'Pousada de Palmela' castle

Sat 17 May- after breakfast, we packed and moved a few miles to the 'Pousada de Palmela', another 500-year old former castle built to defend Lisbon on the south. Our room is much bigger and modern, Internet is available and the pousada seems more upscale than the Pousada Sao Filipe. We´re catching up on clothes washing, enjoying the view our room has from the castle, walking around the castle ramparts. There is a church, a tourist office, a museum, a tile shop, cafe/bar on the castle grounds, and a large wooded park with paths and benches to enjoy. A wedding was just breaking up as we arrived, and another apparently had a reception in the dining room. We had the buffet, which featured many regional and speciality dishes, including desserts, which we enjoyed, and Serra Azeitao wine. There was also live music and a very up-scale ambience - we could almost imagine we were royalty. The bill was E115, but it was definitely an experience, and we stuffed ourselves on the delicious food.