Barcelos – Not just full of cocks

From here we walked down the main commercial street, full of boutique shops and cafes, hit a right at the pretty Historical Café  and came to the Igreja Matriz da Paroquia de Santa Maria Maior, a fairly inconspicuous building – until you go inside. When we entered, the azulejos inside, depicting historical and religious scenes, had been hit by the late afternoon sunbeams streaming through the beautiful stained glass windows and the already incredibly pretty interior was transformed into something more magical. It really is one of the more spectacular interiors of a church I have seen in Portugal, with its huge arches, wood-beamed ceiling, and gold gilded altars. After a moment of silent prayer, we left for the next-door ruins of the Paco dos Condes de Barcelos, which sits on a small hill overlooking the river. This was once a palace, built in the beginning of the 15th Century, becoming an archeological museum in the 1920s….it seems full of mystery, and the tombs dotted in and around the former palace lend an eerie air to the place, and seemed to chill the warm sunshine. We spent some time here admiring the grounds and the views, before we headed for some much needed refreshment – at the pretty Art Café where we sat outside and relaxed, listening to a student band at practice in one of the old buildings round the corner. They were pretty tight.