Hi,
Great news! We finally got out to see a castle instead of a vet this week. Additionally, there was a Medieval Faire at the castle, so bonus! I’m a little out of the habit of talking about fun things, but I will try to do this adventure justice (because it was very fun).
On Tuesday the 22nd, we headed south to the town of Óbidos with high hopes. Óbidos is a town that has sprawled outside of the walled town that has been here since the Romans were visiting Portugal. Inside the walled town area is the castle and shops and houses and churches and other things you expect to see in a walled city. I’ll get to all of those in a moment. But first, I want to say that we have had our eyes on Óbidos for a while because it is such a lovely castle and it’s a nice thought to see a village inside a wall existing alongside a castle. Óbidos is about 2 hours from us (Google Maps says 1¼ hours, but we always take extra time) so we have had to wait for the right time to make the trip. But, once we heard that a Medieval Faire was going to be there for two weeks, we decided this was the right time!
We parked at a parking lot at the foot of the road leading to the castle and old town area (39.357603, -9.158158). Merchant stalls lined the road (much like they do at the Christmas Faires) and these included product as well as food and drinks. I believe these stalls were just for the Medieval Faire that was going on inside the castle. If you come to Óbidos Castle when the Medieval Faire is not there, the stalls lining the entrance road might not be there. Nor will the owls. Very friendly Medieval Faire workers with owls were there posing for photos and selfies, but since we have a very curious husky, we had to keep our distance from the birds and their keepers!
It was a short walk up to ‘Porta da Vila’ (9R5R+RV Óbidos), the entrance to the walled city. Once through the opening, we were inside the old town. The narrow cobble-stone streets lined with traditional white-washed houses sporting tiled roofs are a sight to see. The main street up to the castle is filled with restaurants and souvenir shops with living quarters above. The little side-streets are filled with flowers and seem like they are the perfect place to live. I might agree, as long as fiber internet is available.
Up the long and winding road (not really, it was mostly straight) we came to an inner wall that surrounds the castle. We turned to the left and entered the castle grounds at Porta Talhada (9R7R+5V Óbidos). This took us to a path that circled the inner grounds and took us to a back gate that opened into the inner, inner grounds of the castle. But before reaching there, we investigated two caves, posed with a plague doctor mannequin, looked at the jousting grounds, and listened to three creepy minstrels (it’s the eyes – they all have dead eyes).
Inside the inner, inner grounds was where the Medieval Faire workers were out in force. The walk through the old town of Óbidos had been as normal, and the inner wall let us into a row of market stalls, undead minstrels, and teased us with the promise of jousting to come, but the inner, inner grounds were totally Medieval. More market stalls, plenty of roasting pigs, stages for shows, and a parade of royals. It was captivating.
When we left, we exited the inner, inner grounds through a different gate (39.363146, -9.157242). Given the choice of going back down the main road that we entered by, Rua Direita, we took a side road to see what the town looks like away from the touristy area. It was as expected. Just as beautiful as the main road, with less people on it.
The Medieval Faire did not disappoint, and I will wager a bet to say that Óbidos at any time of year (with or without a Faire) would please any castle enthusiasts. I know I would go back if given the opportunity. We all had a great time. Dogs are welcome in the grounds (and Opal & Onyx were not the only dogs there).
As we were in Óbidos for three hours and everything was so beautiful, even after editing the video of our trip is very, very long. Thus, we have split it into two: Video 1 and Video 2. Thank you for your time!
Nola