- Doors in one of the cloister
I don't quite get these doors, to be honest. - Marble Hallway
- Room of discoveries
Ceiling in the Room of Discoveries by Bernardo António de Oliveira Góis (c. 1770-c. 1820) and Cyrillo Volkmar Machado (1748-1823). - Cabo Carvoeiro
- Cabo Carvoeiro
A fogbow, also known as white rainbow. Because, well, it forms on fog and is whitish. - Ilhéu da Papôa
If you look closely, you will see a catamaran in the fog. Well, the hull is hidden in the fog, but the sail peeks out. - Ilhéu da Papôa
- Hotel garden
- Praia da Gigi
- Praia da Gigi
- Praia da Gigi
What a wonderful misty - foggy - haary morning :-) - Fog!
I just learned a new word: sea fog is called haar. And yes, there was a lot of fog in the morning. - Sunset in Baleal
- Ilha de Fora
Another sunset in Baleal. Just beautiful. - Claustro de Santa Bárbara
And one of the many cloisters in the Monastery, this one was built in the 16th century. - Cistern
One of the many cisterns in the Monastery. - Refectory
Pulpit in the Refectory, which was build in 1535-1536. Royal coat of arms... and some strange faces. - Janela do Capítulo
The famous Manueline Window of the Chapter House (1510-1513). - Claustro Principal
A very 16th century Renaissance cloister. - Convento de Cristo in Tomar
São Cristóvão - Saint Christopher (1484-1500) - Convento de Cristo in Tomar
The Romanesque round church was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Knights Templar. - Convento de Cristo in Tomar
A lot of renovation was going on, so we entered through some side doors. This was the first thing that greeted us after climbing the stairs. At 40 deg C outside, these rooms were at least a bit cooler. - Capelas Imperfeitas
King Manuel I dedicated this portal to King Edward and the motto "Leauté faray tam yaserei" means "I will always be loyal". - Capelas Imperfeitas
- Capelas Imperfeitas
The portal was originally Gothic and transformed by Mateus Fernandes into Manueline style (1509). - Capelas Imperfeitas
Ah, the famous Unfinished Chapels, commissioned in 1437 by Dom Duarte. - Capelas Imperfeitas
Insanely beautiful detail. - Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory
What a magnificent cathedral! - Claustro Real
- Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory
What an insane attention to detail! - Founder's Chapel
The chapel was built in 1426-1434 by Huguet to become the first royal pantheon in Portugal. - Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory
The monastery was built to celebrate the 1385 victory over the Castilians. The church was built between 1386 and 1517. - Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
Founded in 1153 by Afonso Henriques and built in 1178-1252. The facade was added later, of course. - Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
This is the oldest gothic building in Portugal, and still the largest church in the country. - Cloister of Silence
- Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
Some old inscriptions on the cloister walls. - Chapter House
Statue of S. Gregorivs Magn in the Chapter House. - Gargoyle in the cloister
A rather interesting gargoyle. - Cloister of Silence
This cloister was built under King Dinis I (1261-1325). The Manueline top floor is from early 16th century. - The kitchen
What a kitchen! Built and covered with tiles in the 18th century. A channel carried water from Alcoa river directly through the kitchen (!) to get fresh water and fish. - Virgin Mary and child
I really like the visible hairstyle of Saint Mary. Unusual to see her hair so long and so curly. - Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
Refectory, where the monks had their daily meals. - Fountain Hall
Gothic fountain hall in the cloister. - Hotel garden
Wonderful tiny garden of our hotel (Silver coast). - Ilha do Baleal
Northern tip of Ilha do Baleal and Ilha de Fora. - R. do Pôr do Sol
The street name says it all: sunset street. - Peniche from Baleal
Sunset in Baleal. What a wonderful place. And yes, I saw some dolphins there as well. - Ilha do Baleal
There are some oddly specific signs in Baleal... - Óbidos
Calcada da Misericordia - Óbidos
View of the town from the castle walls. - Óbidos
