Trip around eastern Veneto (15/07/2015)

I left Jesolo, the beach town where I have a summer house, around 9;40 with my car and reached my first stop, the archaeological site of Altino about 20-25 minutes later. Once a flourishing and important roman city, it was sacked and destroyed by the invading barbarians and then slowly abandoned for a more safer area in the middle of the lagoon which turned into what is now Venice. So after parking the car I went to the museum's entrance but found a note saying to head on 300m where the new museum had been built. So I took some pictures of the roman tombs sitting outside in the old museum's courtyard and drove on to the new location. The new building in fact looked very new and large, once inside I asked the lady for a student discount, and she told me that since the museum was not fully complete yet the fee was 1,50€. I must say though that even if not complete yet, it is not a really nice museum, some displays were empty and the descriptions in general were a bit too long an boring. There were some nice artifacts on display but in general not so interesting. Hopefully in the near future they will finish the displays and present it in a more interesting manner so as to attract more tourists. So after the visit I got back in the car and headed for my next stop: Roncade. The main future of this little town is an impressive 15th century villa surrounded by a massive wall with towers, and behind it vineyards since it now works as a wine producing estate. Once inside I saw there was a possibility to have a tour of the place (for 10€) but I had to wait till the next one which was at 3:30pm so I decided to just see the garden and the outside by myself. After taking a few pics I was back in the car and heading for the next stop: Oderzo. This little town used to be a major roman city which once reached 50.000 inhabitants, however after the barbarian invasions it never recovered. Only during the middle ages and then under the Venetian Republic did it gain again a relative importance, though now it barely reaches 20.000 inhabitants. Once I reached the town, I parked my car right outside the city center and started walking around; unfortunately there was a market set along the streets so all the palaces were covered. I saw though that some were beginning to pack up so I decided to look for a place to eat while I waited. I found a nice restaurant just behind the Duomo, where I ate some really good strozzapreti (type of pasta) with 4 cheeses. After lunch I was happy to see the market was gone and so I was able to take some nice photos of the wonderful palaces of the old town. I then headed to the tourist office where I was given a map that detailed the many roman remains that dotted the town all over, I walked along the streets seeing mosaics, remains of villas and the remains of the roman forum. I then headed for the town's main square: Piazza Grande, with the nice romanesque-gothic Duomo, the Torresin or clock tower and several palaces. From there I walked back towards the car and stopped at the city's archaeological museum, which was quite small but had some 2 or 3 beautiful roman mosaics and some roman tombs and inscriptions. The video which showed the virtual reconstruction of the forum and a roman villa was very nicely done. Entrance fee to the museum was 3€. Heading on the next destination I decided to stop right before Portogruaro to check out the Abbey of Summaga, a nice Romanesque church built in the 13th century with frescoes of the same period detailing Mary and the Apostles. Since I was the only one there I was free to walk around without anyone bothering me. From there I got back in the car and entered the town of Portogruaro. I parked right outside the old city center and started the visit with a church right next to the parking lot, the Church of St Agnes. Then passig through the southern medieval gate I reached the old part of the town. A road heading north was lined on both sides with beautiful palaces, venetian styled and mostly gothic. I then walked on and entered the Museo Nazionale Concordiese, an archaeological museum depicting the roman findings of the nearby city of Concordia Sagittaria. It is thought to be the oldest museum in the Veneto region and one of the oldest in Italy. Ticket cost was 1,5€ with student discount. I thought the museum was quite small and a bit too full of objects, in fact most of the objects are cramped in the main room and are set up all around, like they did in older museums during the 1800s. Thus one can be distracted by all the things and cannot concentrate on one single piece at a time. Also the descriptions are a bit too small and not easy to read. Heading out of the museum I reached the tiny park located on the shore of the Lemene river, where there is a beautiful view of the back of the cathedral and a small square behind the city hall. There are also two really old watermills, perfectly preserved dating from the 12th century. I then crossed a bridge and reached the eastern part of the town, where the northern medieval gate was located. I then headed south along another road, parallel to the river like the one i previously walked on the other side, also filled with splendid palaces. I reached the Cathedral and went inside; rebuilt in the late 18th century and beginning of the 19th in a neoclassical style it doesn't feature anything important and the façade is incomplete; the bell tower is the only remaining part from the previous church. Close to the church is the city's main square: Piazza della Repubblica, with the wonderful gothic civic hall dating from the 13th century at its center. Behind it a small square overlooking the river with the old medieval fish market also in the gothic style. I then walked further on, passing through another medieval gate, and saw one last church before getting in the car: the church of St John. I reached the small town of Concordia Sagittaria, another once important roman town in the area. Once there I parked the car and entered the Cathedral, dating from the 15th century it is built over a few other Cathedrals that existed before, the most notable of which and also the first built in 350 A.D. Inside were a few remaining frescoes from the medieval times; I then headed out and entered the amazing Baptistery, built in the 11th century in a byzantine style and featuring frescoes detailing stories from the Bible and saints. It was then time to go so I got back in the car and back towards Jesolo, happy of having spent a day off from the beach.

