Once upon a time, there was a girl living in a big, grey city full of fashion, business and traffic. Upon the bequest of one of her dearest friends, she set off to the foreign land of Portugal in hopes of a break from the concrete jungle. What she found was a enchanted fairy land with enough charm and beauty to fuel a lifetime worth of dreams.
Lisboa- with Kate and Amanda- was a city that felt the backdrop of a love story. It was as though someone had dreamed up a city for the sole purpose of creating feelings of coziness and glee.
The buildings were either cheerfully shabby pastels, or beautifully tiled.
The churches were beautiful and glowey.
The monastery's ceiling looked as though it had been crafted by a sculpting spider.
The door ornaments were works of art.
The streets were interrupted by what looked like magic portals to other lands.
The sidewalks looked like stoney oriental carpets.
The graffiti enhanced the beauty rather than marred it.
The towers looked as if borrowed from Disney movies.
Sintra- the magic continued- but in a more rural, Grimms brothers, enchanted forest type of way.
With town-halls more akin to castles than upstanding institutions.
With manors poking out of the trees.
With castles perched on top of the hill that look as though they've been constructed straight out of the imaginations of children-
Truly, I felt as though I was in a place that was as near to perfection as man had ever come. Though 99 times out of 100 I prefer a nature scene to building, Portugal was somewhere that truly and effortlessly managed to bridge the gap between man and nature. It was a place allowed the achievements of man to seem natural and right. Sintra even had a cafe that made me feel as though I was back in the Northwest- a place to sit and stay, to relax and enjoy good quality fresh food. I truly was very sad to leave, but seeing as how our next stop was the beach, it wasn't that much of a tragedy...
Ciao for now, Part II is coming soon,
Katie
This looks absolutely phenomenal!!! It must have been amazing!!! I like your pictures by the way. Especially the one with the light coming through the archway that the road passes through! Oh and the picture of the door ornament is phenomenal!
ReplyDelete<3 Carissa
WOW!! I really want to go there after hearing your description! I'm in a fairy tale class (and it's actually really hard)- but the castles look like the ones we studied! How was dealing with the language barrier? Love you!
ReplyDeleteI want to climb that gnarly, amazing tree!
ReplyDeletexoxo Mom