May 2022
With less than three weeks left of living in Europe, I am making the most of my remaining time. Portugal is country #45 and was well worth the wait. I stayed in Porto, the second-largest city in Portugal, and took a day trip to Braga.
I appreciated the funk in my hotel.
Colorful cafe.
They say Livraria Lello is the most beautiful bookstore in the world, and I would agree. You have to buy a ticket to get in, but the ticket price is reduced from any purchase.
I got The Little Prince.
Fonte dos Leões.
Portugal is a very religious, mostly Catholic, country. This is Igreja do Carmo.
I noticed more depictions of the suffering of Christ in Portugal than anywhere else I have been.
Beneath the church, they have holy relics. This consisted of various trinkets and body parts.
This nice house is attached to the church.
Birthing chairs.
The narrowest house in the city is also attached to the church.
Clérigos Tower
I think it is funny how they tell you how not high up you are.
This church is attached to the tower and would become much more interesting a few hours later.
This was the best light show I have ever seen. The show is called Spiritus. It is about the adventure of traveling.
Luis and Nico jamming in front of the church, California dreaming.
Porto wine and codfish cakes.
You may think this is a candy store. They actually sell sardines.
Enjoyed my breakfast at Do Norte Cafe by Hungry Biker.
Porto Cathedral. I saw a lot of old-fashioned cars for tours.
Orange trees. There were many places to get delicious freshly squeezed orange juice.
They have many goods made from cork, I was most surprised by the shoes.
This was a good free exhibition about Georges Méliès, who was a pioneer in early cinema. The AC was also greatly appreciated.
I walked into a cool-looking store and found a cute cafe in the back.
It is a husband and wife making Japanese food with Portuguese influence. He is Portuguese, she is Japanese. The Portuguese are a sea-faring trading people with many global connections.
I made friends with a local and another tourist at the cafe. We went back to check out her design shop after lunch.
Parks with peacocks.
Francesinha is a popular food in Porto. It is like a Portuguese Crogue Monsuir, with meat, cheese, bread, egg, and sauce.
There is a street artist in Porto really into American hip-hop/rap.
I took a day trip to Braga.
I got so lucky! They happened to be having their annual Roman festival. The city was founded by Julius Ceasar over 2,000 years ago.
This dog was enjoying the festivities.
This cat could not care less.
They had art pieces around the city relating to the war in Ukraine. There was a lot of support around Portugal for Ukraine.
Sameiro Sanctuary is on top of a hill by Braga.
Moments before a wedding.
Nice place to get married.
About two kilometers away is the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte.
Another nice place to get married.
Incredible symmetry with the stairs.
Old naval fort.
A coastal country on the Atlantic ocean.
Portugal is well worth a visit.