Nicolinas Festivities
November 29th 2022 Saint Nicolinas We are here for the beginning of the festivities of Saint Nicolinas. The Nicolinas Celebrations…
Portugal
Minho Region Wine, Granite and Eucalyptus
November 2022 The dominant white grape varieties of this area are Alvarinho, Arinto (locally known as Pedernã), Avesso, Azal, Loureiro,…
Driving the Backroads of the Vinho Verde Region of Portugal
November 2022 Peneda-Gerês National Park Soajo My traveling partner Susan and I picked up a dear friend Katherine who is…
Wandering the Countryside of Guimarães
Citânia de Briteiros The Citânia de Briteiros archaeological site of the Castro Culture is one of the more excavated sites…
Valença Fortaleza – Portugal
November 2022 The Walled Portion of the City of Valença, Portugal Valença dates from Roman times. Inside the fortified walls,…
Northern Portugal – Exploring Abandoned Monasteries
November 2022 This was a day of exploring the Minho Region, the oldest part of the country of Portugal. Originally…
Discovering Northern Portugal
November 2022 There are at least 42 aqueducts in Portugal. Fifteen were built for public water supply and 26 for…
Porto, Portugal – Literature and Wine
November 2022 This is my second trip to Porto and this trip is less about discovering the city and more…
Port Wine and The Duoro Valley
The writings of the Greek geographer Strabo, show that people of the Iberian Peninsula were drinking wine over two thousand…
Thoughts on Porto
November 2021 Porto is like a really comfortable sweater, you slip it on as though you have known it for…
Bridges of Porto and a Bit More
November 2021 The Arrabida Bridge was designed by Edgar Cardoso (1913-2000), said to have been the best bridge engineer of…
Porto, Portugal
November 2021 My friend Susan and I met up in Porto. It is a town where I slowed down, and…
Bom Jesus de Braga
November 2021 This stairway is why you come to Bom Jesus in Braga, Portugal. The first indication of a chapel…
Coimbra, Portugal
November 2021 Coimbra is a lovely town, and like every University town, it is multifaceted. The university was first established…
Convent of Christ in Tomar, Portugal
November 2021 Convent of Christ Tomar, Portugal To put the Convent in simplistic terms it was originally a 12th-century Knights…
Driving North in Portugal – Alcobaça and Batalha
November 2021 Alcobaça The Alcobaça Monastery is one of the first buildings to be associated with the Cistercian Order in…
Driving South to North in Portugal – Évora
Halloween – 2021 I am driving from the south of Portugal to Porto attempting to hit as many UNESCO World…
Lisbon: History, Art, Water and So Much More
October 2021 I have been wandering around Lisbon flummoxed. I am staying at a very nice hotel in the Braixa…
Gardens of Lisbon
October 2021 Calouste Gulbenkian Museum Born in Istanbul of Armenian parentage, Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (1869–1955) built a huge fortune through…
Sintra and Sensual Overload
October 2021 If you arrive by train, this is the ticket booth. The town becomes magical with the azulejos, upon…
Eclectic Collection of Art and Architecture in Lisbon
October 2021 Comércio Square This is the Rua Augusta Arch because it is found at the end of the street…
Wandering Belem and Parts of Alfama
October 2021 Lisbon sits on a Bay fed by the Tagus River and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. For this…
Walking the Chiado, Baixa, Avenida and Bairro Alto of Lisbon
October 2021 One of the first things you read of Lisbon is about the 1755 Earthquake. It was All Saints…