Guimaraes Castle and Monte do Bom Jesus - Day Trip from Porto

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We picked up our good friends Randy and Nancy who happen to be staying two blocks away (what a great coincidence) using our rental car and drove to Guimaraes. it took us about 45 minutes to drive to the castle. There are actually two castles on the property a newer one that is furnished and a older one that is ruins, there is a small fee to visit the furnished castle. The castle was built for the first king of Portugal. I enjoyed the castles, I always enjoy furnished castles because you see old furniture, art and tapestries.

We skipped visiting the town of Guimaraes because we had other stops but it is an Unesco Works site and if you have time is worth a visit. Off to Bragga only 20 minutes away to visit the Catholic sanctuary Monte do Bom Jesus. There is no entrance fee to visit. As the name states Monte is at the top of the mountain about 5K from downtown Braga. It is a beautiful day, not hot and not cold. The grounds are beautiful with a grotto for quiet meditation. They have a hotel with a restaurant, a small cafe with outdoor seating and a ice cream vendor. We decide on the ice cream, life is good when you are at such a beautiful place, with good friends and enjoying a ice cream. There is a beautiful church here but the big draw is the granite steps. As you climb down you admire the statues, fountains and the side chapels which portray the stations of the cross. At the bottom we pay for a ride on a trolley back up the hill.

We are hungry so we go into the town of Braga. We found a cafe open for lunch. We ordered a burger but they were out of beef, we ordered another item but they were also out. I saw another waitress deliver a plate it looked like an omelette to another dinner so I just pointed and said I will have that, Mark ordered it too. Well it was not an omelette but a fish dish with cream and potatoe. It was one of the best dishes we ate in Portugal. Maybe I should use the point and order system more often. This is a cute town and after lunch we walk around, visit shops, a church and just enjoy being in Braga. The drive back to Porto was only about 50 minutes. We say goodbye to our friends they are off on their own adventures and we also leave Porto the next day.

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Comments

[Stan Skiba]

Antiquity
Love the castles as well. Just read about some of the Gauls and earlier descendents of Span and Portugal. A tough lot of people. Have a friend who is spending 3 weeks in the Azores