These last few months I have been lucky enough to go to Lisbon a couple of times, with some time to wander around this city at the Tagus riverside, and full of history and life. The fact of having already been a tourist in this city allowed me the opportunity to enjoy it in smaller doses (my agenda did not allow me more, either, hehe).
I am sure I will be visiting it soon again, but for the time being, a short post with the pictures of Lisbon 2017/2018 visits, taken mostly during an early walk through the empty streets of the city in September, and a visit to the Cristo Rei, and to Caparica, in January.
A couple of images from some early morning walks (this has become a tradition by now) in two beaches in the North of Porto: Praia de Mindelo (foggy morning) and Praia de Árvore (clear day).
Oporto (or Porto, or Port) is the perfect destination for a weekend trip. It is relative small, not too crowded, and the number of things to visit are just a few. In spite of that, we organized a 3-day visit to the second biggest city in Portugal, and we still have a reason to come back. Porto houses one of the most beautiful bookstores in Europe, but as a bookstore, it was closed both Sunday and Monday… A beginner’s mistake.
But Porto is more than a bookstore. It is a nice hilly city 5 km away from the Duero river mouth, which gave its name to a wine type that is only produced here. Wine production has also been one of the reasons of its economic power during the last centuries, which can be observed in the beautiful (but old) building spread all over the city. Unfortunately, some of them are not well preserved and will eventually fall down, unless some action is taken to prevent so.
Its history happens to be really interesting. Portugal has been a historic ally of the Brits, and allies help each other when in need. Due to the war between France and England in the 17th Century, the latter suffered a shortage of wine, and asked Portugal for help. Wine from this area was exported on a massive scale, and in order to preserve it during the long trip, brandy was added to the wine. That new wine became popular, and lots of wineries with English capital arose in the region, and are still leading the export business.
One of the musts for a Porto visitor, is a tour in one of these wineries to get to know the process and the history for this wine production… and in the meanwhile try the different versions that it has: white, ruby, tawny, LBV…
For more pictures from this trip, check this slideshow.
Cascais is a small town in the very west of Portugal, which we visited after enjoying the visit to Quinta da Regaleira and before heading back to Lisbon. By the way, between Sintra and Cascais, you can find Estoril, which is very well known for many reasons: the spanish Royal family lived there, there is a MotoGP prize there, and some international meetings also take place in it. I like when I find something I have heard about, but had no previous idea of where it was located.
Cascais is full of English people, and many of them are permanent residents, while many others just visit it for vacation. I love places next to the sea like this one in low season, as it is very relaxing, and there is always local activity regarding to the fishing, which is quite entertaining. 🙂
This photo was taken in Cascais. Doesn't it look like the Explanada in Alicante?
