Happy Leap Year! It's Anniversary Eve!

So after spending considerable time last night deciphering Portugal's local bus schedules, we headed out this morning for a day trip to see two of the region's three biggest draws- the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Batalha Monastery and Alcobaca Monastery (the third, Tomar, was just too damn far to spend on a bus in one day). Note that we were temporarily stunned by the yellow orb in the blue sky when we walked to the bus stop. For the first time since we got to Portugal, the wind and rain have stopped, and it's actually SUNNY! I am not miserable being outside!

The bus ride to Alcobaca was a short thirty minutes, and we strolled through the small town to the monastery. There's not a lot in Alcobaca; it's a charming, compact, cute town filled with light creamy stone buildings, cobblestones, and cheery locals. It wasn't hard to find the monastery- it absolutely dominates the town. "Hulking" would not be an incorrect assessment. But for all its Gothic appearance, we stepped inside the monastery's church to a bright white, soaring marble interior.

When the monastery was built in the Middle Ages, it was for the monks' use only. However, as their legendary decadence ceased to be a secret (tales of "waddling fat monks with Casanova eyes" speak volumes as to what was really going on in there), the king abolished the order in the 18th century, allowing the public to use the monastery's church. And it's gorgeous- though I was predominantly interested in seeing a pair of tombs inside the monastery, rather than the monastery itself. I do love me a grisly murder story, and the monastery has a good one. Apparently the crown prince of Portugal fell in love with his queen's lady-in-waiting, and even fathered children with her. The prince's father, the king, was disturbed by all this, and his advisers convinced him to assassinate the lady-in-waiting. However, the king died soon after her assassination, and the prince ascended the throne. His first action as king was to disinter her body, prop her up on the throne, and force all the assassins to kiss her hand...and then he killed them all. And if that wasn't enough, he built an extravagant tomb for her in this church, but instead of the tomb resting on marble lions (as royal tombs do), he had the lions carved as warped, demonic animals- and each one had a replica of the assassins' faces. Awesome.

We had planned a few hours to see the church and the town, but after an hour we had apparently wrung all the fun from Alcobaca. So we did what apparently the majority of Alcobaca's old people do: We claimed an outdoor table on the church's plaza and enjoyed coffee and pastel de natas in the sunshine until the bus to Batalha arrived.

Batalha was another thirty minute bus ride, and we were dropped on the edge of the small town, quite similar to Alcobaca. As there isn't much to see in Batalha either, the monastery was quite easy to spot from the bus stop. However, unlike the towering Gothic structure of Alcobaca, Batalha was a a stunning white marble Manueline church that absolutely glistened in the sunshine. And when we entered the church, it was even more beautiful- the stained-glass windows created stunning rainbow patterns on the floor-to-ceiling white marble. It was an awe-inspiring and amazingly lovely space.

Unlike Alcobaca, we chose to pay the admission fee to see the cloisters of the Batalha Monastery (the churches are always free). Our guidebook, which is rarely given to gushing extremes, called the cloisters "breathtaking." We were the only visitors, and walking into the sun-drenched cloisters, with their intricately carved columns and fountains amongst the palm trees, was really quite beautiful. But it was similar, and even less impressive, than the Jeronimus Monastery back in Lisbon; however, when we entered the Unfinished Cloisters, I literally gasped and said "wow." I'm not sure how to describe this incredible space and do it justice, as even the photos we took don't begin to convey its awesome beauty. These cloisters were begun in the 15th century, but were never finished. As a result, what remains today is a perfectly finished circular stone floor, with six small alcoves and towers sprouting from the circle's hub. But instead of the towers having ceilings, they open to the sky. The towers' Manueline carvings and stained glass windows are fully exposed to the sun, and it's like being in a beautiful cathedral, but somehow outdoors. I've never seen anything like it anywhere in the world.

So with our amazing day trip complete, we caught the 4pm bus back to Nazare. We strolled along the beachfront- our little hotel is right smack on the beach- watched the sun set, and enjoyed our last evening in Nazare. We found another amazing seafood restaurant, where tonight Matt feasted on a massive copper pot of cataplana, and I had grilled squid. I am going to miss the food of this region, no doubt.

Tomorrow is our twentieth wedding anniversary. It's pretty monumental. We're heading north to Coimbra to celebrate.