Last night, we covered a distance of 340 km from Sintra to Porto in less than three hours. The drive was uneventful since it was mostly on freeways. We noticed speed limit signs but most people didn’t bother to obey. Several times we ran into fast Audis and we decided to create a convoy of speeding Audis; TT, A5, A4, and S6. The convoy did save us from the dull of straight driving on freeways. This morning, refreshed, we are up for a new city exploration. Fortunately, despite the fact that Porto is the second largest city in Portugal, its size is relatively small. We are looking forward to slow down our sightseeing pace a bit since today is our eighth day in our Spain-Portugal driving vacation. Porto’s Av. Diogo Leite along Douro River is where ... read more

We are heading back towards downtown to visit Castle of São Jorge. We save this for our last stop of the day because this is the perfect place to enjoy sunset. The cobblestone street near the Castle ground is narrow and ascending steeply. It passes the ancient quarters of this town where time seems to stay still. Fado, Portuguese melancholic singing, from patio restaurants, can be heard softly as we drive slowly with the windows down. The houses in the ancient quarters are made of stone and they are small compared to the relatively newer ones at the bottom of the hill. Castle of São Jorge is a Moorish castle and it was once a home of the Portuguese royal family. Since the Portuguese revolution, the abandoned castle decayed into ruin, and many of the complex ... read more

Avenue da Liberdade From our hotel, we drive on Avenue da Liberdade towards downtown. This avenue is lined by world famous designers. It is as if we are strutting on Lisbon’s catwalk in a sporty and progressive Audi TT. Through our windows, we see a painter on the sidewalk sketching a couple in love, artisans offering handmade handicrafts, and a few outdoor cafes filled with tourists and locals enjoying their breakfast. Pombaline Baixa Arriving in downtown area, we are greeted by relatively easy traffic despite the fact it is the morning commute hour. The downtown area, Pombaline Baixa, was constructed after the 1775 devastating earthquake. The city blocks are well organized in grid with many one-way streets. Learning from the painful destruction, the city builders in 18th century constructed the buildings in Pombaline Baixa with the ... read more

The next morning, after plenty of rest, we begin our tour of Cordoba. Because we stay in the center of the historic district, we leave our car beneath our hotel. Originally, the great Mosque-Cathedral was constructed in 600 AD as a Roman temple dedicated to Visigothic cathedral. In the 8th century after a new ruler arrived, a mosque was constructed and it took two centuries to complete. Finally, in the 13th century a cathedral was inserted into this immense structure by Christian conquerors. Because thousands of architects and builders from differing cultures had poured their passions over centuries of generations, the interior of this Mosque-Cathedral is impressive and yet odd at the same time. The first amazing sight is the “forest” of granite and marble pillars with red and white horseshoe-shaped double arches that go on ... read more

We get up early because we have a long but exciting drive to Cordoba with a stop at a medieval town of Toledo, which is just 70 km south of Madrid. The drive to Toledo is far from exciting because we are part of the commuter traffic and the highways are mostly straight and flat. The historic walled-town of Toledo sits majestically above Tagus River. Its history goes back to the Bronze Age and Roman time. The best way to explore this town is by getting lost in it. Puerta de Bisagra is the main entrance on the northern side. Its Moorish architecture is characterized by horseshoe arches and decorated tiles. The square parapets at the top of the walls remind us of the original function of this gate. Narrow and hilly cobblestone alleys spread in ... read more