Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Mystic and Mysterious

It's a place that makes you feel like you've entered the Twilight Zone. Fabulous architecture, intense atmosphere - from the buildings to the gardens... and please don't get me started on the tunnels!

Earlier this year I got myself an ultra-wide angle lens for my beloved 40D and went to try it out in Sintra, at Quinta da Regaleira. I live only a few miles away, but I had never been there and I was blown away by the place... Lord Byron knew what he was talking about when he described Sintra as a "Glorious Eden"!

I took this one crouching on one of the steps :)
It's The Palace:



Then, I entered the palace and came out on a balcony. Surprise, surprise - a welcome breath of fresh air (contrasting with the heavy atmosphere on the inside). When I first looked around I wondered if I really had entered the Twilight Zone and got teleported to Disneyland :)







Walking around the gardens, I came across the Initiation Well, inspired by the initiation rites of the Knights Templar. Going down these stairs is a truly mystic experience... if you can block out all the other people around you.
I could focus for a moment and it was a powerful emotion... I was dizzy even before I began the descent... but taking this next photo (I know I already posted it here, but now you know the rest of the story) may have had something to do with that :)

Vertigo


5 comments:

Rick Rosenshein said...

Great blog and beautiful photographs. Keep up the good job and Thank you for sharing it with others.

Carla Francisco said...

Thank you for your visit - I visited your blog (funny how our blogs' names are so similar) and it's great - good content and beautiful photos!

jitendra said...

Hey Carla,

Jitendra from SezWho here.

Welcome to the community and your pics are just amazing...keep it up.

thanks, Jitendra

Anonymous said...

that last photo is wonderful, its giving me wonderful wobbly vertico!

RQTKT said...

Stunning photographs, thank you Carla!

Congratulations on your Photo of the Day award!

I am building a blog of places to see in Portugal this Spring and Summer before I travel . . . and your work has inspired me: http://lisbonense.blogspot.com

Happy New Year and cheers from California...

David

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