Monsanto

It is not the Monsanto that makes pesticides! Monsanto is known for as the most “Portuguese” village in Portugal.

But first breakfast. We started at 7:30 and served ourselves.

This where I found my tea! And here is the table where I sat waiting for otjers.

And the croissants were outstanding! 

The bus took us to the start of a very steep climb to Monsanto Castle. Monsanto is known for its stone houses often made with massive boulders. 

The church bell and town clock with the famous rooster.

The climb up was slow with stops for information. This town was used for the movie House of the Dragon.

As we climbed higher you could see how houses used some of these massive stones.

This was part of the roof! 

Getting closer to the castle there were more massive stones.

Now Monsanto Castle

Although it is not as it once was, you can see what the castle might have been.

Val at top.

Yellow Bunny hiding 

Back down and walk through the woods to lunch.

We walked on a Roman pathway! 

We shared plates of food.

Chicken tart

And a variety of items. All good, home made and local. 

Off to our next walk and we got caught in the rain. At least we got to use our raincoats, for a short time. 

Our next walk was through the countryside and easy walking

Saw lemon trees and learned about cork. The cork comes from cork oak trees. It can be harvested every 10-15 years.

This one was last harvested in 2020. 
Before heading back to our “home”, we took a short walk through Idanha-a-Velha. It was settled by the Romans.

See the stork?

Val was keen to try the stone bridge….

A little rain. This church has influences from many different through the centuries- moors, Romans, and more

Once back I decided how could I resist the pool. Cool but not like the ocean. I stayed in 10 minutes! It was surprisingly very enjoyable.

And now the dinner. Val and have to admit this probably

is a bit higher end than we realized. This is a geluxe tour. So the meals and tours are high end. Not that we are complaining but sometimes we feel like we are surprised by the first class and we thought it was just a regular class. Wait till you hear about tomorrow….

Salad, cod appetizer (with caviar), beet soup with caramelized onions, roasted chicken and potatoes, lemon pudding with strands of egg yolks.

Our leader calls tomorrow OMG…