Pena Palace in Sintra, outside Lisbon, is a short hop from our friends’ house. It looked like rain in the afternoon, so we all brought our jackets. This turned out to be very appreciated. We wound up the mountainside first by car, then hiking on the road, then climbing up garden paths. The higher we ascended into the clouds, the windier and wetter it got. Soon cold rain was pelting us. The less waterproof of our jackets soaked all the way through. Wendy saved the day with snacks for the kids, and we were able to enjoy floating silently through the grounds of the castle in a cloud.
Monks lived here in the 1500s, then a palace was built over the ruins of the monastery in the 1800s. King Ferdinand—cousin to Mad King Ludwig of Neuschweinstein—built the over-the-top palace for his family.
Everyone was trying to stay out of the rain while we were there, so the interior was weirdly packed but the gardens were absolutely empty. Wendy apologized for the lack of view—on a clear day you can see Lisbon—but not having any expectation of that, we were happy to enjoy the cozy ambience!
Descending from the fairytale palace through the garden, secret pathways led through the queen’s valley of ferns and snaked off in all directions. We even found a pond of baby ducks. The kids agreed it was great!
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