I got up early for flight to mainland Portugal. I missed the complimentary breakfast because it did not open till 6am. Other people were going to airport as well and the staff were handing them breakfast bags to go. Apparently I had to order these. I want a breakfast bag!
I got to the tiny airport for my flight on Ryanair. I did not know this, but they are the Spirit Airlines of Europe. I got up to the counter and showed my passport. She asked for my ticket. I told her, that’s why I came to you. She said you have to print your ticket from home or we charge you $50. What?! So I had to go to another line and pay the money then get back in line with my receipt and she printed out my paper ticket. What a joke. I don’t care if airlines charge you for water or bags that much, but charging $50 to print my ticket, WTF. So that pissed me off for the entirety of the flight and I made sure to be as disgruntled as possible to everyone from Ryanair I met.
I picked up the rental car and was off to Tomar. It is always a little nerve wrecking jumping into a car in a foreign country, pulling out of Hertz, and suddenly you are doing 70 on the freeway and not really a clue what is going on.
Before reaching Tomar I stopped in the hill-town of Obidos, with its cobblestone streets and whitewashed houses. I walked around for an hour, grabbed some lunch as was off.
Someone asked me for a ride to the next town, or I assume that is what they wanted, but I just looked and said, “sorry English” and smiled. He was trying to figure out how to explain that request without words but eventually gave up and walked away.
I was still feeling rough when I pulled into Tomar so I could not wait to sleep. I pulled into the Conde de Ferreira Palace and was impressed with the layout
The gentleman that ran the place was the third generation. His grandfather exported olive oil to the United States. This property was the Olive farm and now the grandson was working to turn it into a bed and breakfast. It was an amazing experience. After a nap I walked around a bit in the town. All of these small towns have a castle overlooking them from a hilltop and this one was no exception.
Here is a view from my bedroom window
Until Tomorrow
Darren
