Portugal 2025! Braga

  I did not do very well getting caught up with postings of past events. So going forward, the timeline might have some randomness to it as I am skipping right up to this summer of 2025.

Making no doubt about where you are at the town hall. 

Ada and I planned a graduation trip to Portugal. We managed to carve a week out of the summer in June. We flew in to Porto with the plan of going straight to Braga to see Jamie and Leanne. Unfortunately, they had a last minute situation back in the States which they had to attend but they gave us lots of info on what to expect and suggestions on what to do and how to do it. After two days in Braga, we took the forty minute train trip back to Porto and stayed for two days. We then took a 3 hour train to Lisbon where we spent two days and then headed back to the States. 

Our plan was to do one venture a day and then spend the rest of the time wandering about, sitting in cafes, shopping, and allowing ourselves to take things as they came. 

Braga is a lovely town directly in the north of the country about thirty minutes outside of Porto. Portugal was an incredibly wealth country back in its heyday of early colonization and they spent loads of money on building beautiful things. Also, they were able to stay out of the two world wars which devastated much of the rest of Europe, so much of the old Portugal is still very much in tact. Braga was a great example of this - an old central town with cobbled stones and a wall and gate surrounded by a very modern new town. We spent the majority of our time in the old town which was very walkable and it was a great gateway into our short stay in Portugal. We did take a day trip outside of the old town and I went for a run into the new town so did see some of the modern Braga. We loved our short time their and if you ever get a chance to go to Portugal, include Braga on your itinerary. 

At Ohare doing what you do in an airport - everyone seems to have an airport routine.

On the plane. It was a night flight so we were supposed to sleep on the plane but id slept none and Ada a little so the first day in Braga was rough but we did power thru without napping.

We arrived well before check in time at the hotel after sorting out some challenges at the airport. Our phones were locked so we could not get SM cards at the airport. After some international communicating, we were able to just get the ATT international coverage which is not too bad especially since we did not bring computers so very much relied on phones. Anyway, we wandered into the central square at around 9 in the morning and did what everyone else was doing, sitting in a cafe eating pasteries and drinking coffee. We kind of just went for it with ordering as English was not really an option. 

So it was exciting to see what showed up at our table! Ada approves.

Ada sorting out the Euros. The bills are easy enough but the coins take a little work. Check out the row of most likely regulars in the back. As we would find out in a very pleasant way, Portugal is a cafe culture and pretty much anytime of the day, several times a day is a good time to sit and have a drink and a snack, most often in the pastry form! After breakfast we just wandered about until check in time. We then got situated in our room in the Southi Guest House, which was right off the central square and quite nice. The rest of the day we walked about and checked out Braga!

Dinner that first night was a place Jamie recommended. It was a small plates venue that had a spin on traditional Portuguese dishes. Very nice. This plate was a Portugues style sausage repurposed in a Thai style spring roll and a sweet and spicy Thai dipping sauce. 

Out and about - this was typical of most of Braga. Very much enjoyed the outside cafes/restaurants. And one of the many, many, many, many lovely cathedrals in Portugal.

Apparently we arrived in the build up days to one of the biggest celebrations of the year in Braga, Sao Jao Day! Or St. John (of the baptist fame) Day. I don't know if it was his birthday or what but the town had many indicators that it was going to be a blow out of a day's celebration for sure. The fare of the day was very apparent, as the signs all over attested to, beer and sardines - good eats for sure.

This was a random parade for Sao Jao Day that we came across. This was most likely the town priest, being hauled around town in a besparkled pickup truck!

Jamie always poked fun at me for not partaking of sweets and said that I had to try the gelato. So I did, every night while in Portugal. This is night one of the Portugal gelato streak - and a good streak for certain.

The Sao Jao Day festive decoratives. I talked with Jamie after the trip and asked him if he went to the Sao Jao Day celebration. He did and said it was absolutely packed and people go around and bonk you on the head with little balloon hammers - after consuming lots of beer and sardines ... 

