The bus isn’t until the afternoon and checkout not until midday. And breakfast is included - and what a breakfast!!
There is a lavendaria not far away; we manage to decipher the Portuguese instructions to do a much-needed wash (I sit in a pair of pj’s so I can wash the only pair of 3/4 pants I have). It is quite pleasant sitting in the sun. A great opportunity to chill out and catch up on emails, booking.com reviews, etc.
With a bag of clean clothes once more (yay!) we wandered up towards the castle to the same little cafe we went to when we arrived into town yesterday - good coffee! Walked past shops with nice clothes; I am saving us a fortune as I can’t buy anything because I can’t afford to carry any more weight in my bag …
After checking out (and leaving our bags till later) we ambled up towards the castle once more to find the Convento de Santa Clara (now the Library): Renaissance and Baroque styles going back to 1376 but not open: we could see the cloister through the gate.
From here we found some pretty back streets and made our way once more to yesterday’s lunch spot: the Praça da Republica and had bread rolls with ham and cheese - again. Yummy. Sat on the park benches in the shade but also soaking up the sun if we desired. Very quiet for a Saturday. Very relaxing.
Portalegre is very nice, easy to get around (even if you have to climb UP - but the hill to the castelo is not too bad).
The walk back down to the hotel winds this way and that via a maze of lanes and streets; baroque churches and cervejas embedded amongst the buildings, the presence of the ‘pubs’ given away by the blokes standing outside, fingers curled around a cigarette and a bottle of beer - this must be where everyone spends their Saturday afternoon (well, the men anyway); although the barber has been doing a good trade since we walked past earlier this morning, and is still busy.
People gravitate to the parks too, some with their kids, to sit in the shade of the huge plane trees.
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