May 5
Today we traveled from Tomar to Castelo Branco and then back to the castle in Tomar for a walk around the castle wall. Then of course we had to reward ourselves with a gelato.
Castelo branca is a town toward the center of Portugal. The main attraction there is the Episcopal Palace Garden of Castelo Branco. From 1771 to 1831 it was also the permanent residence of several Bishops of Guarda, In 1912 the gardens were opened to the public. We spent some time in the garden and the park across the street then had lunch in a tiny restaurant in town where no one spoke English- or French and the woman was insulted when George asked if she spoke Spanish. She said I am Portuguese. We knew that but just wanted to know if she spoke Spanish. They hate the Spanish and get upset at the mere mention of the word. We went back to Tomar and to the castle wall which we didn't walk yesterday but had one final burst of energy left today to do it. It was worth it. Here are some pictures from today.

the Episcopal Gardens in Castilo Branco

The Kings stairway in the gardens. The statues are Portuguese kings over the centuries

Pool in the garden

Boxwood formal garden with many statues in it

One of the town streets in Castelo Branca

Tomar Castle viewed from the castle wall

Tomar castle anf the garden and vineyard from the castle wall

May 4
Another beautiful day today. The temperature got into the low 80's. The humidity is low and it cools down a lot at night. Today we drove from Obidos to Tomar about an hour and a half ride. The main attraction in Tomar is the Convent of Christ and the castle. The castle is actually connected to the convent. The castle was home to some of the Knights Templar during medieval times. their wasn't much left of the castle but the convent was quite in tact and very interesting. Besides the ceramic tiles and pottery and of course port wine, we found out that they are also known for making things from cork. We saw one of the cork oak trees in one of the palaces. Today I bought a necklace that was strung onto cork It is very pretty and unusual. They also have cork pocketbooks, shoes, belts etc. I'm not sure how well they would hold up but they were pretty. Here are some pictures from today.

Castle in Tomar

Church at the convent of Christ

Terrace above the cloisters and courtyard

 Above the cloisters and courtyard at the Convent of Christ

Some of the ornate detail at the Convent of Christ

this was shot  in the convent looking up from the bottom center underneath  a concrete open spiral staircase. It reminded me of the inside of a sea shell

The plaza de Republic in Tomar

Tomar at the river

 

May 3

Today was another beautiful day. We went to two monasteries and a beach today. The first stop was the monastery at Alcobaca. This is a huge and very ornate building. It had a beautiful cloister, courtyard and church. The second stop was the monastery and unfinished chapel at Batalha. this also was a very ornate building dating to medieval times and added on to and renovated over the years. King Joao and his sons are buried there along with Prince Henry the navigator. There is an unfinished chapel attached to the monastery which is also very ornate. There are people buried there as well, the only thing missing is the roof. Very strange. Our third stop was the beach town of Nazare. the beach backs up to  rocky cliff. There is an upper town which can be reached via a funicular. We took the funicular of course. Here are some pictures from today.

Monastery at Alcobaca

Cloister at Alcobaca

Kings room at Alcobaca

Courtyard at Alcobaca

Monastery and unfinished chapel at Batalha

 Cloister and courtyard at monastery of Batalha

Cloister at monastery of Batalha

Unfinished chapel at monastery at Batalha

Beach at Nazare

Nazare

Nazare from the funicular

May 2nd
Today is once again a beautiful day. You might be tired of my saying that. We have really been blessed so far though with perfect weather. Today we drove from Sintra to Obidos via Caldas da Rainha. There was not much to see in Caldas da Rainha. We stopped at a park where there was an old quite dilapidated hospital then went on to Obidos where we will spend two nights. Obidos is a walled medieval city with cobble stone streets and interesting old shops. It has many Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque features. We decided to walk the top of the wall. It was a good work out with many high steps and no hand rail. The top was all cobblestones. Here are some pictures from today.

Old Hospital in Caldas da Rainha

Obidos Street

Library that was  once a church in Obidos

The city gate in Obidos. This is part of the wall that surrounds the city.

Obidos from on top of the city wall

The fortress with the wall around the city taken from on top of the city wall

On top of the city wall- notice no hand rail. Just a bit scarey

 

 

May 1
Today we saw a variety of things. The weather was again beautiful. Our first stop was Cabo da Roca which is the farthest point west in the European continent. It was very rugged and windy. The ground was covered with blooming ice plants. The lighthouse keeper was just sitting at the window looking very bored. Our next stop was Cascais which is a beach resort town for the well heeled. It was quite lovely. I don't think I'd like to be there in the summer though as there were many people there now. Our last stop was the palace and gardens of Monserrate. The gardens were quite rustic with wooded trails. The palace is in the process of being renovated. It will probably be finished for my great grandchildren- if they are lucky. It was interesting to see the renovation process. The areas that were finished were lovely and extremely ornate. Here are some pictures from today.

Cabo da Roca

Cabo da Roca a place called the mouth of hell which gets much wilder during a storm.

Cascais beach

Cascais town

Palace of Monserrate

Ceiling in the palace of Monserrte

The side of the palace from the garden

 

April 30th
Today we left Lisbon after picking up our rental car, Our first stop was the National Palace at Queluz. This is a huge palace with gardens. The interior was beautifully furnished with ornate ceilings and walls. The gardens were nice but needed some work. Our next stop was the Pena Palace in Sintra. This palace almost defies description. It was amazing. We hiked up a long trail through an interesting forested landscape to reach the palace. After spending time here we drove a little way to our hotel in the heart of the historic part of Sintra right next to the National Palace of Sintra. Portugal really has a lot of palaces or so it seems so far. The weather was beautiful again today  Here are a few pictures from today.

Interior of  National Palace of Queluz

National Palace of Queluz

National Palace of Queluz

Pena Palace in Sintra

Pena Palace

Interior of Pena Palace

View from Pena Palace which was built into the side of a mountain

View of Sintra from our hotel room

 

Sintra Portugal

April 29th. Another beautiful day for exploring Lisbon, Today we took the metro and the tram to the Belem area of Lisbon. We first went to the Belem tower which is a very ornate tower done in a typical Portuguese architectural style common around the 17th century. The tower was used to shoot unfriendly ships with canon fire and had a dungeon for those they captured. Our second stop was the San Jeranomo Monastery. This is a huge place built in the same ornate style as the tower, After this we stopped by the famous Patis da Belam for one of their pastries- a must do when in Lisbon. Our last stop was the Electricity Museum- a must see for George.

Belam Tower

Half way to the top of Belam Tower

Cloister at San Jeronimo

San Jeronimo Monastery

The ElectricityMuseum

Part of the outside of San Jeronomo Monastery

 

We plan on meeting a man that was on the ship with George for dinner tonight. I need a nap before then. Fun day but exhausting.