Day 8 - city of Tomar
Tomar, the city, not the verb to drink (joke for Spanish speakers, ja, ja)
Today we woke up earlier because we had to catch an early train, well, depends on who you ask. For me, 9:45am is pretty late but that was the only option. We took an uber to the train station. I took advantage of the two-hour ride to read my book: At home in the world. I really enjoyed this book because it is the story of a family of three doing the same crazy travel adventure around the world except that her kids were much younger. Luckily, I finished the book on time because my kindle was running low battery. Tip, make sure you charge your electronics the night before so you don't have this problem. Another tip, always bring a jacket, the air conditioning was blasting on the train.
We arrived in the city of Tomar at noon. What I really wanted was to "tomar" a drink with that heat. Tomar means to drink in Spanish and that's all I could think of. We walked to the church of Santa
Maria do Olival because Gregory was told that there he could find some Masonic symbols. However, when we got there, we discovered that it was closed. The church was built in the second half of the 12th century by the provincial master of the Order of the Knight Templar in Portugal, Gualdim Pais. It was used as a burial place for the Knights Templar of Tomar and, later, by the Knights of the Order of Christ, which succeeded the Templars in the 14th century. Gualdim Pais is buried in the church, and his original tomb slab, dated from 1195 and bearing a gothic inscription, is still preserved inside.
After that, we walked to the market which seemed open but a lot of the stands were closed, probably for lunch. We asked an older man about it and I was surprised that I could understand him. Mmm, I'm getting good at understanding Portuguese, I thought. Well, I was wrong, he was actually speaking French. He told us that he comes to Tomar to buy fruit to take back and sell in Paris. He seemed to know some of the locals. We stopped in a small cafe because we were hungry and the sandwiches were super cheap. The owners were super friendly and we decided to stay there for lunch. My tuna sandwich which was more like a torta, a Mexican type of bread, was only 1.60 euros. It wasn't great but okay for the price. Daniel, of course, couldn't find a thing he liked. I finally made him eat something and we order a cheese sandwich. The lady had to go get some "pan seco" to make his sandwich. Gregory had a "carne asada" sandwich for 2 euros! The best part of the meal was the company, we chatted about the town and about the town festival that had finished the day before. We paid and we left on our hike to see the magnificent castle of the knight templars better known as the Convent of Christ. We had to walk through the historic center to get there. On our way, we stopped to visit a church and read about their traditional festivities called: The Divine holy spirit festival or festival of tray. It is one of the most ancientcultural and religious manifestations in Portugal. It is a thanksgiving and offering festival that hasn't changed since the XVII century and it happens every four years in the months of June and July. We missed it by a day.
The tray is made of bread, flowers, and ribbon and has the Christ crown at the top.
We continued our hike to the top of the castle. From outside it looks very impressive, but once you go inside, it is even more beautiful, with so many rooms to explore. The main chapel is fascinating and you can see the layers of the centuries in their frescos.
The following information is from Wikipedia which I like to include in case you are interested in knowing a little bit of history. All I have to say about this place is that it was worth the visit, plus it's not expensive, they have a family discount ticket for 9 euros. Getting there was hard only because it was extremely hot but once you make it to the top, you will enjoy yourself!
The convent was founded by the Order of Poor Knights of the Temple (or Templar Knights) in 1118. Its construction continued until the final part of the 12th century with the construction of the oratory, in one of the angles of the castle, completed by the Grand Master D.Gualdim Pais (sometime around 1160). Around 1190 it was encircled and resisted the armies of caliph Abu Yusuf al Mansur who was successful in taking strongholds in the south. (A plaque was erected near the entrance to the castle to commemorate this event).
During the second quarter of the 13th century, Tomar was transferred into the control of the Templars, becoming its seat. The castle became an integral part of the defense system created by the Templars to secure the border of the young Christian Kingdom against the moors, which at the time occupied the area to approximately the Tagus River. But, following the dissolution of the Templar Order, on 14 March 1319, and following the request of King Denis de Portugal, Pope John XXIII instituted the Order of Chris. The seat of the former Knights Templar was converted in 1357 into the seat of this new order.
Coming down was much easier. Gregory and I thought about going back to the first church to see the interior, but the kids were ready to go back home. We decided to skip it, which was hard because we made it this far but then again, it took two hours to get home and we wanted to make it early enough for dinner. We took the 5:11pm train back to Lisbon Apolonia. I was sure I was going to take a nap, but due to the coffee, I was restless like a kid.
