Everybody loves beautiful flowers but they are not just pretty. As you already know, they also help all types of plants to reproduce through pollen. I mean they send pollen and receive pollen from other plants. Anyway the final result are pretty flowers like these ones on display at the traditional weekly market of Tomar. There are some stalls in the market that only sells flowers, which are often used to be laid on the tombstones of departed family in the town cemetery.
This is an stall in the traditional weekly market of the City of Tomar, that only sells flowers. They are beautiful to decorate your living room
You can buy almost everything at the weekly market of Tomar which happens every Friday. In this case flowers are the product, often used to be laid on the tombstones of deceased family and friends
Believe it or not but you can order flowers online from the US to be delivered in Portugal the next day. May be it's convenient but there is nothing like buying them in a traditional market like this one in Tomar
There was a time that to cross Nabão River from one side of Mouchão Park in Tomar to the other during winter, you had to use either the small dam near the swimming pool Vasco Jacob or go around through Rua Marquês de Tomar. This was so because they would build a wooden bridge here for the entire summer but during winter, they would dismantle it to avoid being washed away by possible floods. So one day, the Town Council of Tomar got tired of building and taking down a bridge every year, and decided to build a permanent one, which you can see on the pictures below. This is a beautiful green zone at Mouchão Park and this quiet small bridge stands out in the area.
This is the permanent bridge built by the Town Council of Tomar that crosses Nabão River from one side of Mouchão Park to the other. Before this bridge there was temporary one for summer days only
The temporary bridges built here in summer, were much closer to the water of Nabão River and thus subjected to floods if they were left there during winter
Beautiful green area around this bridge which crosses Nabão River from one side of Mouchão to the Island. This is a now a permanent bridge, rather than the temporary summer ones that used to be built here in the past
This Pastry shop called Pastelaria Avózinha, which is also a coffee shop, is quite close from my mother’s apartment and it’s located at Rua dos Voluntários da República in the City of Tomar. My wife used to buy bread and pastries there and sometimes we would also have a cup of coffee. Interesting enough there is a radio station in Tomar, called Rádio Hertz which sometimes runs interviews directly from this pastry shop. This radio program is called ‘À mesa do café’ (At the table of the coffee shop).
My wife, my son and I, walking to the pastry shop Pastelaria Avózinha in the City of Tomar, to have a "bica" which is a traditonal Portuguese cup of coffee.
Another photo of Pastelaria Avózinha, located at Rua dos Voluntários da República in Tomar. In summer they also have an esplanade on the footpath outside
This is Pastelaria Avózinha inside. They serve an excellent coffee and their bread and pastries are fantastic. My wife is at the counter ordering some pastries
In summer nights it feels good to walk on the streets of Tomar. You go out, have a coffee in one of the old and traditional coffee shops and then head to Praça da República where the building of the Town Council is located. It’s here at this plaza in the City of Tomar that many events are organized, often at night. This area is basically in the centre of the city and close to historical buildings, including the road that leads to the Castle of Tomar, which you can see in the background.
This is Praça da República in Tomar at night and the building serves as headquarters of the Town Council. Though it's nighttime you can still see the Castle of Tomar on the background
The building of the Town council of Tomar at night and the statue of Gualdim Pais, a Grand Master of the Templars Knight who founded the city in the middle of the 12th century
Close up of the building of the Town Council of Tomar. At the time there were signs in front of the building promoting an exhibion of paintings of the Portuguese artist Nadir Afonso
Another series of photos about the Portuguese artistic ceramic tiles (Azulejos) in Tomar. This is a widely used decoration method and a long tradition in Portugal. The first photo was shot at the building of the Tourist Centre located at Rua Serpa Pinto (Corredoura) and it says ‘Comissão de Iniciativa e Turismo’ (Committee of Initiative and Tourism). The second photo is a street name sign of a narrow street in Tomar called Rua do Pé da Costa de Baixo. The third picture of the ceramic tile sign is located on top of a staircase in the Town Council Building located at Praça da República.
Ceramic Tiles sign on the building of the Committee of Initiative and Tourism. This is the building where tourists can get all the information they need about the tourist attractions in Tomar
The City of Tomar often uses ceramic tiles signs to indicate the name of streets and alleys. This sign is of a street near the road that leads to the Castle of the Knights Templar in Tomar
Sign in the Town Council Building in Tomar that says 'O Povo é que mais ordena'. In English it means 'The People is charge'. This sentence was inspired in a revolutionary song of the Portuguese singer Zeca Afonso
When I left Portugal in 1989 to Australia, the statues of the writer and pharmacist Nini Ferreira and the composer and conductor Fernando Lopes Graça didn’t exist. I reckon that it was an great idea as these two personalities were great friends of the City of Tomar. The latter was well known in Portugal for his work as a musicologist and as a composer inspired in popular Portuguese music. Above all they were great friends who liked to talk to each other the way these statues portray them. They would go to Mouchão Park and would talk for hours.
