葡萄牙小镇辛特拉:伊甸园般的童话世界

活在童话中，是不少人童年时的梦想。如果在这个世界上还真有一处地方如同童话般梦幻优美，你又会不会错过呢？

在葡萄牙首都里斯本近郊就有这么一个小镇，一直被世人以童话世界来赞美。英国诗人拜伦称它为“灿烂的伊甸园”，英国作家罗伯特・骚塞则赞美它是“地球上最受庇佑的一处人居环境”。联合国教科文组织将它列为世界遗产，同时还为它特意创立了一个特别的类别：“风景文化类”，因为它的自然景观和它的历史建筑一样重要。

这个优雅迷人的小镇名叫辛特拉。

No matter how well it begins or ends， every fairy tale has a villain. In my storybook adventure in Sintra， a Portuguese town about 20 miles west of Lisbon， it was the hands of the clock. Roaming the 1）pristine grounds of castles high in the hills， I wished that time would stand still.

Fifty-three minutes was all it took to travel back several centuries. The train that pulled out of Rossio station， a major transportation hub in Lisbon， was filled with the 2）distractions of the modern age. It wasn’t until we had passed the 3）penultimate stop， where the only other passenger in my car stepped onto the platform， that the scenery started to feel 4）otherworldly. Staring out the window in 5）reverie， I marveled at the swirls of color whooshing past.

By the time I stepped off the train， all traces of Lisbon had disappeared. What greeted me were 6）hallmarks of 7）quaintness： a 8）smattering of restaurants and 9）mom-and-pop shops， pleasantly sleepy streets and a street clock as old-fashioned as they come. But despite the pleasant scene， I couldn’t help but stare into the distance， recognizing the steep slopes and explosion of greenery depicted in local postcards.

For centuries， the municipality served as the preferred hideaway for the Portuguese royal family. A heartbeat away from the political and economic center of Lisbon， the lush slopes provided the 10）aristocracy with a quiet， breezy escape from the city air. But it wasn’t until Ferdinand II， king of Portugal， arrived in the mid-1800s that the entire region became worthy of its current Unesco World Heritage status， with sprawling estates that showcase a millennium’s worth of architectural influences.

Sintra remains a crown jewel among the Portuguese regions， but two major developments have broadened its appeal for foreign travelers. Several new hotels， most notably the 18-room Sintra Boutique Hotel， which opened in the heart of town last year， and the return of a summertime 11）tram service from Sintra to Praia das Macas， a budding resort town with steep cliffs that overlook the white sand beaches along Portugal’s western coast.

Shortly after my arrival on a warm June evening last year， after I deposited my bags at the Sintra Bliss House， a well-kept， design-oriented inn， my native New Yorker’s instincts kicked in， and I set out to explore the area on foot. A serene sunset walk took me past a half-dozen 12）ornate statues and sculptures， all part of a public art project 13）reminiscent of a vast private garden.

Walking back to the inn around midnight on empty sidewalks 14）flanked by empty parks ―a situation I would avoid in Manhattan ― I felt safe， as if the town were my own.

The next morning， my alarm clock at the Sintra Bliss House was a horse-drawn carriage clip-clopping past the window. But my ride that day would be a bus. I figured， given Sintra’s layout， a good starting point is the eighth-century Moorish castle， a holdover from Arab rule and the oldest structure in the area. Once inside， a quarter-mile loop formed by walkways atop the castle’s inner walls was none too taxing. “No matter where you start，” a park ranger said of the simple path around the 15）perimeter， “you can’t get lost.”

The knights of old earned their stripes by remaining watchful of enemies. But these days the only enemies are rain clouds. As I stood at strategic vantage points I could imagine the pride of guarding the kingdom. The most memorable panoramas were of Pena National Palace， my next stop， which loomed above on a nearby 16）promontory.

At the palace， gone was the no-nonsense nature of the armed forces， replaced by an unmistakable 17）whimsy. Pena National Palace， a former summer residence of the Portuguese royal family， is a 18）hodgepodge of cheerful colors and towers， generating an understated “Alice in Wonderland”19）vibe that architecture 20）aficionados would attribute to 19th-century Romanticism. If the Moorish castle invited purposeful forward marches， Pena Palace encouraged aimless wandering.

