Time is flying by and it is hard to muster energy to blog after travel. We are just now getting over the nasty flu which has kept us low over the past week or so. From the south coast we headed to Evora, a wonderful walled city in South Portugal, not far from the Spanish Border. This was a Roman city complete with aqueduct to bring water, temples, etc.
It also has one of the oldest universities in Portugal. All of the classrooms are lined with tiles.
One of the best parts of our visit was finding a Japanese buffet which was excellent--all of the sushi, sashimi, custom stir-fried veges and meat, and tempura you could eat for 9,95 Euros. Portuguese restaurants (and as we recall from Spain) serve meat and potatoes but rarely vegetables. While those around us were filling plates with tempura and fried things, we were handing them platefuls of broccoli, asparagus and mushrooms to stir-fry for us.
On to Fatima,, north of Lisbon, and site of a true Christian miracle early in the twentieth century where three kids saw the Virgin Mary in an oak tree. It has become one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Christians in Europe. As we drew within 50 kilometers, we ran into increasing numbers of pilgrims hiking along the road to reach there, and then make the final 300 yards to the basilica on their knees. It was very moving.
Next stop was the town of Tomar, and truly one of the highlights of the trip thus far. For here the Knights Templar built their fortress in the 12th century. Their head was none other than Prince Henry the Navigator, who is singly responsible for starting the conquest of the ocean from Europe. It was a stronghold on top of a mountain, to ward off the Moorish assault. It subsequently became a monastery. Here was a castle/fort to fill any young one's dreams of what a medieval stronghold should be. And we spent hours crawling all over it.
Tomar is also the sight of Portugal's oldest Jewish synagogue, dating from the early 15th century, unfortunately used for less than a hundred years before all Jews were banned from practicing early in the 16th century. Interestingly, many Jews found refuge in Portugal from Nazi Germany during the second world war.
Yesterday we drove to Caldas da Reinha, the site of Queen Leonor's sulfur baths which are still in active use today, making it Europe's oldest hospital (15th century). Our aim was a central location to spend a few days visiting the central coast and many sites here. Today we went to Obidos (Obidoosh). This extraordinary walled, medieval city is another dream to visit. We unfortunately chose the wettest April on record to visit Portugal. We were inundated this morning and cut our visit short. We have had occasional bits of sun. but the trip has been unexpectedly cold, damp, and dark. We have also enjoyed absolutely amazing cloudy skies!
So that's the news. The forecast is for more rain for the next few days as we continue to explore central Portugal and then head up to Porto. More news soon, and love to all. More pictures are/will be on flicker. Hope you are all well. Joel
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Caldas da Rainha (Obidos)
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