Category: Europe

The end of the Camino trail. Stayed in a room over a pub, and they gave us the key to enter through the pub after it closed. Good tapas and seafood.

Found another nice beach north of Porto. There was some sort of construction project going on, but it appeared to me the back-hoe operators were just knocking over piles of sand….

Octopus in garlic sauce is wonderful

How do all the specialty shops stay in business?

Braga, the third largest city in Portugal, is known for its concentration of religious architecture. We visited Santuario do Bom Jesus do Monte, a hilltop pilgrimage site just outside the city. We drove to the top, rather than climb the 18th century double staircase, on our knees, as true pilgrims might.

Back in old town Braga, we spent time in “St Barbara’s” Garden, outside the Paço Arquiepiscopal Bracarense assembly house.

Guimarães, located northeast of Porto, is famous for its role in the birth and foundation of the kingdom of Portugal. We happened on a free art exhibit and explored the 10th century castle.

Day started with heavy cloud bank on the coast, so we took a cable car ride in Porto and searched for port caves. Then we headed to a nice beach just seven miles south of Porto. The sun finally broke through around 4 PM. Another late night with the hosts – lots of fun enjoying a typical home meal. Out till 2 AM…

Nice trolley rides today. Interesting graffiti. Getting comfortable with the bus and metro system. Our hosts invited us down for appetizers and drinks tonight – laughing and talking till 1:30 in the morning. Not used to drinking that much…. We are the first Americans they have hosted. Said we remind them more of Greeks than Americans ???