Kind of a funny sidenote - count the number of fits Ada has during the week to mine. She likes fashion and very purposely selected her outfits for the week depending on ..... not exactly sure ..... I brought a carry on back pack for the trip so not so many fits!

Morning two in Braga at a cafe that became out go to spot. Even though we were there only two days, we went enough to claim it as our spot! Sampling some of the items for breakfast. In the forefront are the famous Pastel de Nata, a custard pastry. This cafe had a lime twist to theirs so it had a hint of key lime pie essence to it. Ada is holding up what quickly became her favorite. It was a powdered sugar cream filled donut which was really tasty. The name referenced Germany and it was similar to out Bavarian cream DDK option but the pastry was much liter. Unfortunately we did not come across it as much outside of Braga. I don't know what is going on over the rest of the table.

And not surprisingly, there is a McDonalds located in the middle of the Braga central square. It was very well occupied, which is the case in most McDonalds around the world, and the clientele was definitely in the teen category. I always like to check them out to see the modifications made to fit the hosting country. That is not a fancy bird fanny pack, although I wish it was. Just a pigeon making the photo in dramatic fashion.

McDonalds take on the bifana, basically sliced beef that sits in a pool of jus perhaps that is made into little sandwiches.

Sao Jao Day preparations! Super Bock beer to the right and sardines to the left. Sardines in Portugal are NOT like our little tinned ones. They are several inches long and typically fresh and grilled over open flames to serve. 

We took a day trip about 15 minute Bolt ride (Europes Uber - although Uber is also in Europe) from the Braga town center where we were staying, to Bom Jesus (good Jesus). It is a church and surrounding area which served as a monastery and other Catholic things over the years. The day was a bit overcast, actually our time in Braga was in the 60's and overcast/spritzy, which actually made it quite nice for walking about all day. This was actually one of our highlights of the trip as it was not super crowded, very easy to get to, and a beautiful site. Definitely an itinerary maker.

And yes, Bom Jesus is an UNESCO World Heritage site, which is exciting and makes me happy to visit places deemed worthy of the official status.

Braga in the back from the hillside Bom Jesus is situated.

Religious place cat. I've been to a lot of religious establishments out and about the world and it is interesting how many seem to have a cat presence. 

Yes, Ada, that is darling.

I had not seen this before, but many Catholic churches, have changed to this less waxy form of lighting a prayer candle. Make a donation and your prayer candle lights up!

Inside the Cathedral Bom Jesus. Again, another stunning, old Cathedral both inside and out.

All the cathedrals we sent in were still functioning as places of worship with regular mases and such as well as accommodating tourists.

As we got out and about in the grounds around Bom Jesus, one does come across the unexpected. Here was an exercise park so Ada burned a few calories.

From the back side of Bom Jesus.

I took a lot of photos of Ada.

Front side of Bom Jesus. It had begun to sprinkle so Ada had to compromise her fit with my boring jacket.

The elaborate outdoor walkway leading up to the cathedral. The tile work was impressive as the tile work all over where we were in Portugal was impressive. I kind of like that it was overcast - gives a neat quality to the photos.

Ada vs my photos - this is hers - less human more background. Over the week I learned how she wanted her images for posting on her sites but was still early in the trip here. 

Yaaayyy the funicular and what an interesting word that is - funicular! Old places in the world with steep venues have funiculars - a kind of train/outdoor elevator. I had been on one in Hong Kong and now in Portugal - they are simply fun and exciting in a quaint, cute way.

Enjoying the five minute ride down the hill to the bottom of the Bom Jesus complex.

Back at our cafe after the Bom Jesus trip. There was a sweets shop across from our guesthouse that specialized in sugar coasted marshmallow shaped fruits. We bought a strawberry and this was the banana. 

Evening two of the gelato streak. This was Jamie's favorite one in Braga. It had some rather unique flavors, just like its recommender.

Portugal 2025! Porto

 A short train ride from Braga and we were in the lovely city of Porto spanning the hillsides cascading down to the Douro River. And its loveliness is officially recognized by UNESCO as Ribeira, a large part of the original city situated along the river front and adjoining hillside, has been given World Heritage status.

