Blogs from Batalha, Lisbon & Tagus Valley, Portugal, Europe

The Lisbon to Porto transfer was by motorcoach. We would board our Viking river vessel, Viking Torgil, in Porto. The standard transfer is via Coimbra with a stop to see the university. However, Susan and I opted for the transfer with stops at Fatima and the monastery at Batalha. This choice proved to be a fascinating journey into Portuguese history. The courier and guide who accompanied our coach group introduced himself as a professor of travel and tourism at a private Lisbon university. He was very knowledgeable bout Portuguese history and narrated most of our journey. His first topic concerned the forests we were traversing. I had taken note of the fact that they highway to Batalha was though a heavily forested landscape, not what I had expected to see. (I had expected farmland, or arid ... read more

So Lisboa lost out . The morning started off hot and we decided to pack up and move to Alcobaca . More motorways along the way. More fines probably. We have become rather complacent as we possibly rack them up. I guess as Glenn says there is nothing you can do about it so why bother worrying. Our destination was the monastery in the town on Alcobaca . There is nothing to commend Alcobaca apart from a reasonable coffee shop where we drank coffee and ate apple cake . There is also an excellent easy to find parking space for hundreds of motorhomers. Free to park as well which is a bonus and always welcome. We walked to the town which was disappointing. Very few shops and very little action. Some empty factory type buildings along ... read more