Once again another indoors set of photos, shot at the Convent of São Francisco. This convent is at Varzea Grande in Tomar and I went there with the purpose of seeing the Matchstick Museum Aquiles de Mota Lima, which contains possibly the biggest collection of match sticks and boxes in the world. Unfortunately it was closed at the time and for one reason or another I didn’t come back.
Corridor inside the Convent of São Francisco in the City of Tomar. Once again, traditional Portuguese artistic hand painted tiles (azulejos artísticos) on the walls stand out
Courtyard of the Convent of São Francisco in Tomar. That door between the two trees leads outside to an area of the city called Varzea Grande and to Avenida General Bernardo Faria
General view of the courtyard of Convento de São Francisco in Tomar, Portugal
This is another set of photos indoors of the the Judicial Tribunal of Tomar (Tribunal Judicial de Tomar), located at Varzea Grande (Big Plaza) whose official name is Largo 5 de Outubro. Nearby is the railway station of Tomar, the Church of São Francisco, the former Military Headquarters of Tomar and the statue of the Unknown Soldier. In short this is an important area, especially in the past, and that’s probably the reason the Tribunal of Tomar was built in this location.
This is the main entrance to the Judicial Tribunal of Tomar. This is an relatively old building but not nearly as old as the historical monuments of the city
The floor of the Judicial Tribunal of Tomar is covered by a traditional and artistic Portuguese cobblestone pavement
To the left of the main entrance to the Judicial Tribunal of Tomar is Varzea Grande, which is also known as Largo 5 de Outubro
I think this is a house from the 19th century with furniture from the early 20th century. Anyway this is a typical old house in the City of Tomar, something that you don’t often see in these modern times. This house is at Rua Alexandre Herculano and belongs to a family where the men have been traditionally in the Portuguese army. I knew the old lady who used to live here. She was a cultured and classy lady and if she was alive she’d be almost 100 years old. At the moment this house is occupied by one of my sisters in law.
Old house with old furniture at Rua Alexandre Herculano in the City of Tomar. My mother who is 87 years old also has one chair similar to the one on the left corner of this room, next to the lamp
This is my wife and son walking up an old staircase in the house, leading to the attic, which is a treasure hunting place in its own right. I believe the furniture belongs to the beginning of the 20th century
Though we were in 2010, when I was in this room, I felt I had traveled at least 100 years to the past. The owner of this house would be almost 100 years old if she was still alive
Despite the fact that I was born in Tomar, in 2010 I was a tourist myself from Australia. So I decided to visit the Tourist Centre located at the start of Rua Serpa Pinto (Corredoura), if you are coming from the Old Bridge. I picked up a few leaflets about the attractions of Tomar, such as the Convent of Christ, the Castle and other areas, and then surfed the internet. At the time I was particularly interested in timetables of trains. I was thinking of going to Algarve in the south of Portugal, but I ended up not going.
This is the main room of the Tourist Centre ar Rua Serpa Pinto in Tomar. Here you can learn a lot about Tomar, surf the net, pick up leaflets and buy some books about the town
Not that this photo is anything special, but in my way out of the Tourist Centre of Tomar, I just shot the end of this marble staircase
Leaving the Tourist Centre of the City of Tomar. On the other side of the glass door is Corredoura which is still considered the main street of Tomar
This topic is dedicated to parts of Tomar indoors, but in this case these photos were shot inside the Convent of São Francisco, thought they are not exactly indoors. This is possibly the courtyard where Franciscan monks of the past used to spend some time. It is here that the biggest Match Museum in the world is located. I intended to take photos of the Matchstick Museum (Museu dos Fósforos) founded by Aquiles de Mota Lima, but at the time it was closed. So I took a few pictures of the courtyard instead.
This is the courtyard of the Convent of São Francisco in Tomar, where Franciscan monks possibly used to gather in the past. This convent was founded in 1624
Another shot of the courtyard of the Convent of São Francisco in Tomar. The door in front of me loeads to the Avenue General Bernardino Faria at an area called Varzea Grande
Still inside the Convent of São Francisco in Tomar which used to belong to an order of monks originally located in a village called Santa Cita, not far from Tomar
Almost everyday, during my time spent in Tomar in 2010, I used to walk past the Sports Pavilion of the Town Council of Tomar, located near the soccer field and the camping park at Mouchão Park. I remember that the old pavilion was built in a way that invited people to go inside and watch sporting activities going on there. To be honest thought the entrance of this new building is more imposing, I didn’t feel that same sense of welcome. So I just took photos of the stairs and entrance hall which by the way was quite nice and modern. You also have nice views to Mouchão Park as you can see in the photos below.
My wife walking up the stairs of the Sports Pavilion of Tomar. There is a modern feeling in this new pavilion which provides a space for sporting activities and social events in Tomar
Inside the main hall of the Sports Pavilion of the Town Council of Tomar, you have nice views to Mouchão Park. On the left is the soccer field and in the distance is the Camping Park of Tomar
From the hall of this sports pavillion in Tomar you can see the grass of the soccer field located at Mouchão Park.
While walking around in the City of Tomar, Portugal, I came upon the opportunity to take photos of a few places indoors. One of them was the Judicial Tribunal of Tomar, which in Portuguese is called “Tribunal Judicial de Tomar”. The building of the this Judicial Tribunal is located at Varzea Grande. If you go to the railway station of Tomar to catch a train to Entroncamento or Lisbon, you can’t miss it. I’m not sure when this building was erected, but I remember that it was in its prime when I was about six or seven years old, as at the time I attended an old primary school at Varzea Grande, and after school, I used to walk past this building everyday to go home. It was also at the Tribunal of Tomar that I got married in 1981.
Indoor staircase at the Judicial Tribunal of the City of Tomar in Portugal, in an area of the town called Varzea Grande
Beautiful indoors fountain in the building of the Tribunal of Tomar, also know in portuguese as "Tribunal Judicial da Comarca de Tomar"
Open space with a cobblestone floor in the Tribunal of Tomar at Varzea Grande. My wedding happened in 1981 behind that door.