Some of the exterior stone walls of the original city are visible at certain locations and seem to blend into the existing structures. There are residential dwellings and shops intermingled throughout these few square blocks. The uneven sidewalks constructed of stone and tiles can make for some interesting walking at times but some of the sidewalks have very intricate designs and painted tiles, they are true works of art and very impressive.
This is a picture of Santa coming down from the top of the castle tower. There is a tradition that Santa replicas gradually make their ways up chimneys in the last few weeks and days leading up to Christmas Day.
These pics are inside the Loule castle museum. There were several displays of historical pieces used in the past such as pots, bowls, cups, food processing artifacts and weapons.
This stone wall and water spouts have been in existence since 1837. We suppose that the Portuguese inhabitants of Loule would have collected this spring fed water from the town center for their everyday needs. It is hard to believe that there is still water flowing out of those several spouts. There is a large covered market in Loule that we had hoped to see but arrived too late in the afternoon to see it. It closes at 2pm daily so we will have to make it another day. We spent some time wondering around the little shops and surprisingly Matt even did some shopping. The leather products are amazing. We enjoyed strolling around this busy town center and narrow streets and I am quite sure there will be another shopping trip to Loule in my future.
L
