Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report

Chapter Nine: Magical, Mystical Monserrate

Day Nine: The Early Birds, A Lovely Walk, Stunning Palace, Less Is Moor, The First Lawn Planted In Portugal, Here Is The News, Somebody Call An Ambulance, What Color Is Diesel?, Toll Unit and the “Real” Deal

On a windy, sunny day and we we were up early for a quick breakfast at Café Saudade before hitting our final Sintra palace.

We hailed an Uber for the 15 minute ride to the Parque & Palácio de Monserrate, another magical and mystical spot on our Sintra bingo card. The palace (villa) was commissioned by Sir Francis Cook, an English textile millionaire, in 1853 and inspired by Islamic architecture. Cook was also the owner of one of the largest private art collections in Britain.

Back in 1793, however, English novelist William Thomas Beckford subleased the property and designed a landscaped garden. He did such a good job that when Lord Byron visited in 1809 he was captivated by its beauty. He called it the “first and most beautiful place on this land.” Arriving just a few minutes after it opened, after being greeted by a statue of a gargoyle (I think), we started through a portion of the park including the Indigenous Forest. We came upon a sign indicating various paths to the palace. Since little was in bloom, we decided to explore the Vale dos Fetos (Fern Valley).

The Valley supposedly has a unique microclimate lending itself to a “tremendous collection of Tree ferns.”

I’m not sure if this the edge of Hippocreme, a lake named after either a legendary fountain in ancient Greece or a sunscreen for hippopotami.

The gardens at Monserrate are one of the earliest Romantic gardens ever planted and in other seasons would be abloom with rhododendrons, azaelas, hydrangeas, camellias and roses. As a matter of fact, Cook sourced exotic species from all over the world when he expanded the gardens.

It was another stunningly beautiful blue sky day to take a stroll in another park. Besides the park in Monserrate, we were told that not only does the entire Parques de Sintra that surrounds the palaces have an abundant number of flowers, plants and trees, but if you also add in all the species of animals and birds, the total comes out close to 3,000 different varieties when you add them all together. 

Near the palace is the Indian Arch, which was acquired by Cook after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, where Indians protested against “the campaign of westernization by the East India Company. The British army, after defeating the mutineers, sacked and destroyed many Indian palaces.”

The path headed straight up from the arch to the palace, considered to be a “masterpiece of Romanticism.” It was designed by architect James Knowles Jr. with a lot of input from Cook. It has been completely restored.

The palace and park became a popular retreat for writers, especially from Britain. The Triton Fountain stands out front.

The garden entrance was where family and friends hung out, and where they could easily access many of the rooms. Today, there is very little furniture in the palace, so you can spend your time admiring the incredible architectural features as you walk through.

Since our 2015 trip to Spain, I’ve been intrigued by Moorish architecture, so I was really looking forward to our visit. We would not be disappointed. Walking into the Main Hall, once again a ceiling claimed our attention and Tracy’s camera. The Octagon dates all the way back to the original palace when it was inhabited by William Beckman. It was inspired by the Founder’s Chapel of Mosteiro da Batalha, which we would visit in a few days. Quite remarkable.

The Sacred Art Room contained religious artifacts and some of those ever-present stained glass windows (that might total up to a million by now).

The Moorish influence of The Central Gallery was apparent. It seemingly goes on forever as you walk through the palace. Those people look very small in the long hallway. There is no more photogenic spot in the palace, in my opinion.

The Billiards Room isn’t like other Billiard Rooms I have seen, plus somebody “lost” the pool table sometime in the last century, which presumably put him or her behind the eight ball.

Once again, Tracy falls in love with a ceiling.

The library was restored a little more than a decade ago and is, according to our notes, the only room that has a door. I guess I’ll have to return to see if that is true.

Going upstairs, looking back down at the Main Atrium with its fountain is a tad vertiginous.

Like Judy Collins, Mary contemplated the palace layout from both sides now.

We looked out at the “first lawn ever planted in Portugal.” Its vast expanse would have made it difficult for Clint Eastwood to yell at people to get off it.

Back downstairs, or I think we were downstairs, is the Dining Room. The statue makes it seem more like a chapel. I read that canopies were utilized in this room to make a sort of “Oriental tent” for diners.

The other room that is stunning throughout is this room. The Music Room is considered the main hall of the palace, although there is a room called the Main Hall. But I digress. It is a spectacularly beautiful room where concerts were held, so its design was to make this room acoustically perfect.

Once again, the cupola is the highlight of the room, with its white and gold motifs.