Our last blog from Europe (sob!). A most enjoyable penultimate day, spent on a bus tour - first to Mafra village, 40km out of Lisbon. The enormous palace, built in the 18th century by King John V, dominates the village. It occupies 38,000 square metres (3.8 hectares) of building space and at the time was the largest building in Europe. The first stone was turned in 1717 and the beautiful Basilica, in the centre of the palace, was consecrated in 1731. The palace also includes a Franciscan monastery and a hospital to service the monks. We viewed many of the rooms including the kitchen, distillery, games room, hunting room and the sparse monks´quarters. The library (see photo) is spectacular both in decoration and capacity for old volumes - a place Caitlin would kill for (except that every night several small bats are released to eat any insects that might damage the books...... very creepy, but apparently effective). The hospital contained just one large ward with twenty separate private ´rooms´, each partitioned by curtains (see photo). Next stop was an old village inside fortified walls. Obidos is quaint and pretty and we wandered the narrow streets, admiring the local handicrafts in the many shops. We were treated to their local liqueur, ´Ginjinha´, 19% proof and made from sour cherries. It was delicious, especially as it was served to us in an edible chocolate cup. During this outing we also learned that, just a short time ago, Portugal was home to the largest photo-voltaic centre in the world. We arrived back in Lisbon in time for dinner, then boarded the overnight train back to Madrid. Next - Abu Dhabi.
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