Exploring Portugal: Batalha

All it took for me to want to visit Mosteiro da Batalha (Battle Abbey) was a single picture. And having seen it, I knew I had to go there. Fortunately, the five-day holiday for Carnaval provided me with the perfect opportunity.

Following a day in Nazaré, we picked up a brand-new Citroen C3 and hit the road. It didn't take us long to reach Batalha. The views on the approach were stunning. I could barely wait for my colleague to park the car so we could get out and explore.

Battle Abbey in all its glory

Batalha is a Dominican convent that was built to commemorate Portuguese victory over the Castilians at the 1385 battle of Aljubarrota. Built in the Late Gothic and Manueline styles, work commenced in 1386, spanning the reign of seven kings until its completion in 1517.

However, what stands on the site today is not the 14th-16th century original but rather a modern replica. The original suffered some damage in the earthquake of 1755. It was then sacked by Napoleonic troops in the early 19th century. The final nail in the coffin came in 1834 when the Dominicans were expelled from the complex, and the abandoned complex fell into ruin.

In 1840, King Fernando II of Portugal (r. 1837-1853), commissioned the restoration of the convent, a programme that was to last until the early 20th century. In 1907, it was declared a national monument, and in 1983 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Looking skywards



The main portal

Details on the exterior

One of the beautiful windows

Aesthetically pleasing lines

After a leisurely stroll round the outside of the convent, we made our way inside. My photos of the interior are not worth putting up, with the exception, that is, of the two below. Throughout the entire building, the stained glass cast gorgeous coloured patterns on the walls and floors. I was utterly enchanted.

Looking down the central nave



The effects of the stained glass

I have always loved cloisters, and Batalha boasts two rather lovely ones. The first is Claustro Real (Royal Cloister). Built between 1448 and 1477, it's a beautiful blend of Gothic and Manueline architecture.

Looking across the cloister

 

Between the colonettes

 

 

Sunlit walkway



Just because I love cloister walkways

A stone's throw from Claustro Real is Claustro Do Rei Afonso V (The Cloister of King Afonso V). Built in the traditional Gothic style, it stands in contrast with the Manueline flamboyance of the Royal Cloister. It was one of my favourite areas of the complex.

Simpler walkway



View from upstairs

Looking down on the cloister

The monastery was never finished, testament to which are the Capelas Imperfeitas (the unfinished chapels). The octagonal structure, which is only accessible from outside the convent, was commissioned in 1437 by King Duarte of Portugal (r. 1433-1438) as a mausoleum for him and his family. However, only he and his wife, Queen Elena of Aragón, are buried there.

The interior of the roofless chapel

 

Detail of the stone carvings

Exploring Portugal: Nazaré

Having inadvertently included my colleague in my Carnaval travel plans, she then started adding things to the itinerary. Which is how I ended up visiting Nazaré. Despite my initial irritation at having my travel plans altered to suit someone else, I have to admit, it turned out to be a good choice.

Billed as a picturesque seaside village, Nazaré has fast become one of the most popular resorts on the Costa de Prata (Silver Coast). It's especially popular with surfers, and in 2013, Brazilian surfer, Carlos Burle, surfed what is believed to be the largest wave ever ridden. I wasn't interested in surfing though – walking along the beach was enough for me.

An ordinary looking beach



The beachfront houses

When I first reached the beach, it just looked like any normal town beach – pleasant enough, but nothing special. Until I got closer to the promontory and discovered sheltered coves between the rocks. Suddenly I realised how beautiful the beach really was. I was disappointed when we left it to watch the Carnaval parade go by, and so I insisted on visiting the beach one last time before we returned to Leiria.

Beginning to see the beauty

At the foot of the promontory



The cove where we spent the afternoon

Pure perfection

The beach at dusk

Exploring Portugal: Leiria

There were two places I knew I wanted to see before I left Portugal, and they were Mosteiro da Batalha and Mosteiro de Alcobaça. And with a five-day holiday for Carnaval coming up, there was no better time. I had been going to get a bus, but since my colleague had invited herself to join me (!), we figured we might as well rent a car. But first, we needed a base, and that was to be Leiria.

We finished teaching on the Saturday afternoon, caught a train to Porto and another to Coimbra, and then a bus to Leiria. On arrival, we quickly located our hotel (which turned out to be a relic of the 1970s, but hey, we were on holiday!) and went for a walkabout and some food.

Quite by chance we came across a sandwich board advertising Cardomomo – a restaurant serving Portuguese and Goan cuisine – and decided to go there. The staff were amazingly friendly and helpful, the service was tip-worthy and the food was delicious, so delicious in fact that after an ill-advised foray into a Japanese restaurant, we returned there for our Last Supper (in Leiria).


The beautiful Praça Rodrigues Lobo



Cat mosaic on the pavement

Ornate door

The next day, we got up early to catch a bus to the nearby coastal town of Nazaré. Too early as it happened, so we had a little wander around Leiria in the daylight. Sitting below the watchful eye of the hilltop castle Leiria is a pretty town with squares, cafés and narrow cobbled streets. The blue skies were the icing on the cake. That is until I had some actual cake!

View of Castelo de Leiria from Jardim Luís de Camões

Roman arches on Largo Cónego Maia

We spent three nights in Leiria but, thanks to taking day-trips to nearby places, we never even made it to the castle. It was only ever intended to a base, but I still wish I'd made more of an effort to see what the town had to offer.

