Sunday, May 3rd. Another rainy day for us. It's ok, we have our 2 Euro umbrellas. Rémi paid 5 Euros for his as he didn't want it to break on the first day. We walked the few minutes to find a restaurant and something to eat. Rémi and I really miss our Canadian breakfasts. No cereals or muesli, no fruits, mostly pastries.. I can't believe that everyone one around here is not obese and diabetic. We hit the road around 9:15 destined for Conimbriga. This town has the largest remains of Roman ruins around Portugal. It only opened at 10 so we had to wait about 20 minutes. Just before going in to pay Rémi read the fine print that said that entry is free on the first Sunday of the month. Well guess what day it is? Saved 4,50 Euros each. It would have been well worth the money. Amazing how huge it was. I took a ton of pictures so here are a few.

Lots of mosaic flooring still holding up.

Ron admiring the formations.

Rémi walking beside a major flooring.

The remains of someone's home.

Archway leading to the forum.

We walked around for over an hour. Very cool. 

We were then headed to Tomarshalto when we came upon a village named Penela. We could see the top of a castle so we decided to stop. Ron had fun driving up to the top of the town in narrow cobblestoned streets.

Penela castle.

Think they have fun with this catapult.

Ron and Rémi checking out the view.

We stayed about 15 minutes. No one else showed up. The whole castle to ourselves. 

We continued on to Tomar. We found a parking place quite easily. It was around 1:30 so we decided to have lunch before visiting the castle. 

We spotted our place fairly quickly. It was very busy and we waited about 20-25 to get seated, but well worth it. We had Sangria with lunch as we like to do as the Portuguese and most of them were indulging. 

Love the Sangrias even more than in Spain. 

Ron and I shared a seafood, rice dish. 

Rémi had spiritual cod (cod pieces in Bechamel sauce and other spices, herbs, etc) he loved it. 

As we left the restaurant it started pouring. We had to pull over for cover for about five minutes. We then walked up to the castle. We could've driven like everyone else that day, but old habits die hard. 

We went in to pay for tickets to visit the castle, but it's May first, so FREE!  What a great day to be a tourist in Portugal. 

The castle was in amazing shape. We were very impressed considering most of the others that we had seen. 

The castle where Prince Henry (Infante D Henrique) lived as well as other kings, etc. 

Some of the shapes in the gardens. 

Inside the dining hall. (This would be great seating for the Mexican party!)

I think that Ron might have found another poker for the fire. 

Ron hates walking in the rain...

It was about 4:30 when we finished our visit so we headed back. We ended up on the toll highway. Man, it adds up quickly. Over 10 Euros for about 60kms.

It was a frustrating entry into Coimbra,  where we are staying as it was not familiar at all. After going over the same bridge back and forth, Ron tried something new and it worked. We parked the car and later went back out to do a bit of shopping and to grab a light supper. Back at the hotel around 7:30, so finally time to finish a few days of the blog. 

Tomorrow we are headed to Lisbon. We will take the train. We rented an apartment in the city so it will be nice to buy some food and eat in at least for breakfast. Lots to see and do in rhis , the capital of Portugal.