This is the Old Bridge (Ponte Velha) of the City of Tomar, in a rainy day in October 2010. This bridge whose official name is Bridge King D. Manuel I, taking the name of a king of Portugal who lived in the 16th Century, crosses River Nabão from the parish of São João Baptista to the parish of Santa Maria dos Olivais. The first two photos were shot facing the new areas of Tomar in the distance. The third photo was taken facing Corredoura (Rua Serpa Pinto) and on top of the hill you can see the Castle of Tomar.
Photo shot in a rainy day in the City of Tomar on the Old Bridge, whose official name is Bridge King Manuel I
In a rainy day, crossing the Old Bridge of Tomar from the Parishes of São João Baptista to Santa Maria dos Olivais
Photos taken in the middle of the Old Bridge of the City of Tomar, which crosses Nabão River. On the other side is Rua Serpa Pinto and in the distance on top of the hill, you can see the Castle of the Knights Templar
Some people associate rain with bad weather, but I have a different opinion. When it rains it doesn’t mean it’s always bad weather and different people have different feelings about a wet day. I love some raining days. One of the most feel good days in my life was at Nazaré in Portugal in 1980, and at the time I was with my soon to be wife and very much in love. I’ll never forget being inside a nice restaurant close to the beach and outside was raining cats and dogs. I really felt great that day. Now back to Tomar, during these wet days in my home town, I also felt a great sense of well-being.
Wet day near the sports pavilion in Tomar which is right next to the football field at Mouchão Park
After raining for a while, the cobblestone pavement were manifestly wet and shiny. This is the spot that connects Rua Marquês de Pombal to the Old Bridge of Tomar, also known as Bridge King D. Manuel I
Obviously it was raining as you can see by a couple of people with their umbrellas open. This is the corner of Rua Marquês de Pombal and Rua Dos Voluntários da República in Tomar
It rained quite a bit that day around the area where the Church of São João Batista in Tomar was built in the 12th century. Well it rained all over town really, but I was at Praça da República where this church is located, and also roaming around the old part of the city with an umbrella and my camera. It’s almost unbelievable that this place of worship has been there for more than 800 years! Countless number of people have already gone, lost in the mist of time, and here I was in a rainy day looking at such a old construction, which hopefully will still be there long after I’m gone.
Rainy day around the area where the Church of São João Baptista (Saint John the Baptist) in the City of Tomar, was constructed more than 800 years ago
Raining or not, kings, nobleman and people of all walks of life have visited this place of worship for centuries, and this very old building from the middle ages is still here
It might be raining but the Manueline style portal at the Church of São João Baptista is still remarkable, and if you run from the rain and go inside you will be delighted by its gothic/manueline ornamentation
It was one of those wet days as you can see in these photos shot at this narrow street called Rua Infantaria Quinze, in the old town of Tomar. I reckon that cobblestone streets look best in the rain. The glisten on the pavement highlights the roughly square stones that were laid here and the grey atmosphere in this middle age street under the rain greatly appeals to my senses. However if you don’t like to walk under an umbrella when it rains in Tomar, venture into one of the small shops and buy some treasures to make you remember this wonderful Portuguese historical city.
This is a cobblestone narrow street in Tomar in a rainy day, called Rua Infantaria Quinze. On the left is the building where a printing company, Gráfica de Tomar are located. I think they have closed down its doors
Another view of this middle ages narrow street in the City of Tomar in the rain, with its cobblestone pavement glistening. At some distance is my wife and my son walking under umbrellas
Photo taken in a rainy day in the opposite direction of Rua Infantaria Quinze in Tomar. A the end of the street is Praça da República, where the Church of São João Baptista and the statue of Gualdim Pais are located
This was a wet day in October 2010, at Praça da República in Tomar. I remember that it rained a lot all over the country, which meant that autumn was around the corner, and it wouldn’t be long before the leaves started falling down from the trees. In the photos below you can see old houses, part of the church of São João Baptista and the building of the Town Council of Tomar. At the time it wasn’t exactly raining but people were carrying umbrellas and the ground tiles and cobblestones were really wet.
Wet day at Praça da República in the City of Tomar in Portugal. Those flags are from the town and the red crosses are symbols of the Knights Templar, which in the long past lived in the Castle of Tomar
Another view of the wet day at Praça da República in Tomar. On the left is the Church of São João Baptista and ahead is Rua Infantaria Quinze an old narrow street in Tomar
This are wet cobblestones at Praça da República. The building in front me is the Town Council of Tomar and behind it on the hills is the Castle of the Knights Templar
My brother João Fidalgo, lives in Setúbal, which is a city at about 50Km from Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and he invited me to visit him for a few days with my family. So I went but in the few days in October 2010 that I was there, it rained almost every day and sometimes it was a deluge. Well when I came back, I learned that heavy rain had also fallen in Tomar. So I went to check and the result can be seen on these photos below. The nice green waters of Nabão River were suddenly transformed into muddy waters and it remained like that for a couple of days.
Muddy waters of Nabão River after heavy rain in the City of Tomar in October 2010. This photo was shot from a wooden bridge at Mouchão Park
This is the same location (Wooden Bridge) where I shot the previous photo, but to the other side of the river. On my left is the Island of Mouchão Park and on my right is the sports area of Mouchão
Photo shot from the Island of Mouchão Park in Tomar. Even though this is still a beautiful view of Tomar, after heavy rain, the muddy waters of Nabão River were everywhere
As you can see, this was a rainy day in the City of Tomar in Portugal. It was October 2010 and depending on your perspective this was either bad or good weather. I quite enjoy rainy days and this was a good opportunity to once again put my camera into action. As everybody knows, when it rains the result is that the volume of water in the river increases and the small waterfalls of Nabão River (Rio Nabão) may follow. These shots were taken when I was crossing the old bridge of Tomar to the other side of the town, coming from the street Rua Marquês de Pombal.
Rainy day in the City of Tomar in Portugal. This is a view of Nabão River, the dam and waterfalls resulting from an increase of rain. The Chapel of Senhora da Conceição can be seen on top of the hill
Close up of the waterfalls at Nabão River in Tomar. Nearby are those yellow tourist boats and on the other side, is the small island of Mouchão Park
Wet day in Tomar when I was crossing the old bridge to the other side of the town. Small waterfalls at Nabão River, the old town ahead and the Castle of the Knights Templar in the distance
Any place in the world gets into a different mood if the weather changes. Photos of the same place often look different just because it rained, or there was a thunderstorm with lightning, or a warm front or a cloudy sky or torrential rain, etc. That’s why there is a place in this site for photos in different kinds of weather. In this case these photos present us with a rainy day in Tomar, as it was the end of summer and the beginning of autumn in Europe.
Rainy day in the City of Tomar. Photo shot at the old bridge with the Castle of the Knights Templar in the distance. Notice the beautiful cobblestone pathway
Raining in Tomar at the end of summer. This is the intersection of the old bridge, Levada (Rua Everard), Corredoura and Rua Marquês de Tomar
The rain had momentarily stopped but the cobblestone pathway of Corredoura (Rua Serpa Pinto) was still wet