Child Bride and Perky Duke

Around 800 years ago a Spanish princess, Isabella of Aragon, married a much older King Dinis of Spain just near where we were parked at Trancoso in the mountains of Portugal. She was later canonised for putting up with her husband’s affairs, looking after the children he had with his many mistresses, and turning bread into flowers. I’m sure there was more to it than that but you get the gist. There is a lovely pair of statues of them both outside the walls of the fortified city - apparently the woman is smaller than the man as she was only a child when they married. The town had a very chilled vibe, mainly because it was Sunday and everything was shut but we managed to catch another castelo (yes, with washing hanging on the walls) and a small Jewish centre. 

More washing on the castle walls

Rather like chess pieces, we thought

Our night in the car park was uneventful but for Graham waking up to a strange light show outside. Was it someone checking out the van in an attempt to break in, or was it the spirit of Isabella paying us a visit? It turned out to be the full moon making an appearance through a slit in our skylight, much to the fluffy one’s relief. (In case you’re wondering, I have no idea why this paragraph is sitting in this position on the page)

The drive today took us through the high Douro River regions with vast stretches of vineyards, a few goats, and yet more olive groves along the route. At one point we were driving through clouds and could barely see the road ahead but Graham’s masterful driving got us through unscathed and we arrived in Bragança just in time for a yummy lunch at a restaurant we’d visited many years ago just inside the castle walls.

Unfortunate angle of Duke Fernando

Our last Portuguese castelo

Tasca Do Zé Tuga is a traditional (but slightly overpriced due to its location) Portuguese restaurant with an old fashioned interior, very nice jazz music, and the best chocolate ice cream we’ve ever tasted. Our waiter was very friendly even after Hugo tried to bite him for giving him a pat on the head. We later strolled around town and learned that all the museums were closed (of course) but we hope to see the Mask Museum in the morning before we head to Spain.

Perfection 

Loving this cute interior