Our stay in northern Portugal was coming to an end, but before heading south, there was time for another overnight trip out of Porto.
Read the full post here ...Nov 132019
Nov 032019
The need to get out into nature led us to discover the ruggedly beautiful scenery of the Paiva Walkways in Portugal’s Arouca Geopark. The 8.7 km (5.4 mi) long trail traverses landscapes that are beautiful, peaceful and wild.
Read the full post here ...Oct 182019
The dictionary definition is rather dry – “a kind of glazed colored tile traditionally used in Spanish and Portuguese buildings.” But the reality is that azulejos a beautiful presence throughout Portugal and certainly a part of its cultural soul.
Read the full post here ...Oct 172019
The alarm on Jeannie’s tablet woke us early to catch the 08h45 train for our overnight in Braga, Portugal’s 3rd largest city, built more than 2,000 years ago. It was worth the early wake up.
Read the full post here ...Oct 082019
Well, it was a simple way to take the train up into the Douro valley, visit a quinta, have a lunch, then take the train back. We were kind of wrong. It was much better!
Read the full post here ...Oct 022019
We often like to visit small, somewhat obscure towns and villages on our travels, and though we had no expectations, Santo Tirso certainly turned out to be unexpectedly delightful.
Read the full post here ...Sep 222019
Guimarães (him-are-esh) the birthplace of Portugal, has wonderfully preserved its past. The old city center is a labyrinth of narrow lanes and charming plazas framed by medieval edifices.
Read the full post here ...Sep 182019
On the shore of a vast, coastal lagoon, Aveiro is a historically maritime city and a prosperous town with a delightful city center known for its, architecture and its highly regarded university.
Read the full post here ...Sep 122019
On settling into a new country or town, we often search out one of the “walking food tours”. Of all the things we learned on our food tour in Porto, the most interesting, fun, and delicious was how to eat tremoços.
Read the full post here ...Sep 082019
Porto is really working hard to clean up and revitalize itself from deep economic problems of the past. Here are two examples of their progress and potential.
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