Obidos
A couple in Nazaré told us that Obidos was a good place to visit, but even then it was a bit of a surprise: a spectacularly pretty medieval small town inside complete walls, and even some deer in a small park next to the walls. We parked for the day next to the (Roman?) aqueduct which still seemed to be almost complete. It is possible to wild camp here too.
Very touristy, but not to be missed. The entrance was through a gate with a wonderful mosaic wall. The walk along the path inside the city wall was especially exciting because there were no banisters on the (often narrow) steps or rails along the (often very uneven) path to stop you falling 30 feet into somebody’s garden. The ‘elf and safety people in England would have shut the place down immediately.
The castle at the top of the hill was partly a flashy hotel, and much of the rest was being set up as a film set for some medieval romp, and there was a TV reporter doing a piece to camera. We resisted the temptation to stand behind him and wave at the camera, or make rabbit’s ears behind his head.
One speciality of Obidos is JinJinja – Cherry Brandy – and there were lots of shops selling it, and bars in which you could drink it. Since we had to drive to Lisbon later in the day we resisted the temptation.
Our guide book told us that our restaurant of choice for lunch – the Alcaide – was ‘expensive’ but we had an excellent lunch (more lamb chops for Gilroy, clams and cod stew – a speciality of the house – for Sheila) for about €35, with an excellent view thrown in free.
Obidos is really quite small so you can the whole place in less than a day. Well worth it.
In this picture above you can see Sheila leaning against the town wall and in the background over her shoulders you see the wall going around the rest of the town. The wall eventually meets this fabulous castle which is referred to above.
