Portugal/Spain 2022

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It’s been over 3 years since we‘ve seen our friends from France, Susan and Harry. It was a real treat to meet up with them and stay at the Parador in Hondarribia (it sits on the border between Spain and France). The Parador was built as a fortress in the 9th century, updated in the 15th century by King Charles V and in more contemporary times, converted to a beautiful Inn that integrates centuries old architecture with modern amenities. It is a stunning facility although getting to the parking lot created some “sweaty palms”

Parking is a challenge in many of the communities visited, so we decided to take the short bus ride from Hondarribia to San Sebastián (actually the real reason is we didn’t want to jockey the car in and out of the very unusual parking location). San Sebastián is another beautiful seaside town with a long, sandy beach nestled inside a naturally protected harbour. Lots of shops on long narrow cobblestoned streets and a gorgeous, long promenade that seems to completely encircle the city. Our mission for the day concluded with a stop at the Pintxos Bar (pronounced Pinchos in Basque language) for a variety of light snacks which was enhanced with a pitcher of Sangria (remember there were four of us). Off to another local cafe for espresso and treats before catching the bus back to Hondarribia. San Sebastian is certainly a candidate for a return visit and longer stay.

Sadly we bade adieu to Susan and Harry and headed back to Portugal with a planned overnight stop in Leon, Spain, a nice city with a population of appx 130,000. It has a traditional “old section” featuring a beautiful cathedral in addition to numerous buildings of similar vintage. We had limited time to explore, however, did walk through many of the narrow streets taking a few photos of interesting sites. The San Marcos monastery, which sits on the Bernesgo River, is now a Parador (Debra was reluctant to spend the money for just 1 night stay) but it was a fabulous looking facility. There is also a Gaudi museum which needed very little identifying signage as the architecture made it easy to spot.

One of the benefits of self drive touring is the flexibility of time and places to go. On our way to Porto, we decided to detour to Braga, the oldest city in Spain, being established in 6 BC by the Romans. Just outside the city is Sanctuary Bom Jesus do Monte(Good Jesus on the mountain). The original site was started in the 12th century with subsequent additions culminating in numerous shrines along stairways that climb over 300 feet. We climbed every step which earned us our lunch. An impressive site that was not on our plan.

The city of Porto is Portugal’s second largest and seems far busier than Lisbon. The pent up demand for travel is exemplary by the huge crowds along the waterfront and throughout old town. We managed to snag a table, the first night, at a decent restaurant close to the waterfront, however, considered ourselves lucky to do so. A short boat cruise the next day provided a different perspective of both sides of the river (Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia) and highlighted the 6 bridges that span the Douro, one built by Gustave Eiffel who is also known for the eponymous Eiffel tower in Paris. A bit of trivia, the McDonald‘s location in Porto is reputed to be the most beautiful in the world and Portugal is the only country, where the fast food chain sells soup. (I wanted to have some but the all four varieties were sold out!). There was a long line up in front of the Lavraria Lello library which is the site of some of the scenes in the Harry Potter movies, so we took a pass and decided to watch the movie again. A tour of Taylor’s winery and a last night dinner at small gem of a restaurant (Piccolo Camefeu) concluded our stay in Porto where the weather seems to change every hour!!

Sort of, on our way to the Douro Valley, we traversed the “516 Arouca Suspension Bridge” which was the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge in 2021 when it was completed but has since been replaced by 2 others, not sure where. It’s 516 meters long and 130 meters high. For those that have Acrophobia (fear of heights) it is an instant cure. A 8 km hike along the Paiva river, followed by a hair raising (Debra’s not mine) drive along a narrow road, filled with lots of switch backs and hair pin turns, was enough excitement for the day and well deserved scotch!!

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Photos

Pintxos Bar in San Sebastian
Mouth watering presentation of a variety of small dishes.

Parador Hondarribia
Absolutely beautiful Inn

Statue of Anthony Gaudi outside of his museum
Debra is a fan of is work.

San Marcos Monastery Leon.
A very impressive building that is a combination Parador, functioning church and a museum. The original structure was part of the Camino Trail and the Knights of the Order of Santiago was established there in the 10th century.

Bom Jesus do Monte
Only part of the steps that climb over 300 feet. There are numerous religiously themed shrines incorporated along each stairway.

516 Arouca Pedestrian Suspension Bridge
There was some anxiety not knowing for sure if the engineers, in calculating the weight bearing capacity, considered all the custard tarts we ate over the past 2 weeks.