Sintra

Yesterday we went to Sintra!  Sintra is a pretty medieval town, 40 minutes from Lisbon.

The picture below is the iniatic well at the Quinta da Regaleira!  It is a beautiful palace that was originally known as "Quinta da Torre."  Torre means tower and it was originally owned by a rich spanish family.  It was then bought by the Baroness da Regaleira and was transformed into a summer retreat.  They added a chapel when they moved in.  They were Catholic but very welcoming to guests of other religions.  An evidence of this was that their pulpit was on the right side of the chapel, when traditionally pulpits in the catholic religion were always on the left side.  Since then, the palace was resold many times, until it fell into the hands of a Japanese corporation, Aoki, who were to convert the beautify palace into a five-star luxury resort.  Soon, the government developed cultural policies, and this wasn't able to happen.  Here is an underground tower.  It is said to symbolize the relationship between Earth and Heaven.  At the bottom there is a secret exit that leads to a pretty river that you have to cross with stepping stones. At the bottom, there is a tunnel that leads to the exit that is said to symbolize resurrection.  The palace was not only gorgeous, and set in the mountains overlooking the beach, but it was full of stories, a mixture of greek mythology and christianize. 

Here are the famous pastries of Sintra.  The top one is called Travesseiro, which means pillow.  It makes sense, because of its fluffy light appearance.  The pastries on the bottom are called Queijadas, which means cheesy.  They don't actually taste like cheese, but are more of a cinnamon pastry with just the right crunch to it.

 Our last stop was the Pena palace. It was just as beautiful and we were intrigued by how short in length the beds were.  Because we did not have a guide on the tour, I asked somebody working there, who explained to me that in their time, they slept sitting up!  History claims that people slept upright, supported by pillows.  Not only is sitting up good for digestion, but laying flat down is the position of the dead!  They believed if you slept laying down, you wouldn't wake up!  I'm glad that people have learned otherwise. 

 This is also at the Regaleira.

 Another picture from the Regaleira