From the lonely train station, I took a taxi to revisit the famous Monastery of Santa Maria of Alcobaça which located almost in the middle of the small town of the same name, Alcobaça. After got information on connecting bus to Batalha from the very friendly tourist information and nice hot chocolate from the lovely café on the monastery square, I was ready to explore the huge monastery again. The first thing I admired was the monastery’s façade and entrance; its perfect proportion with the rest of the complex was really well designed and its lovely sculptures were really supporting the overall ensemble. For interior, at first, I was quite disappointed to the really plainness of the church, but the magnificent tombs of Petro I and his wife, Ines de Castro and their tragic love story colorfully filled the church with romantic theme.

Other highlights were the cloister, the refectory and the monastery kitchen, the cloister was really large with many lovely decorations especially from the second floor, and the fountain hall was one of the best sights of the monastery. The refectory, in my opinion, maybe the most elaborated room of the monastery with many beautiful window channels, and lovely pulpit. The monastery kitchen was quite unique with the really big chimney liked industrial factory. For other parts of the monastery were quite simple with really plain design with some glazed tiles decorated, a very typical Portuguese interior. The tour route inside the monastery was quite well organized and after many rooms, I was back to the church again. Actually only a quarter of the monastery was opened to the public which made me wondered for the rest of the complex that reportedly destroyed and looted by French troop and anti-clerical riot and now are developing to be exhibition gallery.

It was really tempted to compare Alcobaça Monastery with other three WHS listed monastic buildings of Portugal, Batalha, Tomar and Belem. Each had many similarities especially in term of architecture, but each site had unique characteristic enough to shrine by itself; for example, Batalha was so fanciful and load of elaborated details, Tomar was liked a fortress or labyrinth more than convent, and Belem was so stately and well maintained with superb quality. For my opinion, Alcobaça was in the middle of all, the monastery was very large with some acceptable elaborated details with simple but elegant elements of state monument, but one thing really outstanding was the monastery complex surprisingly made a feeling of home with spacious, warm and bright rooms more than other places testifying the perfect living place for generations of monk who called this place as a home.