Today we woke up earlier because we had to catch an early train, well, depends on who you ask. For me, 9:45am is pretty late but that was the only option. We took an uber to the train station. I took advantage of the two-hour ride to read my book: At home in the world. I really enjoyed this book because it is the story of a family of three doing the same crazy travel adventure around the world except that her kids were much younger. Luckily, I finished the book on time because my kindle was running low battery. Tip, make sure you charge your electronics the night before so you don't have this problem. Another tip, always bring a jacket, the air conditioning was blasting on the train.We arrived in the city of Tomar at noon. What I really wanted was to "tomar" a drink with that heat. Tomar means to drink in Spanish and that's all I could think of. We walked to the church of Santa
After that, we walked to the market which seemed open but a lot of the stands were closed, probably for lunch. We asked an older man about it and I was surprised that I could understand him. Mmm, I'm getting good at understanding Portuguese, I thought. Well, I was wrong, he was actually speaking French. He told us that he comes to Tomar to buy fruit to take back and sell in Paris. He seemed to know some of the locals. We stopped in a small cafe because we were hungry and the sandwiches were super cheap. The owners were super friendly and we decided to stay there for lunch. My tuna sandwich which was more like a torta, a Mexican type of bread, was only 1.60 euros. It wasn't great but okay for the price. Daniel, of course, couldn't find a thing he liked. I finally made him eat something and we order a cheese sandwich. The lady had to go get some "pan seco" to make his sandwich. Gregory had a "carne asada" sandwich for 2 euros! The best part of the meal was the company, we chatted about the town and about the town festival that had finished the day before. We paid and we left on our hike to see the magnificent castle of the knight templars better known as the Convent of Christ. We had to walk through the historic center to get there. On our way, we stopped to visit a church and read about their traditional festivities called: The Divine holy spirit festival or festival of tray. It is one of the most ancientcultural and religious manifestations in Portugal. It is a thanksgiving and offering festival that hasn't changed since the XVII century and it happens every four years in the months of June and July. We missed it by a day.
The tray is made of bread, flowers, and ribbon and has the Christ crown at the top.
We continued our hike to the top of the castle. From outside it looks very impressive, but once you go inside, it is even more beautiful, with so many rooms to explore. The main chapel is fascinating and you can see the layers of the centuries in their frescos.
The following information is from Wikipedia which I like to include in case you are interested in knowing a little bit of history. All I have to say about this place is that it was worth the visit, plus it's not expensive, they have a family discount ticket for 9 euros. Getting there was hard only because it was extremely hot but once you make it to the top, you will enjoy yourself!
During the second quarter of the 13th century, Tomar was transferred into the control of the Templars, becoming its seat. The castle became an integral part of the defense system created by the Templars to secure the border of the young Christian Kingdom against the moors, which at the time occupied the area to approximately the Tagus River. But, following the dissolution of the Templar Order, on 14 March 1319, and following the request of King Denis de Portugal, Pope John XXIII instituted the Order of Chris. The seat of the former Knights Templar was converted in 1357 into the seat of this new order.
The famous round church (rotunda) of the castle of Tomar was also built in the second half of the 12th century. The church, like some other templar churches throughout Europe, was modeled after theDome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which was believed by the crusaders to be a remnant of the Temple of Solomon.
After spending a few hours in the castle, we were tired and ready for our treat! We had coffee, beer and yummy gelato with Portuguese names. Daniel had "suspiros de chocolate", literary chocolate sighs. Our drinks were the same price as our lunch at the market!
Coming down was much easier. Gregory and I thought about going back to the first church to see the interior, but the kids were ready to go back home. We decided to skip it, which was hard because we made it this far but then again, it took two hours to get home and we wanted to make it early enough for dinner. We took the 5:11pm train back to Lisbon Apolonia. I was sure I was going to take a nap, but due to the coffee, I was restless like a kid.
I passed the hours looking at people and trying to figure out their relationships and their lives. Sunshine has told me not to stare at people, "it's rude" she said. I disagree, I really enjoy seeing what they're wearing, guessing how old they are, are they dating, married, are they going back home after work, are they on vacations like us? I like to imagine their stories, maybe because I would like to write about them. I really wanted to write but I did not bring my journal nor my laptop, so I use my imagination. Before I knew it, we had arrived and I managed to stay entertained.
We took a taxi back home, they are cheap in Lisbon and you can get them easily on the street. We made a quick stop at the corner market of our house to buy some snacks for tomorrow for the bus and then we headed home for dinner. Menu: Pasta Pomodoro, broccoli, and gelato so we can leave the refrigerator empty of course! We leave tomorrow for Sevilla, Spain!
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