You Can't Win Them All, Sintra, Portugal

Turrets at Palacio da Pena

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We had enjoyed Sintra so much that we decided that another trip back was warranted.  We had skipped the Palacio da Pena then first time as we thought it might be too busy because it was such a beautiful day.  Well, on our return trip, the day started out fine, but as we closed in on Sintra, we noticed there was a big cloud hovering over the hills where the Palace de Pena is situated.  And then came the rains!! 
We attempted to avoid the downpour by taking a couple of buses around to see the town, but when the rain stopped, we decided to head up to the Palace to take a shot.  We were up at the Pena Palace for about 3 hours, and the thick fog never lifted at all.  What a shame as there must be some spectacular views from up there.  And it would have been great to see the architecture in some good light.
In saying this, the pea-soup fog did add some mystery and eeriness to the palace, but it was damn cold on top of that hill. 

Palacio da Pena

As you can see from the pictures, it is rather a storybook castle, with interesting turrets and towers everywhere.  I really like the entrance road, as it circled around on itself like a modern multi-storey parking garage.  Except this one passed through drawbridges and interesting archways.
A tour through the Palace took us through all the main rooms as they had been left in 1910.  The royal family went into exile at that time in a revolution, and the palace has been preserved in that state ever since.  Some of the interesting decorations were concrete ceilings painted to resemble wood, a room decorated with half finished painting canvases, The Arab Room - elaborately painted in frescos and tempera that gave it great depth, statues of Turks holding electric chandeliers, and a big circular Stag room decorated with plaster stag heads all around.
The exterior was not to be outdone, as a bizarre sculpture of a Triton was over the gateway to the courtyard.  The Triton is a half man-half fish figure, with an angry looking face.  It was decorated all around with coral and shells.

Cabo do Roca

We had stalled as long as we could and the fog just wouldn't clear, so we scrapped our plans to tour the gardens and grounds because you just wouldn't be able to see anything.  Back into town on the local bus, who manoeuvred around those tight corners with ease.  I always marvel at the driving skills of the bus drivers in Europe!!  Don't know how they get through some of those really tight places.
One more 'palace' to see in Sintra (the town of many palaces it seems).  At Quinta la Regaliera, we hadn't realized that the grounds were so large, and didn't leave enough time to tour the it all, so decided that a look from the outside was fine and save the 6 Euros for now. 
We still had one more stop for the day, and that was on the bus ride home.  Cabo da Roca is the most Westerly point in Continental Europe.  Here, there is a large light house 140m up on the cliffs above the ocean.  A monument also marks the location with latitude and longitude (9 deg 30" West).  We looked out from the cliffs towards Canada!!!  *Stub