- Stone stairs
The stairs in our hotel - Quinta das murtas - Quinta das murtas
An ancient passage in the hotel - Quinta das murtas
A rather interesting decoration in the hotel. But is fits perfectly into the whole over-the-top town. - Quinta das murtas
And interesting furniture. - Cupboard pattern
The pattern of the cupboard in black and white. - Quinta das murtas
The reception of the hotel. It really puts you in the mood of the whole town. - Quinta das murtas
Mirror, mirror on the wall... - Camellia
A camellia and duckweed. But the camellia is neither red nor white, so what does that mean? - Stone stairs
Stairs in our hotel - Quinta das Murtas - Fountain
A fountain in the hotel's garden. Oh, there was also a pool (closed in winter) and a jacuzzi (open in winter :-) - Calla
So wonderful to see flowers in February. - A mandarin(?) tree
In the hotel garden, of course. You can tell that I really liked the place... - Quinta das Murtas
This was our room/cottage in the hotel. - Palácio Nacional
The same palace - Sintra National Palace - in daylight - Logs in Quinta
Perfection. - Portal of the Guardians
The gardens of Quinta da Regaleria - The entrance
The entrance to the Initiation Well. Rather dull compared to what's behind these doors. - Rhododendron
- The Initiation Well
27 m deep "inverted" tower that was used for ceremonial purposes related to Tarot mysticism, according to Wikipedia. - The Initiation Well
27 m deep and full of mystery. - Portal of the Guardians
One of the many fountains in the park - Underground walkways
Again, one of the many underground walkways. - The Initiation Well
I can't imagine how much work went into the whole palace and the gardens. - The Unfinished Well
As the name says, this well appears unfinished. - The Unfinished Well
View up the Unfinished Well - Lake of the Waterfall
I wonder how many people fall into the water annually. - Lake of the Waterfall
The waters were pretty low so interesting patterns appeared on the rocks. - Lake of the Waterfall
Just magical. - Quinta underground
A whole maze of underground pathways. - Exit
Exit and entrance into the underground. - Lake of the Waterfall
- Portal of the Guardians
Another entrance/exit from the underground and the Initiation wells. - Steep stairs
Well, these are some steep stairs. - Bromeliad(?)
Probably a bromeliad. Or something similar. - Another tower
The tower above Leda's Grotto - The palace
The main palace and a bit of the chapel in the front. - Random flowers
- Labyrinthic Grotto
A wonderful underground maze - The Chapel window
The stained window in the Capela da Santíssima Trindade. - The chapel's basement
Of course there is another secret passage from the chapel's basement taking you ... well, someplace else in the gardens. - Monstera deliciosa
A monstrous monstera - The Hunting room
The Quinta was bought by Baroness da Regaleira in 1840 and made into her summer retreat. - The Hunting room
And a parrot! - The Hunting room
A "javali" - Frescoes
The whole palace is a mixture of styles, ideas and second thoughts. - King's Room
Formerly a billiard room, it is decorated with portraits of Portuguese monarchs: 20 kings and 4 queens. These three are: João II (1455-1495), Manuel I (1469-1521) and João III (1502-1557). - Quinta da Regaleira
- Parque da Liberdade
Parque da Liberdade - entrance to the Botanical Garden. - Old priest shoes
The priests surely had some lovely shoes. - The Infirmary
The palace served as a Franciscan friary - it actually started as a modest friary for 13 Capuchin friars... This is the Infirmary for the seriously ill. - The Infirmary
All the beds in the Infirmary faced the altar. - 18th century pharmacy
The ... equipment. - Diana room
The ceiling in Diana room. The King's quarters, obviously. - Throne room
- King's chapel
"He was a carpenter by trade, or at least that's what I'm told..." - King's bedroom
Gondola-inspired bed. For the King. 200 m away from the Queen's bed. - King's bedroom
- King's bed
- Palace corridors
The King's and Queen's quarters were 232 m apart... so, technically, if the floors were completely flat, one could see the curvature of the Earth. - Sala da Benção
In the middle between King's and Queen's apartments, there is the Sala da Benção where they could attend Mass without actually going to the basilica. - Basilica
The view the King and the Queen had during the Mass. - Chamberlain's room
The coat of arms and a bunch of Greek gods. - A chair in Queen's bedroom
Most of the furniture was taken to Brazil when the Royal family fled in 1808, so the palace was later redecorated in the original style. - Queen's bathroom
- Queen's bathroom
- Tassels
- The Yellow room
Also called the Music room or the Reception room. - A billiard table
The Games room - Another ... game?
Another game in the Game room. It might be some sort of early table football but I am not sure. - What a cutie!
In the Hunting room, also called the Trophy room. - Furniture
Well... not my cup of tea at all, but interesting nevertheless. - 18th century tools
Tools from the 1st half of the 18th century: the suspension weights, the monkey, the ratchet, and the wedges. - Giant compasses
These compasses are giant! But than again, you probably need them if you're building such a huuuge thing. - Mundus Subterraneus
Mundus Subterraneus. A book from 1665 by Athanasius Kircher. This page explains the connections of water inside the Earth. The complete book - Regla de las cinco ordenes de architectura
Regla de las cinco ordenes d'architectura de Iacome de Vignola. Giacomo Barocci da Vignola. This spanish edition is from 1702. The complete book - Architecture de Palladio, Divisee en Quatre Livres
Architecture de Palladio, Divisee en Quatre Livres. Andrea Palladio. This french edition is from 1726. The complete book - Perspectivae pictorum atque architectorum
Perspectivae pictorum atque architectorum. Andrea Pozzo. This Latin/German edition is from 1719. The complete book I do have a soft spot for Andrea Pozzo as he was the architect of my hometown's cathedral. - Mafra Library
The famous library has about 36 000 volumes - dating from 14th to 19th century, including the Nuremerg Chronicle from 1493 (The complete book) and the Diderot et d'Alembert Encyclopédie from 1751. - Mafra Library
But the books - oh, my! So, so magnificent! - Mafra Library
- Mafra Library
Fun fact: there are about 500 bats living in the library that eat insects and preserve the books. - The north cloistre
- Mafra Basilica dome
What a wonderful dome. - Saint Jerome
A statue of Saint Hieronymus in the baroque basilica. - Saint Francis Borgia
A statue of Saint Francis Borgia, a great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI. Yeah, pope. - Statue detail
It's just insane, how much detail there is in one single accessory to one of the many statues in such a church. - Palácio de Mafra
The Palace of Mafra was built between 1717-1755 and is one of the largest royal palaces with 40 000 m^2. - Porta da Vila
The main entrance to the city with 18th century azulejos. - Porta da Vila
The ceiling represents the Crown of Thorns. - The famous town walls
Originally built in the Moors era (8-11th century), the current walls were rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake. You can walk along the 1.5 km long walls. - Obidos
View from the town walls. - A flower pot
Probably some king I should recognise, but I don't. - "Medieval" market
The town is very proud if its medieval history and they organise medieval markets and festivals. - Castelo de Óbidos
- The town falls
- Obidos
The town and the town walls at night. - The eastern wall
- Largo Infante Dom Henrique
The town was founded by King D. João I of Portugal to pay homage to the Portuguese victory at the Battle of Aljubarrota (August 14, 1385). - Tree branches at night
It was a rainy night and these are the reflections on tree branches. - Mosteiro da Batalha
The famous Batalha Monastery, officially known, as the Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory. It was erected in commemoration of the 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota and is now one of the best examples of late gothic architecture in Portugal.