1936 On the Continent

white-sailed or rowing boats cut their way through the waters in lively regattas and boat races. You will come to know all these attractions from day to day, and afterwards you will visit the suburbs, on foot, by motor-car, train, or up-to-date motor-bus. The suburbs of Estoril include Carcavelos, the beach frequented by the English staff of the Submarine Cable Company established there; Parede, with its Solarium; and Cascaes, the former summer resort of the royal family, in whose citadel the President of the Republic now lives. If you should visit the museum of Conde de Castro Guimaraens, you will find there a notable library which contains the precious illuminated original copy of the famous chronicle about the first king of Portugal. You will go as far as the Marinha pine groves, the Guincho Beach, the Bôca do Inferno (Hell’s Mouth), a grand sight, and on to Cabo da Roca, the most western point of Europe. Then, through roads shaded by luxuriant vegetation and perfumed by the garden flowers of Portuguese style villas, you will return to Estoril.
    Refresh yourself with a whisky and soda on the Tamariz esplanade, thronged with visitors from all parts of the globe who have come to seek the marvellous warmth of the golden sun.
Cintra
    At night, after dining at the “Palace,” or “Park” hotel, or at the “Paris,” “Atlantic,” “Italy,” “Miramar” or “Estrade,” you will dance in the Casino the latest foxtrot and inevitably find partners for a game of bridge. On the following day, take a taxi or a motor-bus and go to Cintra.
    It is quite near, about seven miles from Estoril. You must surely have heard of this world-famous spot. Lord Byron, who lived at Cintra and immortalised it in thestanzas of “Childe Harold,” wrote: “The little village of Cintra is perhaps the most beautiful place in the world. It possesses beauties of all kinds, natural and artificial; palaces and gardens built amidst rocks, waterfalls and precipices, convents erected on stupendous heights, and a distant view of the Tagus and the sea. It unites in itself all the wild scenery of the Western Highlands and the verdure of the south of France.”
The Pena Palace
    Three hundred years B.C. the Celts erected here a temple dedicated to the Moon. Then, in 1147, when the Romans and the Arabs had passed on, the village was annexed to the kingdom of Portugal, and after the fifteenth century it became the favourite resort of the royal family and the court. See the royal palace, and its celebrated
salons
, and note especially the ceiling of the “Magpie Room,” where these birds are depicted holding a rose in one claw and the words “Por bem,” the motto of John I, written across their beaks. This motto and picture were designed to cast ridicule on the talkative and indiscreet ladies of the court. The Pena Palace faces the sea. It was from here that King Manuel I gazed anxiously towards the distant horizon awaiting the appearance of his caravels on their return voyage from India. The architecture of the palace is Gothic and Moorish, and there are turrets, battlements, buttresses, a drawbridge and, within, a splendid collection of art treasures. Richard Strauss, the subtle magician of sweet harmonies, when he was here, expressed the deep impression Pena Park had made on him in the following words: “This is the happiest day of my life. I know Italy, Sicily, Greece and Egypt, but have never seen anything that can be compared with Pena Park. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. This is the real garden of Klingsor.”
    Then there is the Moorish castle, all the series of famous “quintas” or gardens of Cintra, the princely residence of the English nobleman Viscount of Monserrate. There is a daily air service from London to Cintra. The lovely suburbs of this marvellous spot include Colares and its tempting orchards; Adraga beach; the deep abyss of Pedra de Alvidrar; Praia das Maçãs (Apple Beach),a splendid winter resort; and Azenhas do Mar, with its curious promontory.
    Return to Estoril via Cascaes. Later you may go round the world and visit all centres of attraction—beaches, monuments, scenery—but this region, Estoril-Cintra-Cascaes, will remain engraven on your memory and in your heart for ever.
SHORT TRIPS THROUGH THE PORTUGUESE PROVINCES
    You are going to stay a few days longer in my country, dear Lady. Portugal is no longer a source of surprises or of deceptive hopes. You are charmed. You have discovered new