On 07/03/2020, we dropped Paddy off at daycare and drove back Cascais until Mafra and then until Incarnation to have lunch at a nice restaurant, Blue Dolphin. The total travel time was approximately 3 hours round trip and despite being in the middle of a pandemic, it was enough to relax a bit. 🙂
Visiting Mafra Palace
As soon as we entered the city of Mafra, we saw the Palace and were impressed by its size and beauty. Just look at it from the side:
We parked our car in the parking lot right next to it (we paid with coins in the machine) and as we were crossing the street, a fire engine passed by with an automatic message about protection during the pandemic. We were already wearing masks and ready to enter the palace, but we still stopped to listen. It dawned on us that we were not traveling on the CNTP…it was all crazy…
When we entered the ticket office, a man wearing a mask was controlling the flow of people and asked us to wait. We paid 6 euros for the two of us by card (they don't accept cash) and when I asked for a map of the tour, the attendant said it was out of date. Luckily, we were able to walk around without one.
We went up the stairs and followed the entire route indicated in the rooms. There are indeed signs with explanatory texts, but the order of them didn't make any sense. In one room there is text about the rooms that we had already seen and this left us a little lost and frustrated.
The history of the Palace
THE Mafra Palace, consisting of a Royal Palace, a Basilica and a Convent, was built by D. João V (1707-1750) to be the holiday residence of the royal family and is currently considered the most important baroque monument in Portugal. It is beautifully crafted in local limestone, occupies 38,000 m2, with 1,200 rooms, 4,700 doors and windows and 156 staircases, a magnificence only made possible by the influx of gold from Brazil.
The king commissioned sculptures and paintings from Italian and Portuguese masters and, in Flanders, two carillons with 92 bells – the largest of their time. It also includes a set of six historic organs in the Basilica, an important 18th century library with around 38,000 volumes (!!!!), and a Conventual Nucleus with a hospital from the period.
We found the 2-hour tour very interesting, especially the library and the basilica, both huge and beautiful, and the wonderful ceilings of the rooms of the Royal Palace. How I love the Baroque style… <3
Oh, the hunting room is also very interesting. Some photos from the visit:
Siege Garden
We then stopped at a snack bar to buy snacks/fridge magnet and then we went for a walk in the Siege Garden, which is next to the palace and has free entry. It has 8 hectares of area, with nooks, shade, waterfalls and even a peculiar vegetable garden: the Horta dos Frades, where you can see the plants used in medicinal products (pharmacy), when it was built, ordered by D. João V. There is also a space called Aromatic Garden, which has around 39 species of plants used for medicinal and condiment purposes. The place is a delight, just look:
Having lunch with a sea view
We took the car and headed towards Ericeira, a city on the coast, as we wanted to have lunch overlooking the sea, and on the way we found a restaurant on TripAdvisor that was just what we wanted, Blue Dolphin, which is not in Ericeira itself, but is super close. I called to make a reservation and within a few minutes we were seated with this wonderful view of the Encarnation Beach, being very well attended by a lovely waitress. As a starter, we ordered bread, hummus and cuttlefish – common mollusks in Portugal that taste similar to squid – and then shrimp moqueca for me and octopus for Celo. Everything was delicious! This place is a real find, you can write it down.
We left there right on time to pick up the little one from daycare. It was just a short trip, but it gave us a huge boost of energy, you know? Oh, how I missed going out!!!