The Castle of Roncade

Walls of the Castle of Roncade

Roman mosaic in Oderzo

View of the Duomo and square in Oderzo

One of the streets in Oderzo

Roman mosaic in the archaeological museum of Oderzo

Frescoes in the Abbey of Summaga

Inside of the Abbey of Summaga

View of the Abbey of Summaga

Southern entrance to Portogruaro

Inside of the museum in Portogruaro

View of the watermills, old fish market and Duomo in Portogruaro

Street in Portogruaro

View of the old mills

The main square and civic hall of Portogruaro

The Lemene river

Another street in Portogruaro

Cathedral of Concordia Sagittaria

Baptistery of Concordia Sagittaria

Frescoes inside the Baptistery

Evora, Sesimbra (15-18/06/2015)

I left Coimbra with my friend Flaviano at around 9:30 with the Redexpressos bus and arrived in Evora at 13:45. First thing we did was head to the Jardim Publico, or public park, not too far from the bus station, to have lunch with the sandwiches we made at home. The park was pretty nice and there were peacocks going around trying to get the few crumbs they could find. We walked through the park and reached the Palacio de Dom Manuel, or Royal Palace, built first as a convent in the 13th century and then transformed into a royal residence in the 14th century. The Palace was unfortunately closed so we then headed south right outside town to see the Igreja de São Bras which had a strange but interesting looking architecture. We then walked back into the city and headed for the next stop which was the Igreja de São Francisco, which was closed for restoration but the Capela dos Ossos, or Chapel of Bones, was still open. The entrance was 1,50€ for students plus a 1€ fee for taking pictures, which I could have saved myself from paying since there were so many people taking pictures, and they probably wouldn't have noticed me. The chapel was the resting ground of many monks and the walls, ceiling and columns were all covered in skulls and bones, very interesting but maybe too touristy. We then headed towards the Igreja da Graça, that wasn't far away, pasing through the pretty winding streets of the city. The church itself though was quite small and not much decorated inside. Next was the Largo das Portas da Moura, a small but pretty square with a lovely renaissance fountain at its center. After that we headed for the Cathedral which sits in the middle of the town. It is a very nice example of romanesque-gothic, and also one of the prettiest cathedrals in Portugal, first built in the 13th century and then enlarged in the 14th. The entrance fee for students was 3€ and included the visit to the church, the cloister and the tower/terrace. We went up to the terrace first, which had a wonderful view over the city and the surrounding countryside. After taking a few pics we met a group of old people that came from Italy and specifically close to where we are from: Vittorio Veneto. After a brief conversation with them, we went back down and into the cloister and then inside the church itself. Exiting the church we headed to the Largo Conde de Vila Flor, which had the beautiful Roman Temple at its center. The temple dedicated to Diana, was built in the 1st century A.D. The temple still survives quite intact because during the medieval times it was used as a tower first and then butcher shop. We then sat down and drank an ice-tea at the café on the square, and after that walked down towards the University which is housed in the Colegio Espirito Santo. Once a monastery, it still keeps a nice looking main closter at its center. Walking along the northern walls, we re-entered the city center; we reached the main square Praça do Giraldo, a very beautiful setting with a church at its western end and an interesting fountain at its center. What really caught my eye though were the porticoes or galleries all along the sides of the streets and square, usually very common in Italy, but which I had never seen in Portugal before. We then headed on to find a hostel, and not far from the main square we came across Old Evora. The owner, a Brazilian, was very friendly and told us we could pay the 12€ later. So we decided to finish visiting the city by seeing the southern walls and the aqueduct which cut trough half of the city. After the walk we stopped at a grocery store we we bought pasta and a sauce to cook back at the hostel. So we had dinner while an old couple from Australia talked with us for a while and later we met a weird 30 year old woman from Spain at the hostel that was just bragging how she enjoyed the Sant Antonio party in Lisbon, while Evora looked too desolate for her and wasn't so nice and quite average, though I didn't really agree with her. We then headed out for a walk and a drink, however it was quite windy and chilly, so after the drink we headed back to the hostel to sleep. To then catch the 9:07 train we woke up and had a quick breakfast; with 9,90€ we reached Lisbon at around 10:30 and then headed for the Praça de Espanha where we took the 11:15 bus towards the beach town of Sesimbra. After about 50 minutes of bus ride, we reached this beach resort and decided to shop at Mini Preço for lunch. We had a few sandwiches at the beach right in front of the town center and bought some fruit to bring to the beach we were heading to. We started walking west along the coast, walked past the Marina and reached the camping site Forte do Cavalo: they did not have any tents to rent and the price was about 5€ each just for staying inside and on a rough ground which looked very uncomfortable. So we decided not to stay and headed on towards the beach, the way was not easy: we had to walk up a steep hill and then down a narrow path through bushes and rocks, but eventually paradise was in sight. From up the hill the water looked so beautiful and transparent, and once it down it looked even better. We set ourselves down next to a group of half naked girls, and apart from a small family a couple of old people and a few youngsters there was no one else.  It was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen in Portugal. We had a few swims and I also jumped off some tall rocks, then after nearly everyone left we took several funny pics and did some workouts on the sand. Since it was a bit windy there, we decided not to sleep on the beach but instead headed back to the city center. We then decided to have a nice dinner since we were't paying for sleep. So we chose a well reviewed restaurant called O Rodinhas, where I ordered a bitoque, a steak with eggs and fries, very portuguese, while Flaviano got fried cuttlefish. The bitoque was quite average but I guess I made a wrong choice since the cuttlefish tasted good as Sesimbra lies on the sea. After dinner it was time to find a place to sleep; we searched along the beach and found a small shack which probably served as a beach bar during the day, so we set up the sleeping bags and not long after fell asleep. We woke up early the next day, at 7:30 and went on to find a bar to have breakfast. After finding a nice and one of the only already open pastelaria, we had a plentiful breakfast and an italian woman, hearing us speak, asked if we knew where the Praia da Ribeira do Cavalo was. I told her the way and that it quite hard and far to reach. After breakfast we headed for the city beach and stayed there until lunch time, the sun was strong, the water was clear and refreshing and sometimes a guy selling Krapfen would pass by yelling "Olha a booola". For lunch we grabbed some fruit from Mini Preço, but first we ate a cheap but nice tasting hamburger at a bar right off the beach. Then back on the sand until late afternoon when we had a walk along the beach and decided to take a shower before dinner, however it wasn't permitted to use soap and shampoo but we did either way with a guys telling on us, while we faked we couldn't understand portuguese. After a short workout we decided to look for another nice place to eat, we looked on the internet but weren't so sure. Eventually we decided for Casa Mateus, it was quite fancy inside and we were definitely under-dressed with shorts and t-shirt; despite that we ordered a very nice fish each and a fish soup as an appetizer, with a really good white sangria as a drink. We ended up paying about 25€ each, with just the sangria costing 18€ total, but all was good and tasty so we were satisfied. We went back to the place we had stayed at the night before, and found they had covered the sand floor with marble slabs which were too hard and uncomfortable so we removed them, though they were very heavy, and then laid our sleeping bags on the ground. We then brushed our teeth at the beach shower before going to sleep. Waking up the next morning quite late: between 8 and 8:30, we headed back to the pastelaria of the day before where we had another plentiful breakfast. We then headed back to the beach and sun bathed until lunch when we ate a few sandwiches from the supermarket. Then after a little more beach time and one last swim, we left from Lisbon at around 3 and once there we got the bus back to Coimbra at 4 which eventually got us home at 6. Definitely one of the best trips so far.

