Day 17 Travel South to Alcacer do sal, briefs road stops in Malfa and Ericeira

Today was a day to move from Sao Martinho do Porto to our next destination. Our move included a couple of stops along the way.

First stop was to a quaint little town called Mafra. It is home beautiful Palace and Church, titled the Mafra National Palace, a Unesco World Heritage site. We parked close by and had a local elderly gentleman tells us that we didn’t need to pay because it is Sunday (the sabbath)when public parking is free. It was broken English and Portuguese but we managed! Near the Church there was a local pastry stand with a variety of breads and sweets for sale. We were hungry so probably not the best time to make some purchases! We bought four different kinds of small sweets. Oh my they were all so delicious.

We visited the church only given our limited time and there was a service going on. So we stayed for a little while, but made a tour around the church later after the service was over. We were the only ones in the church at the time, but the lady let us finish our time there and there locked the door behind us. We felt very lucky to be able to do the walkabout before it was closed for what appeared to be until the next church service.

The Mafra Palace is a very large facility and site and requires 2-3 hours to take the tour and see the church and grounds. We saved the full site visit for another trip.

Now it was lunch time with a visit to a local cafe and had the soup of the dia! Creamy vegetable, was delicious and of course a bica!

Next stop was a beautiful beach. Priaia do Sao Sebastian. This was in the town of Ericeira, a seaside resort town not far from Lisbon. There was a small chapel near the waters edge too, that was beautiful inside. The beach was surrounded with a great walkable path overlooking the step cliffs that went to the ocean.

Next stop, driving south through Lisbon and across the Vasco da Gama Bridge and on to our accommodation for the night. In a town of Alcacer do Sol, about an hour drive south of Lisbon. We stayed in a Pestana Pousada. The history of the Pousada Castelo de Alcacer began in 1573. It was founded by D. Rui de Salema and his wife Catarina de Souto Maior. Inside the castle, the convent of Our Lady of Aracoeli had an order of nuns founded in 1211. In the 90’s the remains of the old convent were adapted for a Pousada, which opened to the public in 1998 under the name of Pousada D. Afonso II. The room was adorned with beautiful furnishings. The night stay also included a buffet breakfast the next morning for a cost of 90 euros. The buffet breakfast was outstanding, with a multitude of items to choose from. The castle still has part of the old castle ruins available for the occupants to walk about the wall for a spectacular view of the town! The Pousada had two outdoor swimming pools, outdoor restaurant area in a courtyard and an area for sitting outside to enjoy a beverage. Inside the palace there were many rooms, pool table in a bar area, lots of sitting areas, TV room, and of course the old chapel were the nuns made their prayers each day.

The town of Alcacer do Sol had a new pedestrian bridge, another bridge for traffic as well as people. We stopped a a local cafe for a beverage (1.50 euros each), then were witness the “changing of the lights” on the bridge for cars and pedestrians. It was quite spectacular.

We walked about the town and found a local restaurant for supper. We tried out a restaurant called Retiro Sadina. We had 1/2 bottle local wine, lamb chops and pork tenderloin served along with a local favourite combination of asparagus and bread crumbs made into an oval shaped side dish.

Here are some pictures from our travels this day and from the Pousada accommodations as well as our evening walk around Alcacer do sal.