Wednesday April 17
Lamego to Leiria. Today we leave the Douro valley and begin our two day journey to Lisbon. Our first stop Bussaco Forest and on the way it starts raining. The forest was a part of a carmelite nunnery and was demolished to build the Bussaco Palace between 1888 and 1907. The palace, commissioned by King Charles I of Portugal as a royal retreat, embodies the contemporaneous architectural fashion known as castle romanticism. It is now a hotel.
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| Bussaco Palace Hotel |
We are then off to the university town of Coimbra, known for its twisting streets and terraced
houses. We visit the 12th century CE Se Velho Cathedral, and the 13th-century CE Coimbra
University with its magnificent library, Manueline doors and chapel. We also visit the charming
and elegant 16th century CE Museu Nacional Machado de Castro, formerly the Bishop's palace
and now the depository of some of Portugal's finest sculpture. The sense of history both at the university and in the items from the 17th century in the museum is incredible.
houses. We visit the 12th century CE Se Velho Cathedral, and the 13th-century CE Coimbra
University with its magnificent library, Manueline doors and chapel. We also visit the charming
and elegant 16th century CE Museu Nacional Machado de Castro, formerly the Bishop's palace
and now the depository of some of Portugal's finest sculpture. The sense of history both at the university and in the items from the 17th century in the museum is incredible.
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| The Johannine Library at Coimbra University |
We are then off to the city of Leiria for an overnight in the Eurosol a tourist hotel in a city of 125,000. We wander around trying to find a restaurant and happen upon a small family pizzeria. We have a wonderful pizza dinner with salad served by a delightful waitress. Back at the hotel we encounter a very loud German tour group, seems like they are following us.
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