Back in the center of town， I edged my way into Sintra National Palace just before the last entry at 6：30 p.m. Its faded white exterior belied rooms furnished with period pieces and ceilings covered in festive tiles， the most striking of which featured wall-to-wall 21）azulejos， classic glazed white tiles with blue paint that are aligned to depict historical scenes.

But the best was yet to come. The final stop on my 22）regal tour was one that every Sintra resident and visitor I had spoken to said could not be missed： Quinta da Regaleira， a walled park and estate established by 19th-century trading 23）barons. Although smaller than the Moorish castle and Pena Palace， the structures here were luxurious. The real showstopper： the initiatic well， a massive， 24）cylindrical upside-down tower that 25）plummeted deep into the ground， with a spiral staircase embedded in its walls.

Regardless of the direction I wandered， the natural features of the park yielded surprises： stunning waterfalls， serene 26）grottoes， a maze of tunnels. Stumbling onto a cluster of ducks in a pond， my eyes traveled to a lone land-bound bird that quacked uncontrollably. Following its sightline， I spotted the cause for hysterics： In the pond was a tiny duckling that couldn’t paddle in a straight line no matter how hard it tried. Its mother’s loud quacks sounded more like concerned 27）reprimands than coaching.

For all that I had seen， there remained so much more： the bubblegum-hued Montserrate Castle， the lemon-yellow Queluz Castle， the contemplative Convent of the Capuchos， and the charmingly 28）kitschy tram that could whisk me away to the beach along the Atlantic.

Happily ever after couldn’t last forever， though. The final farewell was 29）anti-climactic， with no carriages or fairy godmothers， just a taxi to the train station， driven by an unfailingly polite local who pointed out the building where he had been born. But after several days of playing the princess ― and an independent， adventurous one at that ― the return to real life brought the promise of another adventure.

无论开端或是结局多么美好，每一个童话故事里都会有一个坏人。在我的辛特拉历险记里，这个坏人便是时间之手。辛特拉是里斯本市以西20英里外的一个葡萄牙小镇，漫步在众多高耸于山丘之上的城堡周围质朴的原野里，我希望时间不再流逝。

只需53分钟，就足以让人返回到数个世纪之前。罗西乌车站是里斯本市的主要交通枢纽，驶出车站的火车充满了现代的纷扰。直到我们经过了倒数第二个站，我那节车厢里仅剩的另外一名乘客走下站台后，我身边的景致才开始有了恍如隔世之感。我凝视着车窗外陷入幻想，为窗外呼啸而过的一漩漩色彩惊叹不已。

当我走下火车时，里斯本市的一切痕迹均已消失无踪。向我致意的是各种奇特的标志：为数不多的餐馆和夫妻小店，令人愉快的安静小街和一个街钟――别提多老式了。但尽管眼前的景象令人愉悦，我还是忍不住望向远方，极力辨认出当地明信片上所展示的陡峭山坡和延绵爆发的绿意。

数个世纪以来，这个自治市一直作为葡萄牙皇室的首选避世度假地。距离政治和经济中心里斯本市不过一箭之遥，这些葱郁的山坡为上流社会逃离城市空气提供了一片宁谧而轻松的环境。但也是直到19世纪中叶，葡萄牙国王斐迪南二世到此后，整个地区才配得上如今的“联合国教科文组织世界遗产”的地位，大片的庄园展示了千年来建筑学影响的价值。

辛特拉依然是葡萄牙地区的皇冠珠宝，而两大发展更增添了其对外国游客的吸引力。许多新酒店，尤其是拥有18个房间的辛特拉精品酒店，去年在小镇中心开张，还有夏日时节重新开通的有轨电车，从辛特拉通往普拉亚达什马桑什――那是一个崭露头角的度假小镇，有着险峻的峭壁，俯视着葡萄牙西海岸的白沙滩。

