Weekend or day trips in Portugal and Spain
You can see five of the places I've listed below - Braganca, Santa Maria da Feira, Viana de Castelo, Povoa de Varzim, and my favorite - Guimarães.
Braganca - February 2024. I was there for my immigration appointment. This 13th century castle is one of the best preserved castles in Europe.
Great nighttime view out of my hotel window.
Santa Maria da Feira - March 2024.
Thankfully, Jose and Meghan had rented a car and we were able to get there.
Stormy weather as it can be in March!
April 2024 - Douro River Valley and Winery Tour with Kenny and Anna
One of several wineries we visited.
It was a hot day, but quite cool inside.
On the Rabelo (boat) for a leisurely 1-hour ride.
Lunch was served at a defunct primary school in the small village of Provesende.
Very quiet and peaceful. The only sound was the singing of the birds.
HIGHLY recommend a day trip to the Douro River Valley when in Porto!
We traveled by train to Viana do Castelo in May 2024 to escape the University 7-day festival across the street from our apartment. The bands started at 10pm and ended at 4:30am. It was as if a nightclub was in the living room of our apartment!
This photo is from the women's restroom at the train station. You can watch the trains come and go as you wash your hands.
We stayed at an AWESOME boutique hotel.
It was overlooking the main street.
They had a full kitchen where you could cook your own food since this is a major stopping point for the pilgrims walking the Portuguese Camino.
As in all of Portugal - beautiful tile work.
Riding the funicular up to the Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart.
View from the top.
Walking down near the Lima River.
If we had to live somewhere else in Portugal, it would be in this beautiful coastal town. You can rent/buy homes at a fraction the cost of the Porto area.
The communist party is alive and well all over Portugal.
June 2024 - We took the local Metro train to Povoa de Varzim. This is the closest to where we live in Matosinhos.
Had a fantastic lunch at this little pasta place.
Walking along the ocean to Vila do Conde.
What are these? To hang fish? Store your surfboards?
Would never have guessed they were changing houses!
Vila do Conde is known for their 4 kilometer Santa Clara aqueduct.
We walked underneath it for a long ways.
We stumbled on an abandoned amusement park.
September 2024 - Guimaraes for Robin's birthday. We had another cute Airbnb.
It was right in the middle of the historic district.
We went to this vegan restaurant TWICE.
Although the food was excellent...
... the highlight was visiting with the owner's dog. His name was James Bond.
The cross high on the hill to the left of the church was where we visited the next day.
Palace Duques de Bragança (The Dukes Palace)
Taking the cable car up to Miradouro da Penha (viewpoint).
The boulders were amazing!
Some you had to walk under as they were jammed on top of each other.
Santuário da Penha
Loved the sculptures and art.
One of my favorite things about Portugal are the abandoned ruins of old beautiful homes.
October 2024 - We are now in Santiago de Compostela to meet up with Kimberly and Lee. They just finished a 5-day camino walk.
Out to dinner with their friends that walked the camino with them.
We saw them for only one day and then headed south to Vigo (Spain).
Unfortunately, I took very few photos and this is it.
October 2024 - Headed to the Alentejo coast.
In Almograve to watch Puff the cat while our newfound friends visit Italy.
I stayed at their beautiful home for 6 days while Robin stayed for almost two weeks.
I loved this little town of 2000 people! It was SO bright with the whitewashed buildings and multitudes of colors.
A public bathroom.
We took many walks along the coast on the Fisherman's Trail.
So many different striations along the path.
We particularly liked going down to the ocean at sunset.
Since there were only six restaurants, we ate at that this beachside bar several times.
Puff the cat.
She ended up LOVING Robin!
We will be back to the Alentejo coast!
November 2024 - Braga is an easy day trip from Porto. We took a Bolt there for €35 and then the train back home.
The Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte is an AMAZING place. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
There are 573 steps to the top.
The view at the top.
The easier way to get there is the very old funicular. It will cost €2 for one way and €3 for the round trip.
There are six separate chapels on either side of the church.
Braga is the 7th largest city in Portugal.
This looks more like a Paris street corner!
I've never seen this color tile before. I thought I'd seen every color imaginable.
November 2024 - Now it's a different day and we took the train to Santo Tirso with the women's expat walking group.
It was a nice mix of country and city walking.
This park was quite beautiful...
...with many unusual sculptures.
The Monastery of Santo Tirso was founded in 978.
Great place for a coffee shop overlooking the monastery!
The next two day trips were to Amarante (at the very end) and Parque das Serras do Porto (about a third of the way there).
November 2024 - Amarante could not be more gorgeous!
Once again, we are traveling with Meghan and Jose. Of course, Sunny is also always with us (even if he doesn't like his photo taken).
Amarante is famous for it's penis-shaped pastries. Throughout the year, Amarante’s bakeries continue to display and sell these playful phallic cakes, which have become a symbol of the town. Although they were banned in the late 1920s by the Portuguese dictatorship for being “obscene,” the cakes made a triumphant return after the Carnation Revolution in the 1970s and are now more popular than ever.
I wonder what century these unusable stairs are from...?
Apparently, at some time of the year you can walk across these concrete slabs to the other side. Not today!
We finished up our day at this fabulous restaurant.
Late November 2024 - Another day... another day trip with Meghan and Jose. This time, we are going for a hike at
Parque das Serras do Porto.
We came across a couple of suspension bridges.
The trail was continually going up and down because of the rock outcroppings.
It wasn't always easy to walk on and I had two (slight) falls.
We brought lunch. Croissants with avocado and cheese.
This was a much longer and bouncier suspension bridge.
We saw goats, sheep, cows, and one horse.
It was a long hike at about five hours long. Time for dessert and coffee!
December 2024 - We are staying with our friend Dasha for two days in Ponte de Lima. It's not far from the Spanish border.
Ponte de Lima is the oldest city in Portugal. The Roman part of the bridge dates back to the first century, while the medieval section dates back to 1368.
I loved being here at Christmas time!
It was impossible to get a nighttime photo of the bridge without getting the cars.
It really is a magical little town!
Caldes da Rainha - We spent two days visiting Naomi and Kerby in their new town. It's super cute and we can see why they chose to move here!
The Praca de Fruta (Fruit Square) is a DAILY Farmer's Market.
We came by hours after closing and there is literally no trace that they were even there. They set up and take down everything!
Of course, this makes Robin want to live here.
You must look closer at the umbrella handles.
If you can't see it, here they are. I will never understand Portugal's phallic fixation.
This building was originally designed to be a part of the thermal hospital. But the owner/architect died before completion. It's been used as military and police headquarters, as well as a secondary school. Sadly, it has now been abandoned for a number of years.
I found this building fascinating as it looks like every creepy orphanage or insane asylum used in most Scandinavian crime series.
In Jardim de Agua - one of the largest urban ceramic works in Portugal.
It combines fragments of glass, iron, tiles and ceramics.
The peacocks love roaming the city streets.
First time I've ever seen a white peacock! Apparently, they are quite rare to see in the wild.
Picking up some fantastic bread to take back home.