13th century castle, and one can walk on the walls. - Quinta Pézinhos no Tejo
- Quinta Pézinhos no Tejo
Fado singers at the dinner - Quinta Pézinhos no Tejo
A wonderful setting for a wonderful dinner. - Caparica sunset
Another sunset in Caparica. But the Sintra hills are already cloudy. - Rosa dos Ventos
View from the Monument of the Discoveries. A wind rose and a world map. - Padrão dos Descobrimentos
View from the top of the monument. Ponte 25 de Abril, which is 2277 m long, was built in 1966. - Padrão dos Descobrimentos
Statue built in 1940/1960 to mark the 500-year anniversary of Henry the Navigator's death. - Tiles in Alfama
Finding little treasures while getting lost in Alfama. - History of Lisbon
A complete Lisbon history in one passage. Mural by Nuno Saraiva. Every city should have a mural like this one. - Miradouro de Santa Luzia
An angry fish at the Miradouro de Santa Luzia - Life is good in Lisbon
View from Miradouro de Santa Catarina - Caparica beach
Fishing boats on the Caparica beach. Still a very active fishing port. - Night in Caparica
View from our hotel room. - Corsica
Monte d'Oro (2389 m) and Monte Rotondo in clouds (2622 m). - Corsica
Monte Cinto (2706 m) and Monte Padro (2390 m) on Corsica. - Chiessi
Do we always sit on the same rock? - Rio nell'Elba
Almost perfect reflections in the wash house. - Rio nell'Elba
Public wash house in Rio. And a secret tip: behind the building is probably the best water spring on the whole island. - Cima del Monte
Portoferraio, as seen from Cima del Monte. Capo Bianco can also be seen behind Forte Falcone. - Cima del Monte
View towards Lacona - Cima del Monte
View from the top towards Porto Azzurro and Capoliveri. And Montecristo in the back. - Towards Cima del Monte
The path (the wild boar family now gone) towards Cima del Monte (515 m). - Volterraio
Castello di Volteferraio and Moby ferry in the background. I feel we know all the ferries by now. - Wild boar family!
In broad daylight. Mum with a bunch of squeakers. - Wild boar family!
There is seven of them! Plus the mum, of course. - Portoferraio and Castello del Volterraio
Hike up the Cima del Monte (515 m). A wonderful path with views of Portoferraio and Castello del Volterraio. - Monte Renoso
Wonderful view of the mountains of Corsica. I think this is Monre Renoso (2352 m). - Chiessi
- Monte Capanne
The rocky path up Monte Capanne. - Marciana
- Hermitage of San Cerbone
Saint Cerbone moved here in the 6th century, this church is from the 15th century. There is a lovely pique-nique area behind the church. - Monte Capanne
Early morning start towards Monte Capanne. The bird-cages did not run yet. - Another sunset
Another lovely sunset. Taken from Capo di Stella, the sun sets behind Monte Fonza and Monte Tambone. - Sunset
And the northern tip of Corsica. - Isola di Pianosa
We call it the 'pancake' island. You can guess why. - Chiessi
Chiessi, of course. My favourite spot on the whole island. - Black sand
This is the blackest beach I've seen. And I've seen quite a few, which claim to be black... Not to mention that compass does not work on this beach. I mean... it works ... but the direction it points to is very locally determined. - Laghetto di Terranera
An artificial lake about 20m from the sea. It used to be a mine, hematite, magnesite and pyrite. The lake, however, is too sulphurous to swim. - View from Monte Arco (276 m)
View towards Porto Azzurro. - Sunset
A wonderful sunset on the way back home. - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
Last view of the duomo ... until next time ;-) - Fountain of Neptune
Designed by Baccio Bandinelli and created by Bartolomeo Ammannati between 1560 and 1574. - Palazzo Vecchio
Another one of the many Austrian towns: Graz. - Palazzo Vecchio
This court is full of Austrian towns, painted in 1565 by Giorgio Vasari for the wedding celebration of Francesco I de' Medici to Archduchess Johanna of Austria. This is obviously Vienna, with Stephansdom. - Footpath towards Piazzale Michelangelo
This is one way of repairing collapsing stairs :-) - View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- View from Piazzale Michelangelo
- Footpath towards Piazzale Michelangelo
A wonderful pathway up the Piazzale Michelangelo.