Adonde fueres haz lo que vieres: Olá Portugal

It finally happened. I finally went to Portugal. After eight months of living less than two hours from the border, I made the hop, and am so glad I did. Friday, Saturday and Sunday I visited Braga, Porto, Lisbon and Fátima with Francesca, Daniela (Francesca's friend visiting from Italy), Giulia (our personal chauffer) and Ángel. It was the kind of trip where almost anything that can go wrong goes wrong, and in the end you wouldn't have had it any other way.

Group shot in Braga (Angel, Daniela, Francesca, me and Giulia)

Friday we set out mid-afternoon for Braga, a small city in northern Portugal. We stretched our legs with a short walk around the old town where we visited the cathedral, a coffee shop, a garden and then back to car to continue on to Bom Jesus do Monte, a Sanctuary atop a 'hill', and by far the most beautiful spot we visited. We spent a couple of hours wandering aound the grounds surrounding the Sanctuary before going down the stairs (there were many of them, it seems that Portugal is made of stairs) and taking the cable car back up. It was hard to leave Bom Jesus, I actually asked if they would mind just swinging by again on Sunday to pick me up on their way back. But alas, I got in the car and we continued on to Porto.

First sights in Braga

Plaza

Beautiful view from the plaza

Flowers and graffiti

Portuguese wedding in the streets of Braga, and the famous arc

Me, Daniela, Francesca and Giulia

View of Braga from the top of Bom Jesus do Monte

Group shot

Old gazebo with a drinking fountain

My gooooooodness

Stairs leading up to the Sanctuary

Out of this world.

Looking down on Bom Jesus

Cable car back up to Bom Jesus

Along the way we missed a toll booth...which means our first stop in Porto was in a police station. Which told us to go the Portuguese DMV the next morning (the way any tourist dreams of spending their vacation). The DMV told us (after having spent the whole morning searching for it) that we had to pay it at the border of Spain and Portugal. Lots of lost time dealing with this. I was also lucky enough to spend my first night in Portugal ill. I spent the majority of the night running to the restroom and then walking a few miles to find the 'closest' pharmacy with Ángel. We have no idea what made me sick as we all ate the same things, but considering all of my time traveling it is actually surprising that this is the only time I have ever been sick. Even Mexican street food sold from bikes on the highway didn't do the trick. Well played Portugal.

Saturday morning was spent searching for the DMV to pay the ticket that they didn't let us pay there. A whole morning lost, but we made up for it during our afternoon in Porto. I returned to the hostel to meet up with Ángel (the girls were in a motel) and we headed out. Our first stop was at Livraria Lello e Irmão, the third most beautiful bookstore in the world, and the inspiration for the bookstore Florish and Botts in Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling lived in Porto while she wrote the first book). Ángel and I were completely blown away, I have never seen a bookstore so beautiful. Also, I am a huge Harry Potter fan. After the bookstore, Ángel and I headed to the Leitaria da Quinta do Paco for Porto's famous eclairs. And were disappointed. However, they made up for it in grilled cheese and fresh orange juice.We spent the rest of the day walking along the shoreline, where we met up with the Italians, and enjoyed a coffee before headed back to the car to head to Lisbon.

Porto's train station

Cutest Portuguese tot

Sunny, sunny Portugal

Grilled cheese, even yummier than it looks

From the tower of the cathedral

Inside the cathedral

Portugal and Brazil patriotism

Back alleys of Porto

Douro River

Panoramic shots from both sides of the river

Oh hey USA

More statues and graffiti

Putting pins in the hostel map

Blustery day for a photo op

Porto's cathedral

Leaving a bit of hearts in Porto

We arrived in Lisbon incredibly late, ordered pizza and chilled in the hostel. Sunday morning we headed out to explore the city. Our first stop was Monasterio de los Jerónimos de Santa María de Belém, a breathtaking monastery, then on to the Torre de Belém. Along the way we stopped to try and take a cute group picture, with each person in their home nation, but no one understood that I was apart of the group and I was left out of many photos or alone in many photos. No cute photo was taken. The tower was impressive with its intricate facade and creepy cellars made for prisoners half the size of a normal person (the old prison cells in Europe are awful with no latrines and ceilings that force the prisoners to constantly stay stooped over). Our tower trip was followed by a bus ride to downtown where we saw the Lisbon of postcards. Cable cars constantly honking to warn pedistrians of their arrival, colourful alleys with laundry hanging from the balconies, graffiti on every corner and of course the eldery watching the tourist take photos on their door stoops. We had the time to visit the Igreja da Sé, a church that from the outside doesn't stand out much, but is beautiful inside, and then to the Castelo da Sao Jorge. After this we just wandered our way back to the car, grabbed some typical Portuguese pastries on the way out and headed to Fátima. Fátima is a site for pilgrims (somehow this seems to be a pattern for my year in Europe, pilgrims, pilgrims, everywhere) as it is believed that the Virgin appeared to three children here. For the story, click this link. The stop was short, but gave us enough time to walk around the Sanctuary, and of course for another coffee break (travelling with any European means at least a hundred coffee breaks a day haha), and then to head back to Santiago. Somehow between the toll booth leaving Fátima and the next one in Porto, our ticket disappeared. Meaning a sizeable fine. The original toll booth problem from the trip to Porto was solved with no problem at the border, and no additional fine. We arrived home at 4am (not 1am as planned, due to stops and fines and wrong turns). And then to work on Monday morning. In the end everyone was exhausted and it took us all a couple of days to recover from a couple days of travel, but I am so glad that I got the chance to finally see Portugal.