The town of Obidos was a wedding present to Isabel of Aragón from King Denis in 1282. It was an important port and by the time they constructed the castle, the surrounding walls and ramparts, several outstanding churches, lots of white washed cottages with red tile roofs, and when they planted flowers all over the place, it was just charming. This is the kind of place Disney wants to be and surely they should send someone over asap.

Mike and I approached the city on foot. There are no cars allowed, a good rule since the streets are so skinny they provide 2 legged chairs at the cafés.

I think surely Disney has taken over when I see a handsome Portuguese fellow playing the accordion in the stunning south gate entrance. It’s decorated with traditional 18th century blue tile, it can’t get more authentic.

It was a magical day. Mike bought a bird whistle from a little lady on the Rua Direta, which is the main shopping street.

I buy a princess blouse that swishes about as I stroll up the street, quite a scene; Mike with his whistle and me in my princess blouse. We start a slow crawl thru town, stopping at lots of shops and chatting with lots of people. We try the local sour cherry liquor served in tiny little chocolate cups. We have snacks in a torture chamber

and then we hike the rampant and walls of the castle. The hike can be 6K long but believe me it looked easy but was not. The walls are very high and their are no rails.The stones are slick from thousands of feet over thousands of years. Mike says “can you imagine running up here with your bow and arrows, with those crazy outfits on, trying to shoot somebody?” We make our way poking our heads thru the crenulations here and there. When we pass folks going the opposite way, everyone backs against the wall and you pass hand to hand thru the whole family to get to the other side. Talk about not for the faint of heart. Our day in Obidos… our own kind of magic.