Guides
A Straightforward Guide to Porto
Filled to the brim with tasty food, historical sites, picturesque streets made for wandering and barrels and barrels of fortified wine, Porto is a lovely place with a fascinating history...
Portugal
Autumn 2018
Portugal
Charmed by Coimbra
"Which way is Coimbra then? It's on a giant hill, surely we should be able to see it." I started flicking through the pages of the guidebook, which informed me we were around 1.5km from the town centre. We shouldered our backpacks and began walking along a distinctly unscenic motorway.
Portugal
A perfect weekend in the Douro Valley
The Douro Valley was listed as a "must do" in everything I read about Portugal, so I was excited to make the trip. I had read all about about it's glorious scenery, quaint villages and stunning wineries and had carefully ignored the reports of cold and wet weather in winter....
Portugal
Churched Out in the Douro region
Exhausted, we stood at the top of the steps, gazing at the church before us. Everything around was quiet, but we could here some noise from inside the building. Nicolas went into the porch of the church and poked his head inside the door. He came back over to where I was stood and shook his head.
Portugal
Putting the Port into Porto
One of the more bizarre features of Porto are the humongous signs bearing British names which beam out across the river. "GRAHAMS" "TAYLORS" "SANDEMAN" "COCKBURN"
Portugal
Lisbon for Smartphone Addicts
Who says social media ruins the travel experience?
Portugal
How not to see Sintra
Before air conditioning was invented, if you were a Portuguese aristocrat, you would escape the summer heat by going to this town, known for its natural beauty and hospitable climate, but as we alighted from the train into the drizzle, escaping the heat was far from our minds.
Portugal
Braga time....
Here's a question for you - what is Portugal's third largest city and where is it? Of course the clue is in the title of the post. It's Braga, and it's an hour's train ride North and inland from Porto. For the bargain price of €3,20 each way, you
Portugal
Sardine hunting in Matosinhos
It wasn't exactly sunny on Saturday, but given the forecast for the next week was mostly rain, we were determined to make the most of Porto in the autumn light. Our first stop was Porto Belo market, a Saturday morning market selling quirky gifts, books and food. Porto Belo means
Portugal
A trip to Foz do Arelho
After a long week of rain, for once the weekend was on our side, and Saturday was dry, if not entirely sunny. Although Porto isn't officially on the sea, it's close to it, and we wanted to see the beaches and coastline we had heard so much about Foz do