Delicious bitter cherry, biscuity, lemony-creamy-cherry, chocolate mousse thing

Exploring Portugal: Sintra

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site that's home to several 19th century Romantic palaces and a Moorish castle, I thought I would like Sintra more than I did. The problem was that the trip didn't start well, and although it wasn't Sintra's fault, the town never really came back from it!

After my lesson, I got to Braga station in good time for the 13:06 ALFA to Lisbon. Except that the ALFA trains (or the people who drive them!) were on strike and thus they were not coming to Braga. So I had to get the slowest Urbanos train in the world to Campanhã, followed by a slow Intercity train to Lisbon. Instead of arriving at 16:30, I got there at 18:00.

I made my way to my hostel and quickly realised that I had forgotten to pack any toiletries. Nothing that couldn't be rectified by a trip to Pingo Doce, but an annoyance nonetheless. In Pingo Doce I got distracted by jelly (yes, jelly!) and came out forty minutes later with said jelly but without the toiletries. FFS! Cue (or should that be queue?!) another trip. Nearly an hour later – I had picked rush hour, after all – I finally had some toiletries. The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful.

The next morning, having gotten up nice and early, I walked to Rossio station and got the train to Sintra. That was the easy bit. It should be noted that a trip to Sintra will involve lots of walking, the train station being a 15-minute walk from town. As soon as I reached Sintra proper, I saw Palácio Nacional de Sintra, and was... disappointed. It didn't look the picture in my book (probably because the picture in my book was actually Palácio da Pena, but I didn't know that then) – it looked quite unpalacial, quite ordinary. Being Sunday, it was also free to enter which accounted for the crowds.


Palácio Nacional de Sintra

Magnolia blossom

Having suddenly realised the error of my ways, I cut my losses and went to wait for the #434 bus which would take me to Palácio da Pena. Unfortunately, hundreds of others had the same idea and it was a sardine-like journey to the palace. Once at the palace the crowds seemed to thin out a bit and I had room to breathe. And take photos.


Palácio da Pena



The wedding-cake like façade



The entrance



Arched walkway



Straight out of a fairytale



Window to the world



Stunning views



Detail of the building



View of Castelo dos Mouros from the palace

A couple of hours later, having taken in the palace views, I walked down the hill to Castelo dos Mouros, the Moorish castle. By now, the place was mobbed and I was beginning to regret my decision to ever come. And then I almost got pushed off a narrow walkway by a hefty tourist who seemed to think she had right of way!


One of the many towers

View from the castle

The Great Wall of... er, Sintra

Section of the wall

Still standing after all these years

After a while, the weight of my backpack, and the heat of the sun became too much and I decided to get the bus back to Sintra. No such luck. There was no bus. Ten minutes, fifteen minutes, thirty minutes passed. No bus. The crowd was growing, both in size and agitation. I couldn't help but notice that he hefty tourist who'd almost knocked me off the walls earlier had positioned herself at the top of the queue, no doubt done by shoving others aside. I was beginning to sincerely regret this whole trip. Over an hour after I had reached the queue, a bus finally turned up. I was among the seven or eight passengers who got on it. The rest would have to wait for the next one. I think I would have cried if that were me...

By the time I got back to Sintra, I realised I would have no chance whatsoever of getting to Lisbon in time to catch the 16:00 ALFA to Porto, so guessing that there being a slightly later Intercity train, I walked the five minutes to Quintas de Regaleiro, a large old estate. Almost immediately I began to flag, and having half-heartedly located a few places of interest I dragged myself back to Sintra train station.

Back in Lisbon, after a brief pause in Rossio for a Starbucks, I walked for what seemed like miles to Santa Apolonia, only to find that there were no Intercity trains... and that the next ALFA was at 19:00. FML. With an hour-and-a-half to kill, I did what anyone with any sense would do – put my bag into storage, walked the ten minutes back to Baixa and treated myself to a gorgeous but overpriced piece of jewellery!

The train journey passed quickly enough, but on arriving in Porto, I realised that I would have over an hour's wait till the next train, which would get me home at gone midnight. Tired and fed up, I bought some celebrity gossip magazines, caught a train to São Bento, and walked to the Mercure Hotel to ask if they had any rooms. I was in luck and within five minutes I was sprawled on a lovely double bed, reading my trashy magazines...

Exploring Portugal: Espinho

I can still remember the first time I visited Espinho. Four years ago, I woke up to see sunshine and blue skies, dragged myself out of bed, showered and dressed and made my way to the station in time for the 10:34 train. Only then did I start formulating a plan for the day. I would get off at Campanhã and buy a ticket to somewhere. The only question was where?

Having mentally narrowed it down to one of three beaches, the rest was easy. I didn't want to spend too long on a train so Espinho, at just 30 minutes away, won hands down. Matosinhos and Póvoa de Varzim would have to wait till another day. It was a good call and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that unlike all the other beach towns I've been to, Espinho's train station was a mere stone's throw from the sea. I was there in seconds!


Pure perfection

Despite the weather, the beach was all but deserted – an expanse of perfect, untrodden sand. Even the beach-front cafes had space to sit and watch the waves forming and falling. I strolled along the beach, pausing to pick up pretty shells or to take yet more photos that wouldn't do the views justice... I was, once again, in beach heaven.


Gazing out to sea



The sea wall



Sun, sand and sea

White horses



Waves crashing onto the beach

Just another day in paradise