A Day Trip and More to Eat in Porto, Portugal

It’d been almost an hour since we’d been waiting for bus no.2 by the Braga train station. “C’est compliqué en Dimanche” – said the Portuguese woman to a French couple nearby before she jumped on her bus and took off, leaving us clueless tourists behind.

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We decided to grab a taxi, which conveniently delivered us to the hilltop of the religious sanctuary named Bom Jesus do Monte, that boasts a beautiful church

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with its wedding cake altars

and a garden that comes alive in the spring.

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This also meant that we got to skip the 600 steps climbing up the stunning baroque stairway

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that symbolizes the ascent from the material world into the spiritual one – best accomplished on your knees, with stops at fountains along the way for purification.

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Instead, we walked leisurely down to the material world.

On the return journey, we encountered enthusiastic FC Porto fans on their way to Dragon Stadium, celebrating their first Liga Title in five years.

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Back to the São Bento Station in Porto, we paused to admire the incredible tile panels by Jorge Colaço, dating from 1905–1916, depicting historic battles and the chronology of transportation.

Top: Battle of Valdevez Bottom: Egas Moniz presenting himself to Alfonso VII of Castile at Porto
D. João I in Oporto, with his fiancé and the Conquest of Ceuta
the Harvest
The vineyards and the shipment down the Douro
Work in the Watermill

The day was hot and we weren’t in the mood for a fully cooked meal, so we stopped by Saboriccia for some charcuterie meat, Portuguese flame grilled Chouriço and a glass of crisp Vinho Verde.

Then we followed our noses to Manteigaria for Portuguese egg tarts, piping hot fresh off the oven

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And finish the day with our favorite gelato in Porto.

Both the port wine and pistachio flavors were divine.

This wraps up our four-day sojourn in Porto, Portugal.

Coming up next in the Travel section: Copenhagen and the Faroe Islands.

22 thoughts on “A Day Trip and More to Eat in Porto, Portugal”

  1. Pingback: Antiqvvm Restaurant, Porto, Portugal – Travel-Gourmand.com

      2. Haha. Thanks so much for stopping by Jo! We could pass for hell these past few days surrounded by wild fire smoke from BC Canada, eastern Washington and Oregon. Good thing I have memories of these “heavenly” places 🙂

        Like

  10. Portugal will always have my heart. ❤ My time in Porto was short (two nights), but I also enjoyed visiting the sites you also visited. Can't wait to hear about your trip to Denmark (and the Faroe Islands, which interest me!).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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