去年六月一个温暖的午后，我到达此地不久，在辛特拉布利斯别墅酒店――一间保存良好、设计独特的旅馆里扔下行李袋后，我这个地道纽约人的天性爆发了，步行出发去探索这片地区。夕阳下安静地散着步，我路过了半打精美繁复的塑像和雕刻品，全都隶属于一个公众艺术项目，令人联想起一片巨大的私人花园。

在午夜时分左右走回旅馆时，空荡荡的人行道旁边是空荡荡的公园――在曼哈顿我会避免这样的情况――但在这里我觉得很安全，就像小镇是属于我自己的一般。

第二天一早，我在辛特拉布利斯别墅酒店的闹钟是一辆马车，地经过我的窗户。但我那天的交通工具却是一辆汽车。我发现根据辛特拉的布局图，建于八世纪的摩尔人城堡是个不错的出发点，它是阿拉伯人统治的遗留物，也是这一地区最古老的建筑。一旦进入城堡内，城堡内墙顶部的走道形成了一个长达四分之一英里的圆环，行走起来不太费力。“无论你从哪里开始走，”一位公园护林人说起环绕周边的简单小路时评价道，“你都不可能迷路。”

古时的骑士们通过保持对敌人的警惕来赢得其臂章。但如今，唯一的敌人是雨云。当我站在战略有利位置时，我可以想象到守护这片王国的自豪感。最令人难忘的全景在佩纳宫――我的下一站，高高耸立在附近的海角上。

在这座宫殿里，武装力量的严肃感消失无踪，取而代之的是一种明晰的异想天开感。佩纳宫曾经是葡萄牙皇室的夏日行宫，明快的色彩和各式高塔混杂一炉，催生了一种淡淡的“爱丽丝漫游仙境”般的观感，建筑迷们将其归于19世纪的浪漫主义风格。如果说摩尔人城堡让人目标明确地向前行进，那么佩纳宫则鼓励人们毫无目的地漫游。

回到小镇中心，我在六点半最后一批入园前慢慢溜达进了辛特拉宫。它那褪色的白色外墙掩盖了内部陈设着古式家具的房间和覆盖着喜庆瓦片的屋顶，其中最引人注目的是满墙满墙的花砖，都是经典的上釉白瓦和蓝色绘画，排成一排，描述历史场景。

但最好的部分就要到来了。我那奢华之旅的最后一站是与我交谈过的每一个辛塔拉住户和游客都说不容错过的地方――雷加莱拉宫，一座由19世纪的贸易大亨修建的围墙环绕的公园和庄园。尽管比摩尔人城堡和佩纳宫要小，但这里的建筑非常奢华。真正令人叹为观止之处：启蒙井，是一个巨大的倒置圆柱形塔楼，通过一条嵌入墙壁的楼梯垂直通往深幽的地下。

我不看方向四处漫步，这个公园的自然特征制造出种种奇景：震耳欲聋的瀑布、宁静的洞穴、迷宫般的通道。偶尔在一个池塘中遇见一群鸭子，我的目光移到一只孤单的陆生鸟，正在不受控制地嘎嘎大叫。跟着它的视线，我瞄到了引发它歇斯底里的原因：在池塘里有只鸭宝宝无论如何努力都无法划水游成直线。它的母亲大声嘎嘎叫听起来更像是担心的斥责而非教导。

在我一切的所见所闻中，还有如此多的美景：泡泡糖色调的蒙塞拉特城堡、柠檬黄色的奎露兹城堡、令人沉思的卡普舒斯修道院，还有俗气却迷人的有轨电车，能够载着我飞驰去往大西洋沿岸的海滩。

永远幸福地生活下去，其实不可能持续到永远。最后的告别是反高潮的：没有马车，也没有仙女教母，只有一辆通往火车站的的士，由一位一贯礼貌的当地人驾驶，他还指了他出生的那栋楼给我看。但在当了数日公主后――而且还是一名独立而富有冒险精神的公主――回归现实生活之路也预示着另一场冒险的到来。