We checked out of our digs in Sintra first thing for a long day of traveling while making stops along the way.

Our first stop was Obidos, a very popular medieval walled city and tourist attraction. We both remember being here 35 years ago, but didn’t remember very much about it, so Jorge, our driver, explained the deal. The walled city is maybe 3/4 of a mile long and very skinny; everyone enters at a gate at the lowest point (after buying a ticket, of course) and walks up to the far end, and then back. There are side streets – little more than short alleys on the uphill side, and not much more on the downhill side. And then everyone walks back down to the entrance gate.

Both sides of the main street are lined with shops selling the usual tourist stuff. They also have a few more unusual things that are big sellers. One is little cups of hot chocolate, where the cups are also made out of chocolate. Another is some specialty liquors, which I didn’t really spend much time looking at. And of course bars and restaurants.

At the very end of the street is a large, interesting bookstore. It carries mostly Portuguese language books, of course, but does have a selection of other languages including English. I saw lots of browsers, but no actual buyers while we were there. But the store itself is quite unique from a design perspective.

From there we went to a seaside town called Nazare’ for lunch. We had a long discussion with Jorge about where to eat. In Portugal, the big meal of the day is lunch and when people are out, they will often go to a nice restaurant and spend a couple of hours. We are not most people. We stay at fancy hotels and have hamburgers for dinner. After much back and forth as he tried to understand these crazy Americans, he took us to a seaside snack bar with spectacular views of a very large beach, big cliffs and the Atlantic Ocean (1). The staff were fantastic, and the food was very good.

At the town square above town, you have an even more spectacular view of the beach and Obidos. The square also has the usual tourist traps merchants, including several ladies – who looked like sisters – all wearing seven layers of skirts. Jorge gave us some nonsensical explanation, but I think the reasons are buried in history and now it’s just a thing. There are also people walking out on a rocky ledge for photos, ready to ensure they don’t propagate their stupidity.

Our final stop for the day was in Alcobaca, where we visited the UNESCO World Heritage Alcobaca Monastery. The Monastery was a huge and impressive building, and like Monserrate Palace, devoid of almost any furnishings. It was founded by the Portuguese King in the 12th century, was the richest in the country by the 14th, and dissolved along with the rest of the powerful religious orders in Portugal by 1834. At its peak, more than 1,000 monks lived there. Very quietly.

Perhaps the most historic and well known aspect of the Monastery is the tombs of Pedro and Ines. The so-called “Romeo and Juliet of Portugal” is actually a pretty gruesome story: Pedro’s father, King Alfonso IV, disapproved of his girlfriend. So he had her assassinated murdered in 1355. By the time Pedro died he was King, and so he had his beloved interred in the Monastery chapel along with his remains. I can understand not always liking who your kids are dating, but seriously … .

We finally got to our hotel in Coimbra around 4:30. But that’s another post.

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(1) This is not the view from the restaurant, the restaurant is the building on the beach closest to the camera.