July 10th-11th
These past two days were just amazing. We had planned to visit Lisboa and Abel and Bella decided to show us certain sites along the way and then spend a night in Lisbon, see some of the sites and then return to Aveiro in the Evening. We packed the car early in the morning and were off on the road by 9 a.m. When I mean off, I mean OFF...The most memorable aspect of the journey toward Lisbon was the way Abel drives. There's Michael Schumacher and then there is... Abel. He was driving 180 km/hr which is well over 110 mph. He was darting between cars and although I knew he was an excellent driver, my heart was racing a little bit.
The first place we stopped at was monastary of Batalha. This monastery was built in the 15th century and upon first seeing it I was amazed at its shear size. As we entered I was taken aback by the immense height of the ceiling and the thickness of walls. We even came upon a entry way within the monastary that was astounding with the intricate carvings made of stone. The monastary also had these amazing columns, arches, and stained glass windows that were a sight to behold. There were also tombs dedicated to certain major figures in Portuguese history that were so intricately carved and designed with sculptures of lions at the base. Just a Beautiful site to behold. As we continued to walk through the monastary we came upon a pristine open air garden with beautiful hedges and bushes. Walking through the monastary it was hard not to be at peace with beauty around you.
The next stop on our tour was the holy site of Fatima. This site is considered one of the holiest in all the world because according to legend, it is thought that Our Lady appeared to 3 sheperd children in the early 1900's at a tree in Fatima. Entering Fatima square I was struck with the pristine nature and simplicity of the place. The square was absolutely massive and as we walked towards the church we saw numerous pilgrims walking on their knees around the compound deep in prayer. I was struck with the diversity of people who came to Fatima with young and old completely devoted to searching for miracles. While were were there an outdoor mass was in session and even though it was a week day it was packed with believers. My mom, dad, and I decided to buy some candles and throw them into the fire and pray for certain things in our lives that needed gods attention. As walked around the grounds we even came upon the actual tree that it is though Mary appeared and were sure to get a photograph. We then decided to go inside the church of Fatima and were amazed to see shrines dedicated to the three sheperd children, all now deceased, inside the church. Being in Fatima was truly an amazing experience because it almost felt as though one could connect with God on a higher level just being in that environment.
The final stop of the day was at the castle and town of Tomar. When arrived in Tomar we had to walk through a castle entrance as if were walking into a fortress. As we walked on we saw these beautiful narrow cobblestone streets lined with inns, stores, and taverns. The buildings on either side were rustic and old in appearance but had beautiful flowers adoring the windows. Finally, after walking about 15 minutes we arrived at the actual castle and when we walked in we were able to see the ancient structures of stone before us. The castle actually looked like something out of Lord of the Rings, with the massive fortified wall and stone walkways. We even walked up the stone walkways to walls to get a better view of the surroundings. Doing so was pretty scary because the walkways are very narrow and have no rail, so if you fall its a good 20-30 feet to ground.
From there we then continued directly to Jennifer and Castro's house in Lisboa. We got there rather late and so while mum and dad went to sleep I watched The Da Vinci Code on DVD before heading off to sleep.
These past two days were just amazing. We had planned to visit Lisboa and Abel and Bella decided to show us certain sites along the way and then spend a night in Lisbon, see some of the sites and then return to Aveiro in the Evening. We packed the car early in the morning and were off on the road by 9 a.m. When I mean off, I mean OFF...The most memorable aspect of the journey toward Lisbon was the way Abel drives. There's Michael Schumacher and then there is... Abel. He was driving 180 km/hr which is well over 110 mph. He was darting between cars and although I knew he was an excellent driver, my heart was racing a little bit.
The first place we stopped at was monastary of Batalha. This monastery was built in the 15th century and upon first seeing it I was amazed at its shear size. As we entered I was taken aback by the immense height of the ceiling and the thickness of walls. We even came upon a entry way within the monastary that was astounding with the intricate carvings made of stone. The monastary also had these amazing columns, arches, and stained glass windows that were a sight to behold. There were also tombs dedicated to certain major figures in Portuguese history that were so intricately carved and designed with sculptures of lions at the base. Just a Beautiful site to behold. As we continued to walk through the monastary we came upon a pristine open air garden with beautiful hedges and bushes. Walking through the monastary it was hard not to be at peace with beauty around you.
The next stop on our tour was the holy site of Fatima. This site is considered one of the holiest in all the world because according to legend, it is thought that Our Lady appeared to 3 sheperd children in the early 1900's at a tree in Fatima. Entering Fatima square I was struck with the pristine nature and simplicity of the place. The square was absolutely massive and as we walked towards the church we saw numerous pilgrims walking on their knees around the compound deep in prayer. I was struck with the diversity of people who came to Fatima with young and old completely devoted to searching for miracles. While were were there an outdoor mass was in session and even though it was a week day it was packed with believers. My mom, dad, and I decided to buy some candles and throw them into the fire and pray for certain things in our lives that needed gods attention. As walked around the grounds we even came upon the actual tree that it is though Mary appeared and were sure to get a photograph. We then decided to go inside the church of Fatima and were amazed to see shrines dedicated to the three sheperd children, all now deceased, inside the church. Being in Fatima was truly an amazing experience because it almost felt as though one could connect with God on a higher level just being in that environment.
The final stop of the day was at the castle and town of Tomar. When arrived in Tomar we had to walk through a castle entrance as if were walking into a fortress. As we walked on we saw these beautiful narrow cobblestone streets lined with inns, stores, and taverns. The buildings on either side were rustic and old in appearance but had beautiful flowers adoring the windows. Finally, after walking about 15 minutes we arrived at the actual castle and when we walked in we were able to see the ancient structures of stone before us. The castle actually looked like something out of Lord of the Rings, with the massive fortified wall and stone walkways. We even walked up the stone walkways to walls to get a better view of the surroundings. Doing so was pretty scary because the walkways are very narrow and have no rail, so if you fall its a good 20-30 feet to ground.
From there we then continued directly to Jennifer and Castro's house in Lisboa. We got there rather late and so while mum and dad went to sleep I watched The Da Vinci Code on DVD before heading off to sleep.
posted by RCS at 6:49 PM
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