For the remainder of my time in Europe I’m going to be travelling through Spain and Portugal. After leaving France, we’re looping around the peninsula in an anti-clockwise direction, even going right down to Gibraltar. (And maybe cross back into Africa if we can get organised)
Driving to Salamanca
Our first stop after France for lunch was Burgos. Famous for being the 3rd largest cathedral in Spain we visited on the Sunday so parts were shut to us due to them holding mass.
(Burgos Cathedral)
Had a fairly unimpressive meal – restaurant had multiple language menus, photos of the dishes and was close to a major tourist landmark so wasn’t expecting much.
We had two nights in Salamanca in a fantastic hotel which was a converted convent. Situated right in the old town we faced our first taste of true European winter. Even had to resort to using my scarf. Salamanca is one of the oldest university towns in the world with a really interesting old city to wander through.
We visited the old university (somehow snuck into it through a side door without paying an entrance fee) and a couple of old cathedrals. We went looking for the old chapel connected to the newer cathedral and accidentally ended up buying tickets to climb the tower. Bit of a shock to the group but were really lucky in that we got an amazing view from the balcony of a massive cathedral. Unfortunately in the morning there was plenty of fog so the photos of the skyline didn’t turn out fantastically well.
Had a siesta that afternoon before venturing out into the cold for dinner – late again as usual for around here. Don’t want to go anywhere for dinner before 8pm since it won’t be open…
(Plaza Mayor – Heart of Salamanca)
Into Portugal
My 2nd new country for this trip and one I was really looking forward to. First stop was the town of Bathala where we saw another cathedral… Had a monastery connected with a tomb of an unknown soldier. The tomb was guarded by two army men who were standing at attention. Wouldn’t have been the most exciting job.
(Bathala cathedral and statue)
Our 2nd stop in Portugal was a drive through visit of Obidos – we were pushing to get to Sintra so didn’t spent long here. Had some fantastic castle walls but would have wasted too much of the short time we were able to spend in Portugal.
Sensational Sintra
Our ultimate aim for the day was Sintra – one of the people on the African trip was from Portugal and she had said Sintra was a place you just couldn’t miss. Situated on massive hills (as all of Portugal is it seems) there are some amazing palaces and castles.
Our first stop was the Castel dos Mouros. One thing I really enjoyed in Portugal was the lack of OHS in their castles. You could climb all over the ramparts and there wasn’t a safety barrier in sight. Wouldn’t want to take some school kids on excursion here though – couldn’t imagine filling in the safety forms with all the possible dangers. It was a fairly large complex – still in ruins – and a decent climb to the highest point of the defences. The castle had amazing views and looked up towards another highlight of the trip so far.
(Ramparts and Portuguese flag)
The Palacio de Pena has turned into one of the fantasy-like castles – it has been fairly recently built on top of an old monastery. Painted with some bright colours and was fantastic for photo opportunities and interesting stories about the royalty of Portugal.
(Palacio de Pena)
The palace was situated at the highest point looking over Sintra towards the ocean. Wandered around the ramparts and got this great photo looking down to the castle we’d just climbed over. You can see how relaxed the Portuguese are with safety – quite a drop over the edge.
(photo from Pena looking over castelo)
Luckily there was a small bus which took us from the car park to the top of the mountain – another great 2 euros spent. It was also evident that it’s not peak season – having nearly the whole area to yourself is very nice.
We continued driving and reached Lisbon late at night. Had a weird elevator car-park which didn’t leave much room for our people mover to fit into. Would be terrible if you got stuck in that elevator or had any kind of claustrophobia.
Heading off to see as much of Lisbon as possible tomorrow – have hopefully organised a Portuguese guide for the day – should be fun!
Hey Gareth, I think you have probably enjoyed more of Portugal than what most Portuguese do! lol have fun!
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