Trancoso

It was to be a 2 town-and-castle day. After Belmonte and the day's anta, we drove to pretty Trancoso, a small walled town with a small castle, dating back to Moorish times, 9th-10th centuries, and which, among other things, offers ample shaded and level parking right outside the Kings Gate.

It was here, in Trancoso, in 1282, that the king Dom Dinis
married 12-year-old Isabel of Aragon

Outside the King's Gate; the walls are pretty intermittent

Where the wedding took place (we surmised)

Big plaza

Similar to the hankie tree we so admired in England

More nice public landscaping

More walls and tower

Handrails were not invented until the Enlightenment

Sic transit, Gloria (someone's wash hanging out)

Portal for Gothic cars and trucks

At last, the castle

Most interestingly, the castle's history is inscribed onto the steps
(I'll spare you the next thousand years)

10th century Keep

21st century Medieval fair

Partial-pano

Ditto; it's actually quite small for a castle, not much larger than
some of the fortified residences we have seen

 

Burn this image onto your retina (the cross and the castle)

It's on all the city lamp posts

Beautiful lanes and alleys throughout (a kind
resident actually hid behind the bushes for me
to get this shot) 

Tile street signs

In the former Jewish quarter, the doors and
windows on this building are tromp l'oeil;
there is a museum and memorial

This, we construed, was the sign put on a
"convert's" house (after the Portuguese
Inquisition arrived)

Shot of the day: Flutterment; all kinds of flutterment going on

Another Day, Another Anta

We were driving down the road, minding our own business, when all of a sudden another "Anta" archaeological sign appears, right on the road, and of course we had to turn around and park to see it. It was the Anta da Pera do Moco, a smaller one, by Portuguese standards (would have been huge in some other places), but well worth the stop.

Thus

Nice interpretive signage, although not in English too

Bit of a fixer-upper, but the roof was still good, especially for
6,000 years old

Further down the road, after Trancosa and en route to Lamego,
we followed other signs, but never found this one, despite
signage and GPS; oh well, maybe next time; we have had very
good luck finding megaliths on this trip

Belmonte

We drove on to another hill-top town, Belmonte, and its beautiful little municipal aire de camping-cars. The next morning we toured the pleasant little town.

Among the many sculptures in Belmonte, this, "honoring our
pastoral origins," I think it said

Belmonte's castle

Chapels nearby

Among other things, Belmonte is noted for
being the birthplace of Pedro Cabral, who
"discovered" Brazil and thus made Portugal
a very wealthy country, for a time; here I am
posing as Cabral

The real Cabral...

View from the castle grounds

Part of some interpretive signage, notably a) the bit on the
left about the castle tour in this region and b) an explanation
of trail signage, which we will need to observe in a week or so

Pretty landscaping all around

And patios

Older buildings

Civic places and spaces

When Spain expelled its Jews in 1492, many came to
Portugal, and Belmonte in particular; there are several
memorials, museums, and so on; not many years later,
however, the Portuguese Inquisition arrived
("Nobody expects the Portuguese Inquisition!"), with
the same results for the Jews as in Spain

Belmonte was notable too for several of its antiques shoppes,
with much interesting stuff

A real Chiparus? 3500E they were asking

Infestation of swallows

Public facilities

Much public space, sculpture

The aire, actually another public park, playground, etc., with
parking for 4 RVs; the facilities included showers, BBQ,
picnic tables, water and sanitation, all just a few minutes' walk
to the town center; and free