Today is a standard tourist's day: Sightseeing and shopping. Donna wants to show me the Church and Tower at the center of the historic district, Igrejas and Torre dos Clerigos. As we walk along, we see lots of old bombed-out street fronts that are side-by-side, and sometimes in the same building as active shops: sushi, hamburgers, whatever you like.
Here is a wonderful shop selling all kinds of products made in Portugal, A Vida Portuguesa. The old store furnishings and painted graphics on the glass are wonderful.
Down the street, we reach the square with the Church; the other buildings there as also of a period and have a different flavor compared to the vernacular blocks.
Inside, the Church is just beautiful, with contrasting stones making the elliptical dome. This is the work of Nicolau Nasoni, a transplant from Tuscany; the heritage being family evident.
Then we decide to climb the Tower; it's a really tight squeeze to the first level, then an even tighter squeeze to get to the tippy-top. It's tough going for a few folks, and we have to take it slow; there are only a few places where one can stand aside and let other by - those going up and down sharing the same space. Great views await, of course.
We find our way back down and figure out how to get to the upper level of the Church, so we can get a closer look at the dome and all the fiddly, gold things.
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