On the south side of the Douro River in the area of Vila Nova de Gaia. You can see the Ribeira part of Porto in the background across the river left of the bridge, that was designed by Gustave Eiffel, yes, the famous French fellow. 

But before venturing off to Porto, we needed one last powdered pastry powered breakfast at our favorite cafe in Braga. Ada doubling down on her favorite and holding some sort of fruity beverage.

Exiting the old part of Braga via the city gate to get to the train station which was just outside of the old city and a short walk from where we stayed. 

The blue tile work on the building to the left of me and the gate was stunning and we would come across more of it as we traveled thru Porto and Lisbon. 

Yaaayy - a quick train ride to Porto and we stepped off into a throng of multiple tour groups getting the details of the station. Porto was bustling and definitely touristy in many parts but not in a bad way at all. The station was beautiful and decorated in that pale blue tile mosaic that I mentioned in the final Braga image.

Ada in our doorway with the Douro River in the background and Vila de Gaia across the river. 

Our B and B/hotel was situated in Ribeira on the banks of the Douro River. The train station was located about a half mile from the river but all of Porto is on a hill, so navigating the cobblestone sidewalk with Ada's rolly suitcase was a bit of an adventure but it was a relatively short walk to get to our place. I booked all our places kind of randomly. So it was interesting to see what we got when we arrived! This was in an area that used to be all the apartments and such for the dock workers. They were going to wipe it all out a while back and build a promenade along the river like they did in Lisbon, but the people of Porto were not having that so this rather blast from the past area of Porto remains in tact and has become a very popular area - as we would fully experience in our two night there .... LOTS of restaurants and beer gardens and LOTS of people drinking LOTS of beer and fully enjoying all the live music, vendors, and other forms of entertainment situated along the river area. 

Bunk beds and quite small but functional and clean and in a very interesting location. We spent little time in our hotels so it was just fine. It did require quite a walk up into Porto proper every morning as we were at ground zero regarding elevation.

Out on our "balcony" which was a sidewalk servicing the apartments and restaurants above the quay where most of the bars, restaurants, vendors and such were located.

The sidewalk and river quay below. The green doors opened into our room.

Walking up from our riverside apartment into the city, with another lovely cathedral in the background.

Another street scene. It had toasted up a bit since Braga and the sun was out for the remainder of our trip. 

Another fit and another cathedral! This one had the blue mosaic covering the east wall.

So this was random. We were walking about and saw this long line portioned into time slots. It was a long line so obviously something quite popular and maybe something I did not want to miss out on! So after a bit of inquiring, we found out this was the bookstore where Miss Rowling worked for a while when she was living in Portugal and became the inspiration for whatever alley, where the wizard children go to by things, in the Harry Potter series. 

Another cafe kind of situated at the "top" of Porto, where the hillside plateaus a bit. It was in a large square of, believe it or not, a cathedral!

And the Porto McDonalds, or at least the one that gets some mentions in the tourist scrolls. It used to be the Imperial Cafe and is located centrally along one of the main Porto squares. McDonalds kept the original architecture and it makes for an interesting McDonalds experience. I look angry, but I'm not - just my resting bitch face. 

Slick - bit more impressive than an M.

Fancy inside. 

And the infamous francesinha. It is one of the dishes that visitors are typically asked if they have tried it yet. It is various layered meats enclosed in dough covered in melted cheese and a paprikaish sauce and topped with an egg. It was fine but a lot. Ada had a mini version and I think the face was because she had just had a drink of her fizzy beverage. 

The food scene was an interesting situation. I would have loved to have tried more seafood and definitely the giant grilled sardines. I enjoy regular old sardines in a can so I can only imagine how good fresh grilled ones would be. Unfortunately, imagine is all I did do to my strange "certain types of fish" allergy that leaves me very ill. I might have been able to eat more but I did not want to take the chance and end up spending a day curled up on the bathroom floor. So, we did try lots of pastries!! But I had to steer clear of the fish.