Hi,
This week’s highlight is Paço de Giela (RHXR+VM Giela, Portugal). We all had a blast exploring this manor house. I call it a manor house because one of the posters on site called it ‘manor house’. Google translates ‘Paço’ as ‘Palace’, but I will trust the poster in this case. It doesn’t really matter, as long as I don’t call it a ‘castle’. It looks a lot like a castle to me, but what do I know?
So, we visited Paço de Giela on a beautiful day. The sky was blue, and the breeze was cool. The dogs were allowed to walk around inside and outside the ruins, so we took our time checking out each room. The manor house has a three-story tower on one end, with a two-story attachment on the north side. The tower has all three floors intact, but the attachment only has portions of the second floor intact, with no roof over it. This site, however, is in better shape than the other ruins we have investigated recently. Steps have been taken to shore up the walls and ensure visitors can get around without any danger.
Despite the work that has been done on Paço de Giela, the charge to enter the manor house is minimal (1 Euro) and parking is free. Plus, in addition to getting you entry, your €1 also gets you a brochure that speaks about the history of the manor house. A great deal, in my opinion.
Of course, I cannot speak highly enough about the ladies in the reception office. They were both very friendly and let me know that the self-exploring sites inside the manor house had an English-language option, so I would be able to read them with ease. All I had to do was touch the ‘EN’ button on the screens. Easy-peasy.
So, like I said, we had a great time walking around inside, taking pictures and a video of Chris’ exploits on the battlements, along with plenty of shots of Opal and Onyx as they sniffed every stone in the walls and on the stairs. Speaking of which, the stairs inside the manor house were both stone and wood (or some facsimile). The stone ones, of course, were built hundreds of years ago and didn’t always come with a handrail. So, I kept to the newer sets of stairs, and was still able to see most of the rooms (better safe than sorry!) The tower stairs were all new with handrails, so I could get to each level without difficulty. I really, really enjoyed looking around Paço de Giela, and would go again in the future to see it all over again. It was very fun, and I will never turn down frequenting a castle/manorhouse/palace that welcomes the dogs inside.
Another venue we visit regularly is a dog park in Parque Urbano Sara Moreira (9G3Q+G6 Burgães, Portugal). I’m mentioning this dog park again because I don’t think I talked about it much the last time I blogged about it (in the blog ‘A Key to the Castle’ on April 13th). Santo Tirso is conveniently located enroute to any place northeast of Porto. And even if it isn’t directly on the way, we will swing by anyway because it is a great place, and the dogs love it. The dog park is inside a city park with walking paths, a football field, picnic tables, a scenic river, a café that sells drinks and sandwiches, and an amphitheater. With all that to offer, the locals visit often so there is a good chance that Opal will have other dogs to play with in the dog park. Plus, the dog park is long and partially shaded, so Onyx can enjoy chasing balls. All in all, this is one of our favorite dog parks.
In other news, my physical therapy seems to be going well. I am hoping that this Tuesday will be my last day. I have a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday the 30th, and if all goes well, he will be pleased with my progress and release me from future sessions. Wish me luck!
Nola