Tomar

I had to hold back from pun usage in this title…”The Sun Will Come Out Tomar-oh!” and “Tomar or Not Tomar, That is the Question” were tempting but I just couldn’t do it.

Our morning started out in Coimbra shushing the girls non-stop to keep them from waking the entire hotel. Ugh, a painful reminder of why we do better in apartments. We made a quick trip to the Municipal Market, which was a fantastic multi-level farmers market. It was clean as a whistle and although pretty quiet early on a Wednesday, still provided just what we needed for a picnic lunch to take on the train.

(Why is it that the vegetables were plentiful and gorgeous at this market, but we can’t find any in restaurants??)

The trainride was easy, but for some reason today Melina was just driving us up the wall. It was completely impossible for her to stop talking even for a second. The constant chatter was just too much for us to take and our nerves were on edge all morning.

It didn’t help that when we arrived in Tomar a bit after noon we only had time to duck in a pastry shop before the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down. We took refuge there until the rain stopped and then trudged through the (narrow, winding) streets to our hostel in the old town. Portugal is known for its fantastic hostels, and we have not been disappointed. Hostel 2300 Thomar is no exception and is spotlessly clean with trendy decorations and impossibly friendly staff.

We unloaded our packs and hurried out to take advantage of the break in the rain to head to the number one sight in Tomar, the Convento de Cristo. Tomar didn’t even merit a word in our Rick Steve’s guidebook, and Lonely Planet gave it a few pages, but it was smack dab between Coimbra and our next destination of Sintra, so we gave it a night on our itinerary.

We weren’t expecting much when we hiked up the forested hill to the castle looming over the town. Diane was asleep in the stroller and the path was impossibly bumpy. Melina was prattling on nonstop and we felt like our ears had never before heard the sound of silence. Then we reached the castle. This convent/cathedral/castle/palace/secret boys club was built by the Knights Templar 800 years ago.  The outside walls were covered in beautiful blooming poppies, a hit with the girls.  Our first views inside the castle walls were breathtaking, but it started to rain again so we ran inside and reluctantly agreed to pay the 12 euro entrance fee. It is a good thing we did, because as it turns out this is THE MOST AMAZING CASTLE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

I am not kidding. Zach and I have seen a lot of castles and palaces, and so far this is the A-one top-tier cream of the crop best. Every corner we turned was an intricate and grandiose spectacle. The place was partially renovated and partially ruins, so it gave the perfect feel for what it should look like while still allowing us to appreciate the age and history of the place. Truly, I’m struggling for words, so I’ll go to the pictorial evidence:

We were all giddy in this place. The weather added to the magic with the sky clearing here and there for the sun to shine through like heaven was opening up above this otherworldly place. Even the girls felt it, and didn’t get bored of finding hedge mazes and secret hallways and spiral staircases that opened into totally new cloisters and hallways and chapels.

(Melina used more of her money to buy this princess figurine, which figured prominently in our pictures today.)

The place was immense, and we spent over four hours there and didn’t even see it everything. I cannot believe that this is not the number one sight in all of Portugal. It definitely warrants more than a few pages in a guidebook. Not to mention a big fail for Rick Steves for missing out on this one.

Eventually we did get hungry so made more way back to town where the girls chased pigeons for a long time until the restaurants opened.

Oh, did I mention that beginning around 4pm they pipe lute music through the entire town and surrounding countryside? What a strangely cool town.

Then we had a big Italian meal (even Diane packed away 4 slices of pizza!) and came back to the hostel to turn in. Zach and I are now sharing a bottle of 10 year old white port that we bought in the wine caves on our private balcony. Despite the cat in heat that will not give us that silence we have craved all day, it is quite romantic. Good thing, since tomorrow is our 10-year wedding anniversary! Zach says that for our anniversary we should sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, and then head to another gorgeous castle town. Ha!! One out of three will have to do.