Finally, today we are going to Obidos.  Our original plan was to take a tour through the ship on Saturday, but when we decided it was better to check into the apartment a day early, we had to cancel that.  Then we were going to go yesterday, Monday, but realized our Lisboa Card was only good from Sunday morning through Monday night, which led to another cancelation and rescheduling.  Roll with the punches!

Today is finally the day.  We have a car rented from Europcar at Santa Apolonia station, a 5-minute walk from the apartment, where we arrive plenty early to wait for the agency to open.  There is an Aida ship in port today, and we want to be first at the rental agency in case there is a surge of passengers trying to rent cars. Successfully accomplishing our first position in line we then run into a system glitch when they can’t find our reservation.  They can see the canceled reservation from yesterday, but not the rebooked one we made before we left.  Computers!  We have the confirmation printed out but it still takes about 30 minutes before we get everything settled and a new reservation is completed. 

Eh, we have all day – or at least until the sunsets, so there isn’t any real rush.  Eventually we are across the street and into the parking lot for the car. The other guy opens the gate for us and tells us to come back here and park anywhere we can find. Ah, no. Really?  Memories of Palma de Mallorca start ricocheting through our heads.  Oh well, nothing to do about it now, we’ll just figure it out when we return.  And we’re off down the road.  It’s an easy rather straight shot to Obidos, a little over an hour virtually all highway. 

Making good time, we pull into the parking lot that we found easily (yay), pay, lock up, grab a little map/brochure from the TA and head toward the Porta da Vila, the town gate.  In the parking lot there is a mask vending machine.  Yes. Vending machine. And a hand sanitizing station!  Nice.  I have a whole walking tour mapped out, including walking the walls of the ancient medieval town instead of just walking down the main road and so far, all is going according to plan.

Obidos is a perfectly preserved example of medieval architecture contained in a small walled town.  As time progressed, Gothic and Renaissance styles were added, but mostly what you see here are the old stone walls, houses and structures of the medieval times.  Entering through the town gate, adorably decked out in a red Christmas bow, we gaze up at the beautiful, tiled chapel on the balcony level of the gate, then immediately turn left and climb up the stairs to the ramparts and the walls.  We can circle the entire town up here on these walls but are planning to descend at the opposite end by the castle turned hotel.

The views up here are fabulous, you can get the best bird’s eye view of the entire town as well as out into the countryside.  The wall though is a bit scary.  It’s medieval, so, no precautions, no guard rails, no knee wall to keep you from falling off the edge into town.  Some sections are so narrow you have to really watch your step.  It takes us forever to walk just one-half of the walls – basically because we are stopping every minute or so to take yet more pictures of the gorgeous countryside or the walls or the narrow path or the steep drop off or the tiled roofs of the town buildings.  It’s spectacular!

And we are thanking our lucky stars that a) we did not come here on a tour and b) we are here in the cold off season and there is barely anyone here.  We are only passed by oncoming people twice our entire walk. If it was more crowded?  Oh no, no, no, no.

Plus, the emptiness gives it such a historical and medieval feel.  You can imagine how it was centuries ago, a walled village in the middle of the rolling hills and fields.  Special.

We make our exit at the church in back of the castle/hotel where they are building a Christmas market in the courtyard gardens between the wall and the old stable buildings.  That would be fun to visit, but we’re not coming back here on our next visit next month. No Christmas market here for me.

The town, on ground level, is just as beautiful as from above, with the ancient cobblestone streets and sturdy stone buildings.  We visit the old Igreja de Santiago, the Church of St. James, which has been converting into a quirky little bookstore, with the altar and altarpiece still intact, only now just surrounded by books.

Then it is just wandering the picturesque streets, with pretty white buildings glowing in the sun and red flowered vine-like plants creeping up their walls.   Walking down Rua Direita, we stop in a couple shops, then stop for a cappuccino and our first shot of Ginja, the local cherry liqueur served in a chocolate cup for which Obidos is known. Steps from the café is the main square, Praça de Santa Maria, where main church, Igreja de Santa Maria is located.  We spend some here snapping photos of the façade as well as the interior of the church, resplendent in its blue tile murals and gold filigreed altar embedded with portraits of saints.

Then it is simply more wandering. More picturesque little streets.  More beautiful cobblestone lanes and archways and underpasses.  Just lovely.

Finally, down a little lane and a few set of stairs, on the side of the Igreja de Sao Pedro, we find the 1 de Dezembro café, with lots of tables outside and a perfect setting in the quiet square well off the main Rua Direita. A perfectly peaceful and lovely place to eat our lunch of bread (of course), sardine pate (sardines are a thing here – there is even a whole store with canned sardines which we unfortunately succumb to with the purchase of 2 tins of something we’ll probably never eat), salad, mixed chorizo and vegetable soup for Ed.  Excellent (well except for the pate – eh – when in Rome).

More wandering, more pretty scenes, a photo opp with Santa, a stop at a Ginja store for yet more shots and the purchase of a little bottle to bring home, then it is back to the parking lot where I can NOT resist buying masks!  I mean, honestly, how could I?  1 euro, for 2 masks that will never be used and always be a keepsake and always be a reminder of one of our favorite villages and favorite visits of the trip!

Now on to the second part of our exploration – the Buddha Eden Garden.  A mere 20 minutes away.  Who would have ever thunk it?