Wednesday 22 September 2010

The weekend at "Monte dos Pensamentos", Estremoz - Alentejo (18th-19th September 2010)



The main entrance

Mia and I had been wanting to have a weekend out of the stressful daily routine of Lisbon, and although she  had offered me a "Life is beautiful" voucher a few months ago and we had already looked through the potential "Rural" guest houses and hotels we could sellect from, we hadn't yet had the opportunity to actually do it.

Our choice fell on "Monte dos Pensamentos" a rural house which  had once belonged to a Portuguese writer and following his demise was turned into a guest house. The whole setting was superb, in as much as it was close to the city, though surrounded by pasture land and vineyards. The interior was extraordinarily well decorated in a rustic like style. Regarding the commodities, there was nothing we would have further needed.


The bedroom and the breakfast room





The surrounding property and the swimming pool

We still had time to wander around the city, the local handicraft fair, the square with its typical Cafés  ...

and  finally climb up the medieval castle King Dom Diniz built for his wife Queen Isabel, the Saint.

 
On the way to the castle (Left). At the castle walls (Right)

The Castle entrance gate (Left) Statue in honour of Queen Isabel, the Saint (Right) and the Chapel (underneath)  

 
The vast surrounding plains were as impressive as the atmosphere itself cradling in languour ...
   

I cherished every  single moment I spent with my daughter around this area and like old time soldiers who had  once "conquered" Alentejo, we  returned to the bustling Lisboa, whose streets are in no way comparable to the old alleys in downtown Estremoz ...







No comments:

Post a Comment