Portugal 2014: Day 4

Day 4 saw us leaving Lisbon and heading north. Driving in Lisbon is a challenge, even for those just leaving town. We managed to follow Pop and make it to the outskirts of the city before Henry's tummy decided it had had enough of the jolts and jostles of the car. Even Will felt a touch carsick, but Henry was quite miserable, so we scrapped our plans to visit the seaside village of Peniche and headed straight to the medieval walled town of Obidos.

Fortunately, our hotel rooms were ready for us, even before lunch, so we got settled and let Henry breathe plenty of fresh cool air. Once he was out of the jostling car, he was fine, so we set off for lunch and to explore the village.

Obidos is a delightful town with narrow cobblestone streets lined with colorful houses, a plethora of orange trees, bright flowers, and espaliered bushes, Gothic doorways and arches, and peaceful churches. In 1282, Queen Isabel was so entranced by the village that her husband, Dom Dinis, gave her the town as a wedding gift. It was owned by Portuguese queens until 1834. Today, the entire village is a national monument.  

The town walls.

We only managed to walk a small portion of the castle walls before turning back. The portion we were on was crowded and without railings!

Our hotel was in a former convent.

Gene was able to spend some time drawing in the town square while we rested, and then the four of us set out to explore the countryside.

Cherries!

We then headed back into the walled town because Will wanted to explore all the narrow alleyways. In the late afternoon, after all the tourists had departed, Obidos was quiet and peaceful.

Goofy boys at a dead end.

Calla lily, for my mom and grandma.

Obidos was a delightful town and I'm so glad we were able to visit it.