village and from there another one to the hotel. As the bus was running slowly and getting more crowded and crowded, my eyes were telling me how that scenery was totally unknown to me. So different from what I had seen in the morning.... the bus was running not through the city but outside ... I was sure of it... industrial plants, no housing! Suddenly the driver made a sign to me to drop off. I did it without hesitation but all I saw was a gas station. OMG, where was I? I walked to the gas station and was told by hand-signs that I should go to the roadside and wait for the bus. Again, no bus stop at all... half a dozen of Turkish people were sitting by the roadside and I joined them... I had got the feeling they might be waiting for a bus... One hour later I was boarding the right bus via the back door... Interesting, this time the door to board was not the frontside one. The bus was crowded, no vacant seats, and I was so tired after walking with the three carpets in a big nylon sack (I've no idea of their weight but carrying that sack was very uncomfortable, indeed). I sat on one of the steps next to a big cardboard box. I felt like a sardine in a tin...

After a very unpleasurable driving, I reached that rural town (Serik) I had been for a while in the morning and from there I took another bus to the hotel. I had though I would be dropped not far from it but again, something adverse happened...

Two French ladies were on the bus and I asked them whether they were staying at the same hotel. They clearly confirmed it. But when they stood up to get off and told me to join them, I followed. They had told me before they were used to taking that bus. Once again, I shouldn't have trusted the information. As we were walking together I could not see any sign of my hotel, though I saw many others. They stopped in front of one and said to me: 'Here you are'. At that moment, I realized why I had been misguided. Their hotel was named Crystal like mine but it was not the Crystal Paradise Resort where I was staying. Mine was 5 miles away... I thought it would be better to take a taxi but I was already so much suspicious of drivers and people's information that even feeling weary I made an appeal to my legs and they accepted it. One hour later I was at my hotel... My adventure on that day was over!

DO BIRDS RESEMBLE HUMAN BEINGS?

Although sparrows are loud, noisy, naughty and even disturbing, I often spend some minutes of my day simply gazing at these little birds, trying to distinguish between them. Some are small, some big, some leaders and some weaklings and then there are baby birds that I can easily find out as they are the most under confident ones. 
However, this evening I was not concerned about the aforesaid but I spent half an hour watching the type of war fare  the sparrows are capable of in a peaceful corner of a park. As I was watching them, suddenly a pigeon showed up and she promptly caught the piece of bread that the sparrows had been busy with. Looking at that scene, I thought of the world of human beings.... The stronger and bigger they are, either in size or in wealth, they always try to defeat the smaller and unfavoured.... Not always are the good things shared among equals, either .....