LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL: Palacio and Parque de Monserrate, Sintra, Portugal

A friend of ours now resides in Lisbon and he had invited us over for dinner. A couple, our host's good friends had moved to Portugal recently. During the dinner conversation, we told them we were going to Sintra the next day. The friend made the recommendation of Monserrate Palace and Park. He said even if we have to miss everything else, not to miss the this Park. The gardens at Monserrate are alone worth going to Sintra!!!
Sintra has so many attractions, it is difficult to choose which ones to visit and which to keep for another visit (hopefully there will be another visit to Portugal).
Since we had a tight itinerary, we made it a day trip to Sintra. So, we took our host's friend's advise and made our first stop on the Hop On Hop Off red bus, at Monserrate palace and Park. Are'nt we glad we did it!!
The park and palace occupy about 30 hectares (according to Lonely Planet), though seems larger than that.
Prepare to spend a whole day in the park. It was a pleasure having lunch on the beautifully manicured laws overlooking the tiny streams.
If you see the earlier sketches and photographs of the palace and park, there were hardly any trees. They were cleverly designed and nurtured and over more than 100 yrs., it all looks very natural, as if nature formed itself like that....
The grounds are out of the world. Set in the hills, the garden follows the contours of the land, giving it a very natural look. Gigantic pines to massive cactus, there are scores of trees and plant species. It is a nature lover's delight. Parts of the park are dedicated to different trees from Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan etc. Huge Succulents to Hydrangea bushes, there are all kinds of flowering plants.
It is a landscape architects' delight too. So many varieties of water bodies are incorporated into the design of the gardens. The waterfalls made to look natural, the small ponds to collect the run of rain water, the small streams, the lake, and the stepping stones over the small stream add so much beauty to the surrounds.
On the top is located the summer palace built by Francis Cook. The palace is a beautiful mixture of Romantic, Moorish and Neo-Gothic architectural styles. Make sure you go early and spend the first half of the day. Other than summer, the day light fades fast towards evening because of the trees.
One can go directly to the palace from the main entrance or from the back through the gardens.