Belas and its charms, Portugal

August, the 2nd

My very dear and esteemed soul,

Melancholic as I've lately been, the weather here hasn't been helping! It's either extremely hot during the day or rather cold during the night and early mornings ... oh and windy, gosh !!

Some days ago I was invited by a dear friend to visit Belas and its former Royal Palace.
One of the oldest in the realm it matches - in age and style - with the one from Sintra, the so called "palace of the old kings".
Its splendidly charming and its surrounded by beautiful and fanciful (dare I say) Palaces of the most influential nobility!

The Palace (or Quinta) was indeed a royal palace during the medieval period and since then it has fallen into many private hands... Currently belonging to the Counts of Pombeiro they have been given the honor to, lets say, entertain or shelter His Highness the Infante D. Carlos who's poor health doesn't match with Lisbon's climate n'or with the life at Court within the Paço da Ribeira's walls.

It was this princely child that I was hoping to see while strolling within the gardens when I was interrupted by a footman that kindly asked me to leave the grounds because someone very important was to arrive!

"Good heavens, who?!" I dared to ask, but his mouth was kept shut ...       

Minutes later, away from the gardens but still not that far, I started to hear dogs barking, horses and a carriage was approaching the main gate. My curiosity toward the whole thing started to grow when I watched that, coming from no where, an unimaginable number of the count's guards and servants aligned themselves from the gates to the main door as well as the owners, came out to receive such visit! Monsieur le Comte was looking serene and happy to be able to receive such guest. He already knew her, but ... who was it?

From the looks the coach appeared to be of expensive and solid construction with big windows fully covered with glass from which one could see, peeping through the costly velvet curtains, one or two ladies admiring the weather.
The horses were exhausted!
As soon as the doors were open everyone knelled on the floor and, oh my, someone came out! It was Her Majesty herself!

Later, after the royal visit, both Monsieur le Comte and Madame la Comtesse apologized immensely the way I had been shuffled away, but when Her Majesty decides to visit, she prefers not to be seen ... In fact, whilst visiting, she's not the Queen but a mother in great distress for her unhealthy child ...

It's understandable, right? But you may also understand my astonishment to visualize such simple scene related to one of the most important Queens within Christendom!
Ah Mater Dolorosa ... !

Adieu ma chère ... I promise that from now on I'll write you more often!

Forever yours truly,
P

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Royal Palace of Mafra , Portugal

15th of July

Dear beloved,

And thus I went to this rather simple place called Mafra.
Was here where, as you probably remember, His Magnanimous Majesty ordered the construction of this massive new Solomon's temple as, some say, a promise to God and the venerated Portuguese Saint Antonio if the royal couple would have any offspring!
If it worked? Well, it worked so delightfully well that even before making the promise, the Queen had already delivered a baby princess!

But here I went again, through the most dreadful circumstances (the roads there aren't the most pleasant) finally arriving a bit before lunch time ...

Can't tell you of my very first impressions as I had been there before but... can you keep a secret? Each time I visit, the vast monument seems to be smaller and smaller!

As my poor head was still trying to get some balance from the constant curves on the way there, and my ears were sill buzzing from all the chatty people I had to share the coach with, couldn't find any disposition to start my visit by the Basilica, so - and because I'd imagine that there would be some stairs inside for me to climb and thus my mind and body would have enough entertainment and reason to complain due to such physical effort, I've penetrated the monument through a tiny side door on the left.

As I didn't know what to expect, I decided to just go through. Maybe someone would try to stop me? A guard? A servant? No! No one! Within the vastness of the whole building and throughout almost one hour visit, I've crossed paths with two elderly ladies that from their looks seemed to be there since the foundation of this kingdom (or even planet?!), a scholar inside the library and, on the way out, a rather youngish fat boy that kept playing with some keys and I feared that the whole place would be under his care!

The rest? Well .... in between huge and vast empty rooms, I've noticed that they have lots of good portraits of the royal family but contrary to the majority of the huge religious painting collection (kept in pristine conditions), most of them are moldy or faded away - makes me think that the country, although always with God on their mouths, has no respect for his representatives on Earth ...
I was intrigued by a particular one. Said to be by an "unknown painter" but I've seen His Majesty painted "that way" somewhere before ... Only now I remember that it was from Monsieur Q and it would take only a few seconds to relate both portraits by whoever runs the place, only a few seconds ...

I was feeling so appalled by the lack of esteem toward the sacredness of the place, that couldn't have left more sad and once again disappointed toward the so called "human race" than when I entered ... No sketches, no inspiration ...

Near by, don't know by whose authority, there were some popular gathering selling the usual non sense stuff but I wasn't bothered to have any part of it and thus I took the coach back where I fell asleep throughout the whole journey!

I heard, in the meantime, that the Royal Family is visiting soon.
Maybe it generates the interest and the funds to refurbish the whole Palace (and luckily for the monks who still may live there (as I haven't seen any during my visit) and convent!

One can only hope because only from thinking of it I become sleepy ... Awwwwwwwweeeeeee, goodbye my love ...

Yours truly,
P

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Dear visitor,

For the sole purpose of quieting your soul we're obliged to clarify that all of the above content is a mere fantasy and that the painting depicted isn't the one referred on the text .
If you'd have any thoughts or comments, you may either write them below or by email @ myroyaldolls@gmail.com

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