30th May
We stayed at a park-up in a huge shopping centre. The ablution were very average but the site was quite and the lady running the place was very helpful and nice. So overall an ok park-up.
The next day we went to see the “Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art”. There one off the bucket list.
26th to 28th May - 3 Days.
We visited a Roman Amphitheatre the Spanish call it “The Italica Amphitheater”. There is also a large area that used to be the Roman town, the buildings are all in ruins, but the floors and their mosaics are still intact. Some very nice tile work.
We also went to the “Setas de Sevilla”, it’s a structure that has 9 columns. A funny looking thing that has a walkway across the top…..great views of the city and area. They say it’s made of wood….but all the real structural bits are steel.
A bit of a bust…3 of the 6 sites were closed…say la vie.
Seville is teaming with lots of tourists, we must be moving into peak period…or it’s just Andalusia the tourist capital.
At the moment, I’m sitting on my camp chair at the back of the van, doing the blog and watching a couple put up a two man tent. Not sure which one will kill the other.
Anyway the main thing today was the Seville Cathedral…a nice cathedral but we’ve now seen lots better… We started the day with a walk along the river, looking at the boats, monuments, etc.
We went to the Real Alcazar and Plaza de Espana
The Alcazar is truly amazing. It was closed up for centuries and that is why it’s in such good condition. They allow 800 people per hour through the entry gate and the volume of people get lost, it’s huge. One of the must do things to see.
24 May
Our last stop in Portugal. The bone church was interesting.
A very beautiful town.
On day 1 we went to:
On day 2 we went to:
19th May 2024
We stayed 2 days at Coimbra and caught up on the washing, etc. On the drive from Coimbra to Lisbon we stopped off at Fatima and went to see the Sanctuary of Lady of Fatima.
The sanctuary is huge, it has an old cathedral and a new church. There is a bitumen section between the two church’s that is 250m x 110m and at some events they fill the space with people. So really there is three including the open air section, the bitumen section is setup with its own platform, big screen, etc.
The story goes that back in 1917 three shepherd children said they saw the Virgin Mary and she told them that they should build a sanctuary. So they did.!
6.3 million people a year visit the spot.
You will also see in some of the pictures that some people crawl on their knees the 170 meters to prove their faith. There were several people doing this when we were there.
This is a google map picture of the place.
11th May 2024
The Portuguese people hold Guimaraes as one of the most important historical cities in Portugal. They say things like this is where Portugal started. It’s a city in northern Portugal and it has lots to offer the traveller. There is a cable car running up to a mountain overlooking the city. On the mountain there is a cris-cross of paths between the huge boulders, a church, a huge Aussie Gum tree and coffee shops. The views are just WOW.
In the city there are lots of well-preserved buildings and narrow streets, a 10th century castle that is in ruins, restored Dukes of Bragança Palace and a 13th century church.
We took the cable car in the morning and walked the city in the afternoon….a very nice time.
Woohoo a free park up!.
10th May 2024
We drove passed Braga last week because it was raining, so we thought we’d return and it’s been well worth it. Braga and the BOM Jesus site are spectacularly beautiful.
There is a funicular that you can take to the top, if you don’t want to walk the 573 steps. The funicular is water driven, they fill the tank under one of the cabins and let the water out of the other. The weight difference drives the system.
OH I’m not sure the music goes wth the video, it was just what I wanted to listen to.
6th to the 8th of May 2024
After a few days of rain the weather cleared up wonderfully for our time in Porto.
We got to spend the time with Maree, Steve, Alex, Tom and Val. How did we get so lucky! Having friends like these.