On and off the beaten path

Today we had some nice in- and out-of-guidebook experiences:

Obidos, the walled city where we started the day, is big in the guidebooks. It's an odd mix of touristy and life threatening. Lots of quaint little shops sell cork products, tiles, and cherry liqueur & chocolate (to be consumed together), but then the wall surrounding the town that you can walk on has no railing on the inside and some very high spots from which one could fall to their death, esp. following a lot of cherry liqueur.

Caldas da Rainha, on the other hand, is not in our guidebook but has the most interesting and peaceful park we have seen on the trip. There was the oddity of a massive, dilapidated, but still elegant looking old hospital, and all around it wide paths, a variety of trees, and ponds, one with an Australian black swan swimming around and a peacock resting nearby. Also in this town we went to a quirky little ceramics museum at which we were the only visitors.

Peniche, where we ate a late lunch, does get a mention in the guidebooks. We liked it for the rugged walks at water's edge and these great geyser shows.