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Our second major stop was Tomar. This medieval town was known as the headquarters for the 12th century Knights Templar and later the Order of Christ. In 1420, Prince Henry the Navigator became the Order of Christ�s first administrator general. This allowed him control over the Order�s revenues which, in turn, helped support financially his voyages of exploration. While in Tomar, we visited the 12th century Castle of the Templars and the Convent of Christ, both very interesting sites.

From Tomar to Lisbon, we drove through Fatima, Batalha, Alcobaca, Obidos, Mafra, and Sintra, all historic cultural sites. Only the hours in the day limited us as to what we could visit. In the morning we chose to visit the 13th century Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria in Alcobaca where the abbey church represented the best Gothic building in Portugal. At the front of the church rested the tombs of King Pedro I and Ines, Portugal�s most tragic romantic couple. At lunchtime, we stopped at Obidos, the �wedding village�, as this little town had been traditionally given to the Portuguese queens by their husbands since the 13th century. This medieval walled village was now preserved entirely as a national monument, and as such, it was �picture perfect�. Walking down its narrow lanes was like being on a movie set. In the afternoon we had time only to visit the National Palace in Mafra with its beautiful palace, monastery, and basilica before heading into Lisbon to turn in our rental car.

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