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 [...]

The path was more difficult than I had imagined, though the guidebook had warned about it. We hiked steeply and steadily, sometimes losing the trail to wisps of low cloud, under the wet cover of lush greenery. Though it was not hot, I was dripping with sweat, and understood why so many opted to take [...]