Day 133 : Braga

I still have an almost full day in Braga today, as I only have a bus leaving for Vigo later at 3.55pm. There's still places which I haven't yet to see in Braga, and I was also told of a walking tour that is available at 11am from Arco do Porta Nova, and decided to check it out.

But not before another breakfast of pastries! Tried a couple more things including this thin-like biscuit, which is supposed to look like the crossing of legs. It was OK. And I had to have 1 last Nata while in Portugal, unfortunately the better ones are still found in Porto or Lisbon. 

But the Almond Croissant still a fave!

I casually took a walk before joining the Braga free walking tour which lasted for a duration of 2 hours. 

We were told that Braga is a city of Archbishops as there are over 100 churches across Braga, and a number of monuments in the city were ordered to be built by different Archbishops, including this arch.

An architect was hired and created the female symbol of the city, as he envisaged the city of Braga to be a female, but yet strong as represented by the spear in her hand, and holding a building of Braga in the other.

Apparently there's a saying that goes "Braga prays, Porto works, Coimbra study, Lisbon spends". One of the guests on the tour said "so many churches, means a town full of sinners"? 😂

The same icon can also be found at the Fountain of Castles, located outside the University Do Minho. Before this was a University, it used to be the place where the archbishops speak, especially since it is located just next to the Braga Cathedral. 

The city has over years of history, and we were told that the Romans founded Braga in 16BC.

There still exists a few towers, walls and roman ruins in the city, with even occasionally still finding some roman ruins, when buildings get renovated.

Torre de Menagem is one of the last two towers left in Braga. It's now a museum that holds 2,000 years of history of Braga, and said to have a very good view of the city from the top. Unfortunately it has been closed for some time due to covid.

The Romans are such a big thing here that every year in May (May 25 - 29 in 2022) Braga Roman festival is held, where everyone is dressed up in Roman outfits and even the food served is a reflection of what was available during the Roman times.

There was a lot of focus about the main cathedral during the tour and the guide mentioned about how symmetry is an important element in almost every landmark or landscape feature that is built.

Including this beautiful gardens of Jardim de Santa Barbara. All those flowers are so pretty!

We were also shown the slimmest building in Braga. 

One of our last couple stops was the Church of St. Marcus. This used to be a cathedral, then got converted to a hospital up until 2011,and now the left wing is a hotel and the right wing has a pharmacy. 

Next to it is the Cathedral of Santa Clara which is still actively used as a church. With all the gold trimmings, it looked more like a theatre on the inside. 

Another square we passed through was Praça da República, a really beautiful square and one of my favourites in this city. 

From here, one can also see Bom do Jesus in the distance on a clear day. 

There are also signs of preparation for the big festival that will be celebrated in the city in the coming weeks with some buildings being decorated up.

We were also told of a Christmas tradition that is only available in Braga, where bananas are eaten together with Moscato on Christmas eve at the House of Banana shop. Apparently this celebration had been trademark and no other shops or restaurants can sell it as a combination, other than House of Banana.

One place which was not covered on the walking tour that I really liked was Palácio do Raio. It is a monumental palace built between 1754 and 1755 and exemplifies both typical features of the so-called Baroque “joanino”, as well as the then current influential European trends, and specifically, French, the “rococo” tiles.

Some other random views of the city... 

After the tour, I headed over to Tábuas, Copos & Outras Cenas for lunch - what I liked about this place was the possibility of ordering much smaller portions so that I can order a couple more items for 1 person.

I ended up with "Montandinho" of Smoked Mackerel, Shrimps Little Bags and Eggs Sliced on Mushrooms.

And then it was time to leave Braga and Portugal!

I've spent 3.5 weeks in Portugal and if given the chance and time, I could have easily spent more! I have been very pleasantly surprised with Portugal, as there are more things to see and do in the country than expected.

There's still places in Portugal I would love to see and revisit, and I hope I will get a chance to do so one day soon.

Till then, Obrigada Portugal and Ciao! 

Day 132 : Guimarães Day Trip

The skies have finally cleared and the sun is out! Lovely! 

I popped by my favourite bakery (actually the only bakery I have tried in Braga!) for another of the yummy almond croissant and also tried another item, name which I have no idea of. It was OK, but the almond croissant still takes the cake! 

The town centre is back to life in the day as I walked through to get to the Central bus station, to do a day trip to Guimaraes. 

There wasn't much information online about bus schedules and routes to get there, but a trip to the Braga main bus station shows that Transdev makes regular trips, which takes about 50 mins and €3.35 each way. 

I was told that while Braga is more Roman in style, Guimarães is more medieval. What I found were numerous squares in this town, starting with Largo do Toural. 

I next headed to Largo da Oliveira - a square which contains the church Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira. 

And just next to Largo da Oliveira is another beautiful square called Praça de São Tiago, with a number of cafes and restaurants that were just starting to open for the day when I walked by. 

By chance, one of the council buildings was having a photo exhibit of what Guimarães looked like in the 60s and 70s, and I always enjoyed seeing images of the past and comparing to current day.

Most of the buildings still looks the same, though there's some change in use from residential to commercial in a number of places. 

I continued to aimlessly walk the streets of Guimarães and soon arrived at Largo da República do Brasil. I was very impressed by the beautifully landscapes garden that lines up all the way to the church Igreja e Oratórios de Nossa Senhora da Consolação e Santos Passos. 

I walked over to Guimarães Castle and Palace Duques de Bragança. I didn't go into them, as I wasn't keen on paying for anymore churches, fortresses or palaces. I did however hear that this was where Portugal was founded. 

Walking back to the city centre, I walked past Muralha de Guimarães - fortress walls of Guimarães. 

Shortly after found a restaurant O Petisko for my lunch spot. 

I am very amazed by how the set lunch costs only €5.50, which came with soup, bread, salad, a main (Hake Fillet with rice and fries) and even a jug of wine which easily filled about 2.5 glasses. How do they make the money? I was definitely happy, both from the food and wine after the meal! 

And then it was back to Braga, catching the 4.10pm bus and arriving back at about 5.10pm, where I spent some time walking through the streets of Braga. 

I was still full from lunch, and decided to just have ice cream for dinner!

Who would have guessed that Cream Cheese with Pumpkin is a good combination in ice cream. Other flavours pictured : Salted Caramel & Straciatella. The Straciatella is probably the best I ever had with lots of chocolate chunks!