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This UNESCO heritage listed site is sbout 30 km from Lisbon easily reached by suburban train and well worth the visit. It is imperative that one arrives by public transport as yet again motor vehicles and lumbering gigantic tourist buses cause catastrophic gridlock and by walking everywhere one can easily beat the bus to any
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This was the second destination on our small group tour in a Mercedes van, there were 8 of us plus driver /guide. Batalha is a small town amidst the hills of the Leiria area. It lept into the history books after a gigantic battle when the smaller Portuguese army against all odds defeated the Castillian
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I had forgotten about the apparent miracle of Fatima until today when I signed up for a tour involving four different and divergent attractions. 3 adolescent children minding their herds saw a bright light on or about the 13th May 1917 and there appeared before them a vision of the Virgin Mary. Now one could
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Do you know the meaning of “discalced”? I did not! Read on for an explanation. A famous professional colleague who I shall call “Dr M ” to protect her identity, is a unique example of a mirror image. As I speak we are both overseas! What’s mirrored about that I hear you ask! Well I
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My accommodation in Lisbon is the York House. It describes itself as an historic hotel, once an old Carmelite convent dated from the 17th century. there is stone staircase leading up to to a garden terrace. There is NO lift access so one has to bear ones suitcase, cross like up more than 43 steps!
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The last day in the saddle dawned clear and warmly sunny! I did not need the beanie and within 10km had stripped down a layer or two of clothing. Whilst psychologically being the last day, one could argue that the sense of enjoyment of this ride was attributed in no part to that, nevertheless it
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It is here at Monsanto that I have come across my first “tourists” -a couple from Ireland. I am well and truly off the beaten track! At breakfast I chatted to one of the Irish woman. We were only two in number at that time. She in fact was English but had lived in Ireland
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Another cut and paste. This is about 12km further on from Sabugal on the road to Monsanto. “Surmounted by a castle built on a formidable crag at an altitude of 760 metres, Sortelha still retains its mediaeval appearance intact through the architecture of its rural granite houses. Sortelha had therefore part of an important line
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What a day! I think this is the best so far – a long day of almost 70km and ascending over the day 1200m until my final destination, Monsanto at 820m. Now when I state the “best” I mean that it was the “best ” in terms of hard work, aching thighs, fluctuating breathless and
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