Contrary to appearances, this was far from Tolkein’s world, though he could easily have taken his inspiration here. We were at the Palcio Nacional da Pena, high above the town of Sintra, and about twenty miles northwest of Lisbon. The palace, which dates from the middle nineteenth century, was commissioned by a transplanted Bavarian prince and modeled after the castles of his cousin, ‘mad’ King Ludwig. From the high walls of the palace, it is easy to see why Byron called Sintra’s verdant hills and valleys "this glorious Eden". To the east, the spires and towers of Lisbon show themselves on clear days. To the west, the open Atlantic rolls and crashes onto the Portuguese coastline. From the ramparts of the palace I spied, on a nearby peak, the statue of an explorer surveying the western vista and the New World far beyond.