Pensao Silva

A Popular Wedding Spot

by Bwana_Brown

We were still in the process of dumping our bags in our room at Hotel do Parque when we heard a bit of commotion outside our 3rd storey room. It was a hot mid-afternoon, so we soon threw our windows wide open (nice not to have screens too!) to catch the breezes and also to have a peek at a wedding taking place below.

It seems that the combination of the next-door Nossa Senhora dos Remedios shrine and the impressive stairway leading up to it from the city below make for a popular wedding location!

In this view, the happy couple have completed their vows and are about to descend the famous 686 steps from the upper terrace between the hotel and the shrine. Later in the weekend, we noticed some elderly ladies dressed all in black quietly patrolling the plaza below our room. Whenever a young Portugese couple got a bit too cuddly in this romantic spot, the ladies soon moved in to ensure that everything was kept 'proper' at this religious site.