Sintra, Portugal

The Portuguese like to say, " Para quem sabe ler, um pingo é letra," - "for those who know how to read, a dot may be a letter."In the 19th century, Sintra became the first center of European Romantic architecture. Ferdinand the Second turned a ruined monastery into a castle of the global fame, where new spatial dimensions were achieved with an eclectic blend of Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish, and Romanesque-Baroque elements. The fine dwellings, built along the same lines in the surrounding...
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The Portuguese like to say, " Para quem sabe ler, um pingo é letra," - "for those who know how to read, a dot may be a letter."In the 19th century, Sintra became the first center of European Romantic architecture. Ferdinand the Second turned a ruined monastery into a castle of the global fame, where new spatial dimensions were achieved with an eclectic blend of Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish, and Romanesque-Baroque elements. The fine dwellings, built along the same lines in the surrounding serra, created a unique combination of parks and gardens which influenced the development of landscape architecture throughout Europe. Today, Sintra has its undeniable place in assembling the southwest European zest. While visiting Sintra for a day or two, one should not miss a single dot in its hidden cloisters, for they all have a message for the "good reader." //Written in pourquoi tale genre, "Sintra, Portugal" completes a series of travel-diaries in the line with: (1) Amalfi Coast, Italy; (2) Amazing Andorra; (3) Amazing Bavaria; (4) Amazing Berlin; (5) Amazing Bhutan; (6) Amazing Cave-Houses; (7) Amazing Domes; (8) Amazing Dublin; (9) Amazing Falkland Islands; (10) Amazing Florence; (11) Amazing French Riviera; (12) Amazing Greenland; (13) Amazing Gozo, Malta; (14) Amazing Iceland; (15) Amazing Innsbruck; (16) Amazing Jurmala, Latvia; (17) Amazing Monaco; (18) Amazing Naples; (19) Amazing Palau; (20) Amazing Paris; (21) Amazing Railways; (22) Amazing Salzburg; (23) Amazing Scotland; (24) Amazing Tree Houses; (25) Amazing Vatican; (26) Amazing Vienna; (27) Amazing Windows; (28) Amazing Wyoming; (29) Amazing Zürich; (30) Annecy, France; (31) Austin, Texas; (32) Banff, Alberta; (33) Bruges & Ghent, Belgium; (34) Cabo San Lucas; (35) Christmas Island; (36) Cocos Keeling Islands; (37) Colmar, France; (38) Cork & Kenmare, Ireland; (39) Easter Island, Chile; (40) Exquisite Bath, England; (41) Fifty Odd Loci in the United States; (42) Fiji; (43) Interlaken and Saint Moritz, Switzerland; (44) Island Saint Helena, British Overseas; (45) Isle of Man; (46) Las Pozas, Xilitla, Mexico; (47) Lafayette, Louisiana; (48) Lille, France; (49) Montserrat, British West Indies; (50) Mulhouse, France; (51) Myrtle Beach, SC; (52) Nara, Japan; (53) Obernai, France; (54) Odd & Outre Places of Washington, DC; (55) Palma de Mallorca, Spain; (56) Poznan, Poland; (57) San Marino; (58) Santa Fe, NM; (59) Sardinia, Italy; (60) Sélestat, France; (61) Sint Maarten: Dutch & French Overseas; (62) Socotra Island, Yemen; (63) South Georgia & Sandwich Islands, Britain; (64) St John's: Newfoundland-Labrador, Canada; (65) Strasbourg, France; (66) Svalbard, Norway; (67) The Faroe Islands; (68) The Trulli of Alberobello, Italy; (69) Tristan da Cunha, and (70) Wissembourg, France.