After Coimbra, we spent a few more days in the area and went to the Natural Park da Serra da Estrela which includes the highest mountains in Portugal. We stopped at the highest peak where there is a weather station and what looks like army radar installations. The weather was good, but cold and very windy – you can still see that there is a lot of snow left on the ground and this was at the end of May.
We did some walking in the park too but no great pictures. We stopped for lunch in Manteigas, right at the center of the Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela where we saw an old car rally but no pictures of that either. I was not in the right mood for photos that day!
We then had to head towards Lisbon, but first we made a stop on the way in an old Roman town called Conimbriga which has some of the best preserved Roman ruins in the Iberian Peninsula. We were very pleasantly surprised.
There is a house with exquisite floor mosaics (above) and an incredible atrium with really nice fountains (below)
We discovered that by putting a 1 euro coin in a slot, we could get the fountains to actually work. You can see the water spays (white arcs) against the red bricks, if you look carefully. The sound was actually better than the sight! I wonder if they still use the original plumbing?
Continue reading “Portugal – Part 2”
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