The most spectacular view in town is looking up to the Baroque sanctuary
of Nossa Senhora dos Remedios with its twin towers and flights of blue and
white tiled steps. Some people do make
the climb but the preference is to walk down them. The easiest way to reach the church is to
drive up. The views over the town are
stupendous and, during September, the Jupiter trees were in full bloom with
branches laden with mauve flowers.
Following a look around inside the church and a part of the grounds, we
were let loose in the town and while some people elected sit at an open air
cafe for a refreshing drink I - and my camera - went for a wander.
In the centre of the main square - actually circular - is a remembrance
statue of a soldier. By taking one of
the side roads to look at the shops I discovered a super modern statue
dedicated to the fire-fighters.
A very popular food in Portugal
is something called Bacalao which is salt cod.
There was a freezer full of it in a supermarket and I was amused to see
a notice on the door of a nearby dress shop - “No entry with bacalao”. Why not?
Out of the freezer it stinks to high heaven!
Back to the soldier statue. Stand
with your back to the Sanctuary and look straight down the road. In the centre of the road looking towards the
Bishop’s Palace are some colourful shady gardens through which to stroll. At the end of the gardens across the road to
the Bishop’s Palace look to the right and there is Lamego Cathedral. To the left and on a hill is the Castle,
which isn’t open to the public. It is
the headquarters for the Boy Scouts who, some years ago, worked hard on the
derelict castle and were rewarded for their efforts.
The Bishop’s Palace has a museum in which there is a large collection of
religious paintings (what else do you expect in such a museum?) and some
sculptures.
As well as the shops there are many restaurants in Lamego - it is
sometimes difficult to choose between them.
Me? For lunch I bought some snack
food in the supermarket and sat in the gardens to watch the world go by - an
interesting pastime no matter where you are in the world.
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| The view across Lamego from the Sanctuary |
Although I was on a Saga holiday, Lamego makes for a good centre if you
prefer to hire a car to tour the region.
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