Come For the Blue Azulejo Tile At Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Conceição In Loulé

It's hard to get sick of seeing the intricate, iconic Azulejo blue tile work in Portugal. Any old Catholic church may feature the tile design. Little Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Conceição church in Loulé is almost overdosing on that style.

The humble exterior. A good eye cleanser before heading inside.

Tiny interior, big amount of Azulejo tile work, no wall untouched. Even a side door gets an elaborate frame and its own balcony.

The altar, gold fighting blue. A death match of design and color.

Some tile details. Sometimes the design is repeated abstractions, many times the work is broken up into various religious scenes.

Make sure the holy, beloved pooch makes it in!

The Castle Museum In Loulé

If your town has a giant, stone castle in the center of it on a hill, don't tear it down. Don't turn it into yuppie condos. Turn it into a museum. Loulé re-purposed its castle, creating a nice museum that highlights area archeological finds and a bit of more recent history.

The castle still looks good and dominates the small town skyline. Is there a skyline?

Sure there is, just climb one of the towers for a look. Inside the castle, a parade of rooms with cases filled with old pottery, artifacts.

Throwback local municipal government furniture, snazzy.

Old kitchen supplies, colorful pottery and a collection of enamel painted metal jugs.

Cute. A re-creation of a village house kitchen, complete with jumbo rag dolls.