Portugal - A Brief Exploration and a Rather Lengthy Blog

 Portugal is a country that I believe you could spend a great deal of time in and my 10-day visit just touches the surface of this amazing country.  The weather has been . . . well, interesting!  It has rained every day but it showers, then the sun comes out, then it's cloudy and back to sun and some heavy rains in between.  I'm getting around by train and have noticed flooded fields and swollen rivers but is hasn't stopped or even dampened any adventures.  This trip began in Lisbon but with only a few days there, I felt like I barely touched the surface.  One thing I will say is that there are too many cruise ships - five on my first day there!  That's over 10,000 people all wondering the streets and crowding the shops and restaurants.  Despite this, I managed to find some less traveled areas and a restaurant frequented by locals so managed to avoid the crowds a bit.  The other thing there are a lot of are stairs!  What I will go through for a view!  Every place I've stayed (except Sintra which had hills instead) was on the fourth floor of the building with no elevator  -  a small price to pay!

Cool Old Building with Fake Model T Used to Transport Tourists

Castelo de Sao Jorge in the Alfama District of Lisbon

A Typical Cobblestone Street

A Sardine Store

The 25th of April Bridge named in honor of the peaceful coup that overthrew the government.

The View from my Room Without Cruise Ships (not as nice when those behemoths are in port!

 The nest stop on my journey was Sintra, about a 45 minute train ride from Lisbon but very, very different.  The only thing I didn't like about Sintra was that I didn't have long enough there, spending only two nights.  It is a truly magical place with many hills and forests dotted with castles and palaces.  I was only able to visit a few and really you could spend a week here easily.  It was lovely with great hiking trails (once you get the hang of walking on cobblestones which are literally EVERYWHERE in Portugal! 

The Initiation Well (from the top)

And from the bottom.  It's believed that this was used by the Knights Templar for Rituals.

The National Palace of Sintra

The Quinta da Regaleira

Vanya the Leopard Adorned tuk-tuk driver who told me about the hiking trails. If you go to Sintra, she is a wealth of information!

Pena Palace up close

Valley of the Lakes - Pena Palace Gardens

Pena Palace from the Moorish Castle

The Moorish Castle

The Hiking Trail

 

So, after Sintra it was a train ride back to Lisbon to catch a train north to Aveiro. I ended up really liking it there and regretted (once again) that I couldn't stay another day.  The place I stayed was very modern with lots of art in the halls and rooms.  I chose it because it was on the canals.  Aveiro is often referred to as the Venice of Portugal because of the canals which are actually more salt water being close to the sea.  The boats which resemble gondolas were actually used to transport salt from their extensive salt flats (the boat I road on was one of those and was 95 years old!) and other boats with a more curved gondola-like appearance were used to transport seaweed.  The town which is now really a small city has a strong history of fishing with most of the places along the water that are now restaurants and modern homes originally used to house fishermen and their supplies. The ribbons that you will see on the bridges have become a custom for lovers replacing the padlocks which became too heavy.  I actually love the multi-colored ribbons even more?

Some molicieros (gondolas) in front of the ceramic factory

The ribbons that replaced padlocks to signify love between a couple

On a moliciero approaching Lover's bridge

Some boats in front of what is now the Aveiro Port Authority

One of many tiles depicting the history of Aveiro at the train station

So, on to Porto...  I realize this is one long blog but I'm covering all (and really just a sampling) of Portugal at one time.  There just hasn't been much time to write which is a good thing I guess!  Anyway, Porto may just be my favorite place!  I have met so many nice people and had meals and glasses of wine with them sitting in amazing and beautiful places.  Porto is a very, very hilly city and more than a few times I got fairly lost and finally realized that when google maps says steps, it literally means that!  I got caught in the worst downpour ever walking to meet friends for dinner and got hopelessly lost because I missed the steps (stairs) that I was supposed to take.  There are small alleys going up major hills and the best and often only way to go is up several flights of stairs.  I figured that out as I'm preparing to leave!  My place is in the Ribeira district (on the river) and the view from where I'm staying is fantastic as is the street scene and open air restaurants complete with wonderful street musicians down below - and that is pretty much the only good thing I can say about the place I've inhabited for the last four days!  The view is worth it! A virtual toast to Jane and Tommy who I met on a boat ride in the Duoro Valley.  It was a stroke of good fortune that our paths crossed!  So, while I could go on and on about the beauty and vibe of this amazing city, I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking!  

A view from my apartment - daytime

So, my place is the tiny cupola to the left of the tallest yellow building. You could only stand up on one side of the room.

The view at night.  The bridge is called the Dom Luis Bridge

The Duoro Valley from Pinhao to Tua

Quinta do Bonfim Grounds

A Port Tasting - I liked them all!

Sunset and time to take the train back to Porto

 

And lastly a look around Porto 

A view of Porto with the Clerigos Tower - tallest in the city with 240 steps

Livreria Lello, the most beautiful bookstore I've ever seen and some think influenced J.K. Rowling who wrote the Harry Potter books when she lived here.

This and the photo below are the Maria Pia bridge designed by Gustav Eiffel

Church of Saint Ildefonso

Inside the Majestic Cafe a supposed J.K. Rowling hangout

Chapel of Souls

The sign says it all, the man is a hat maker - Fielsven Millinery

 And lastly the beautiful Sao Bento Train Station where there is no gate 9 3/4 but is thought to have also been an inspiration for the books.

So, I feel I've said too much and yet just barely touched the surface of this amazing country.  The weather has been uhh, let's say uncooperative but that has added to the experience and I ended up just loving the unpredictability of it.  The food - not my favorite lacking seasoning in my opinion but I tend toward the hot and spicy so maybe that's on me.  So, another place I'd return to in a second - maybe a tour of all the fishing villages?   Bye for now.