Monastry trail and Obidos

Our final day out on the walking  trip. This time to visit the monasteries of Bataltha and Alcobaca followed by a visit to the old medieval  city of Obidos.
Victor collected us at 9.00am as we had another long drive to see these places so we needed an early start to the day in order to see everything.
We drove to Bataltha to visit the best Gothic monastery in Portugal according to Victor and it was a magnificent sight. Not quite what I was expecting of a monastery but impressive.We were able to go inside the building a different see the quite austere interior.
This was a monastry with a military history as the King ordered it built in gratitude after the Portugese defeated Napoleon.  Outside is a huge statue of the commander of the army on his horse.
It was a very attractive village too with some quality souvenir  shops which we were able to have a look at before we had lunch.
Lunch was upstairs in a very attractive restaurant. Brad and I shouted Victor lunch as he has been very good to us. We had very nice salads some wine and the usual  read and olives.
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After lunch we drove to another monastry where a modern day Romeo and Juliette story evolved.
Peter, the prince  of Portugal and heir to the throne was to be married to a suitable royal connection but when the prince  set eyes on one of her attendants he fell in love with her and although the royal marriage took place the prince did not waver on his affections for the maid.
The King and his  courtiers were not happy with the situation as she was  considered a nobody and she  bought no royal favours to benefit the country so they persuaded the King to have her killed while Peter was out of the country fighting battles. She was taken to the monastry and interred there but on his return he was heartbroken and vowed to revenge her death.
His wife died young so he was free to marry and after the King,his father died he exhumed his love,married her and crowned her queen.He then made all those courtiers kiss her skeletal hands in duty to their Queen and beheaded those who killed her.
Both the King and his Queen lie at rest here, their sarcophagus face each other and their tombs are engraved with the story of betrayal and the descent into the underworld-the stairway to hell. A cautionary tale as well as a love story .They have suffered some damage by the French soldiers during the invasion of Napoleon hunting for precious gems but they are largely in good condition although the Queen's nose is damaged.
From here we drove to Obidos, an old walled medieval town which was the final stand of the Muslim community after they were cast out of the Iberian peninsula by the Portugese.
The enclave was holed up for two years before surrendering to the hostile locals. The Muslim influence is evident from the design and look of the walls, similar to the Moorish Castle at Sintra. After the siege the town was taken over by the Portugese and the Christian influence can be seen with the churches and religious symbols in the streets.
The walled city is fascinating, colourful streets are narrow and cobbled. Steps lead you up and down alleyways and it is a pretty place, where time stands still. We explored the back streets and we saw the school where Victor had once taught for a year. There were lots of tourist shops down the main street leading from the entrance gates and bus loads of people were thronging the streets in search of local goods.
Victor shouted me a liqueur made from local sour cherries which is poured into a cup made of local chocolate. Delicious.
We climbed around the walls and enjoyed the views over the local fields of vines and  vegetables. It seems quite a fertile area.
We peaked inside the castle which is now a luxury hotel and took lots of photos. I wonder if it is the place Ian Breeze told me not to  miss.
I really enjoyed our visit here and felt pleased it had been included on our itinerary.
Our trip back to Sintra was not too bad with the traffic and we got back about seven.
Later we went back to our Tapas Restaurant and enjoyed a glass on sangria with my tapas.