Hi and welcome back!
When we managed to have our belongings moved over to Portugal, we used Algarve Removals. We were both very pleased with their service and would recommend them highly. It was unfortunate that one item of all the things we brought over was damaged. That item was a prized family heirloom in the form of a Georgian occational table. We used to bring it down from the loft every Christmas and place a decoration and sweeties on it. When we removed the packing, it was found that one of the legs were snapped off.
We learned that there was a small antique shop in Alcobaça (about 15-20 minutes from us) who may be able to repair it.
Wayne had been to Leiria the previous day to have all his tests run to inform the consultant about the degree of his vertigo, and was feeling fine. We had spent a morning clearing brambles and were both feeling the aches and pains from that effort, so decided that this particular morning, we would pop over to Alcobaça and see if we could track down the said shop, and explore the city a bit more. We had both been to Alcobaça before, but never really explored it fully.
So, the weather being the usual glorious sunshine that we are quickly becoming acclimatized to, we set off to see where the day would take us…
First things first though, it was find a cafe for a coffee. That inevitably led us to the main square buy the monastery. The monastery is the main attraction in Alcobaça and pulls most of the tourists in. The fact that a bus loaded with American tourists arriving just as we were making our way from the municipal indoor market to the square bears this out.
The indoor market was a revelation too! the quality of fruit and vegetables were stunning. It’s a very pleasant stroll from where we parked near the market, just opposite the municipal camarà and the gardens of the palace of justice.
We also took a small detour to the ‘jardim do amor’ (the garden of love). There is both fact and legend about forbidden and lost love in Alcobaça. Pedro I of Portugal and his murdered mistriss and the legend of Alco and Baça, both told in plaques around the garden.
Also, within the garden is a small museum that tells the story of the hydro electric power station that supplied electricity to the city once. Quite unexpected, but very interesting.
After a nice coffee and a bit more exploring, Annette eventually tracked down the shop and found that the owner did not actually do any repairs, but gave us the phone number and address of a man that may be able to. By that time, it was time for lunch, and as most of the Americans were now exploring the monastery, we sat in the square to enjoy a very enjoyable meal outside in the sunshine. It really is a great place to enjoy a meal and drink, and the prices are not too bad considering this is on the tourist trail. Perhaps it was because its the end of the tourist season, not too sure?
We then strolled back to the car and punched the address the antique shop owner gave us into Molly’s sat nav. It was literally five minutes drive to the next village of Vestiaria.
This was an interesting meeting, as the proprietor spoke no english and we only spoke a little portuguese. However we prevailed and eventually, to confirm, he phoned a young girl who spoke english and she explained that we should drop it off there the following week and he would send it to an antique repair specialist. RESULT!
Stay tuned to see if we manage to get it repaired. It would be shame to lose the table, its been in the family for a while!
Our Portuguese Life 