This post is also available in:
Italiano (Italian)
Drinking in Portugal was extremely enjoyable, but so was eating. The premise of this article, where contrary to my usual I talk a lot about food, is that I love the pasteis de nata; I had a real gorge on them, so.
The first evening, walking along the bank of the Douro we came across 2 beautiful stores, which we later found in the other cities as well: Mundo Fantastico da sardinha Portuguesa and Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau.
I have never been a fan of stores and especially objects, but in this Western world where shopping streets are the same everywhere with the same brands, when I happen to find something original I get excited. Considering the mere name of the fantasy world of Portuguese sardines anyone would be puzzled by it, and instead it is a colorful and cheerful place carpeted with a multitude of colorful little boxes, it seems to be in an amusement park.
Instead, pastel de Bacalhau are fantastic cod and cheese croquettes; the locations of this chain are not always the same. The one in Porto (featured photo) is a wonderful 2-story library with real old volumes.
The cod was offered with another glass of port and then at dinner we also tasted the excellent local wine, which the walk back to the lodging on the other side of town did not glaze despite the ups and downs, so we threw ourselves into bed falling asleep instantly.
The bathroom/kitchen/bathroom
Only the next morning did we have time to realize the absurdity of the place where we slept, starting with the furnishings.
It was filled with paintings that looked like antiques, and there were fake books that were actually drawers. A mysterious pyramid on the nightstand was actually a pitcher, while a red veil hung from the ceiling, perhaps a fly trap?
The centerpiece, however, was the bathroom, which was actually also the kitchen. It had been carved out of what was part of the inner garden. On the left through a curtain, there was access to the tiny space with a toilet; in the central part there was a sink and stove but also a sink.On the right another curtain led to the equally tiny shower. After all, the premise that my traveling companion accepted was precisely to have as many experiences as possible while saving on lodging, so fine.
On the second day we immediately threw ourselves headlong into our binge of churches that were simple on the outside and very rich on the inside; of azulejos and glimpses of the great rivers that crisscross the great Portuguese cities.The architecture of Portuguese buildings, not only the religious ones, is absolutely original and imaginative. Also original is the photography museum, where there are both the oldest and the weirdest machines and even those used by spies.
After the church of St. Francis, we couldn’t help but try the francesina and having also made good use of the hours of the day before; in the afternoon we rented bikes to pull over the Douro to the mouth and from there, still on a bike path but waterfront to the town of Matosinhos. We didn’t go to the Liveria Lello bookstore: famous for its interior that would inspire J.R. Rowling to write Harry Potter; I really don’t think you had to stand in a kilometer-long line to get in at that time.
We end up by chance in the Portuguese sardine festival.
We had calculated well 1 1/2 intense days for the best of Porto and leaving from the beautiful Sao Bento station, we took a train to Coimbra on the way to which we stopped in Aveiro, a city known as the Venice of Portugal that we practically only got a glimpse of, however, from the bus with which we went to the far more picturesque village of Costa Nova.
The route to get there is also beautiful, crossing salt marshes and a large marshy area.The village is a thin strip of sand between the ocean and the lagoon. To get your little feet wet in the icy waters you have to climb a high dune. The resort is famous for its colorful little houses, which are really pretty, although, forgive my veniality, the top was to stumble absolutely randomly upon the sardine festival: memorable lunch. There were tents like our unity festivals and long tables; we were practically the first diners of the day because it was so early and everyone went all out when we explained that we had the bus to catch.
Coimbra is the destination we neglected a bit. We arrived in the late afternoon when both churches and the university were already closed, which we saw from outside.
We had decided to travel only with carry-on luggage and take only 4 changes to wash; compared to my first trips I had begun to appreciate the pleasure of traveling light. In Coimbra we did the washing, but it rained that night, the room was small and a bit damp so that our clothes did not dry. We hung them out in the car, perhaps someone must have taken us for earthquake victims.We traveled with a good smell of laundry but with a couple of parking lots in the hot sun, everything dried: perfecto!
Speaking of eating and drinking in Portugal, too much Porcu for me as well
On the day with the rental car we were able to see everything, and the day ended with a sumptuous dinner.
The risk of seeing 1 convent and 2 monasteries of medieval times in half a day is to confuse them. But the overall memory of such beauty, and the standard of living the religious had, remains.
After the Unesco heritage churches, we arrived in Nazarè in the late afternoon. It is famous for one of the most impressive cliffs in the country; for the beach and the highest waves that attract many surfers.
If you try to get into the water, you can’t even get your calf wet that a whistling lifeguard stops you.
We had chosen lodging half an hour from Lisbon airport, in the middle of the countryside. The risk of these arrangements is that we do not have many alternatives for dinner. A very rustic trattoria was suggested to us.
To enter one had to ring the doorbell; after a quick look the innkeeper let us in. There came to me a dish overflowing with various pieces of pork, surrounded by homemade bread and roasted potatoes, which almost floated in a sauce in which there was also melted cheese. We would have filled up with half of that goodness, which with great regret we had to leave.
Previous stop Drink the port in Porto with the beautiful figueira, perfecto!
Next stop While visiting Lisbon, friends of friends
Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent
Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives
Countries visited in my travel stories
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.