Where we use brick, the Portuguese use tile. Here are some of the stunning examples I saw on my recent trip to Lisbon...
Tagged blue and yellow Portuguese tiles
Versailles, a la Portuguesa…
Often referred to as the Portuguese Versailles, the National Palace of Queluz in Queluz, Portugal was one of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europe. The palace was conceived as a summer retreat for Dom Pedro of Braganza and his wife Queen Maria I. On our recent visit to the palace, my husband and I had the place almost to ourselves and could take it all in at a leisurely pace.
I had visited the palace years ago with my family (I’m the one in yellow)…
(Credit for the beautifully restored photo goes to my good friend, Pamela Frame)
But my memories, like some of the palace’s exterior paint, had faded over time.
Once inside, I was amazed by the grandeur of the ballroom…
And wondered if any of the people in the portraits could be my distance relatives.
Each room was a feast for the eyes, from the ornate chandeliers…
To the charming paintings on the ceilings.
Who sat in these throne chairs?
And did the heavens really smile down upon them?
In the “Sala das Mangas” I ogled the gorgeous tiles…
(Although capturing their beauty adequately in a photo was almost impossible.)
In the grounds outside, we were in the company of frolicking statues…
And surrounded by hedges and flowers.
It was an afternoon very well spent!