This photo of the statues of Fernando Lopes Graça and Nini Ferreira was shot at Mouchão Park on the side of the children's playground, the soccer field and other sporting venues
Another perspective of the Statues of Nini ferreira and Lopes Graça at Mouchão Park. My mother, wife and son were sitting on the benches on the other side
The same statue of two great figures from Tomar. A composer and a writer who did everything they could to promote the name of the city. Behind me was Nabão River
I have already mentioned that canoeing is a popular sporting activity in Tomar and I was even lucky enough to have witnessed a canoeing competition at Nabão River on a Sunday morning, organized by the Portuguese Federation of Canoeing (Federação Portuguesa de Canoagem). I don’t know who won as I don’t follow this sport closely, but I noticed how enthusiastic they all were about this sport. As someone who doesn’t know much about canoeing I found it to be very relaxing and colourful as you can see by these photos.
The gentleman in the blue and yellow canoe is a canoeing instructor as I saw him direct the youth paddling other canoes around him, at Nabão River in Tomar
This young canoe rider was paddling his red canoe with great energy, during training at Nabão River in the city of Tomar. I was on a small bridge at Mouchão Park when I shot this picture
A group of canoe riders relaxing on the green waters of Nabão River in the City of Tomar. They were getting ready for the hard competition that would follow
Since I lived at Rua Marquês de Pombal for years, it’s only fair that I include a series of photos of the skies of Tomar shot at this street. The first photo was taken from an area close to the house I used to live, which is on my right although you can see it from this angle. The second photo was shot facing the beginning of this street and in the third one, though I was still at Rua Marquês de Pombal, you can also see the start of Alameda Primeiro de Março.
These are the skies of Tomar shot from Rua Marquês de Pombal, which used to be my street because I lived there. In the distance you can see the Old Bridge and the Castle of Tomar on top of the hill
I shot this picture when I was just leaving Rua Voluntários da República in Tomar and entering Rua Marquês de Pombal. I was coming from the apartment I stayed during my holidays in Portugal
This Rua Marquês de Pombal which possibly marks the end of the old town and the beginning of the new areas of Tomar. Alameda Primeiro de Março is just ahead, marked by those more modern buildings on the right
In my attempt to cover as much as possible about Tomar and life in the city, in some occasions I took photos of commercial establishments around town. The first photo is from a small shopping centre located at the top of Alameda Primeiro de Março, called Centro Comercial dos Templários (Templars Shopping Centre). The second photo is from a shoe shop located at Avenida Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira called Lojas de Calçado Stara and the third photo is from a supermarket at Rua Voluntários da República called Supermercados Minipreço. These are all places that I went to with my family and actually purchased some goods.
Photo shot inside a shopping Centre in Tomar, called Centro Comercial dos Templários and its located at Alameda Primeiro de Março. There was good friend of mine called Lobo who years ago had a newsstand there
This a shoe shop called Lojas de Calçado Stara at Avenida Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira in Tomar. My wife actually purchased a pair of shoes for herself and another for my son
This is Minipreço Supermarkets located at Rua Voluntários da República in Tomar. We used to go there almost everyday as it was at a short distance from my mother's apartment
Until now I have mainly shown photos of the garden of the Seven Hills National Forest (Mata Nacional dos Sete Montes) in the City of Tomar, but it’s time to include pictures of the forest itself, especially the walking routes where you can move about without any specific destination. Once there you can take your time to clear your head and relax, to listen for the nature sounds all around you, to interact with nature, explore the natural wonders, take photos like I did, etc. At the end of the journey you’ll feel more energetic and alive.
This is one of the many walking routes at the Seven Hills National Forest in the City of Tomar. Here you can relax and take your time to enjoy the natural surroundings
There was a time cars were allowed here. I remember to have driven my car around this routes at the Seven Hills Forest in Tomar. Now I think only pedestrians are permitted access
At the time I walked around these routes at the Mata dos Sete Montes (Seven Hills National Forest) in Tomar, I only saw a lady who was walking a dog. The lady ahead of me is my wife and my son was with us too