The bones in the Capela dos Ossos

One of the streets in Evora

The Largo das Portas da Moura

The top of the Cathedral

View from the top of the Cathedral

The Roman temple

View of the square with the Roman temple

The cloister of the University

Evora's main square, the Praça do Giraldo

The city beach in Sesimbra

View of the Marina and the town of Sesimbra

The Ribeira do Cavalo beach

Another view of the turquoise waters

A view at sea level

The small beach shack we used as a sleeping place

The fort of on the town's main beach

Lamego, Bragança, Vila Real (5-6/06/2015)

I took the 10:35 bus from Coimbra and got in Lamego at around 1pm. As soon as I was out the heat was already unbearable and since the bus station was not far from the city center, I started heading in that direction. The first thing I encountered was the City Museum which was unfortunately closed because soon, on the 10th of June, the whole city would host Portugal's day. So I then asked for directions to get to the tourist office, once I got there however it was closed for lunch, so I decided to have myself. I walked around a bit until I found a place to my liking, Adega Matos. Once inside I was greeted and seated by the owners; the interior was pretty small and had only 4 long tables and I sat next to three soldiers (probably here for the military parade for Portugal's day). Then the owner, an old and nice lady, told me the menu from which I picked Bacalhau á Bras with potatoes. It was very good, though slightly too salty, and definitely plentiful since I was full after that. They asked two times if I wanted something else but I refused saying I was full, but I did talk with the old lady asking her how the bacalhau was cooked. The meal which included water, was 7,50€ so a good price. After eating I headed for the Cathedral, the front door was closed but going around it I found the cloister door open so I went though and passed some workers, probably renewing the place for the feast. After taking a few pictures I went though another door and into the cathedral, or Sé: the interior was very nice, even though the original structure, dating from the 12th century before Portugal was even a country, had been altered but the ceiling was nicely painted, rare in Portugal. While reading the panels detailing the church's history, the guardian came by and wondered how I got in since he told me the church was still closed and he was going to open it then; I explained I went in through the cloister but he didn't mind. Once out I headed for the tourist office which was now open: inside the lady gave me useful info on opening times and then asked me if I wanted to see the Capela do Desterro, I answered I did so she called the lady-guardian of the chapel and told me to head there. After a 5-10 minute walk I arrived at the chapel, an old lady arrived right after and opened the door for me. It was quite small, well it is a chapel, but the inside was wonderful, covered in talha dourada, or gilded wood, just like the Santa Clara church in Porto, and the ceiling had portraits of important figures. After thanking the lady and giving her 1€, the cost of the service, I left and headed back for the city center. It was time to climb the infinite stair of the Santuario de Nossa Senhora dos Remedios; it started all the way down right at the heart of the city center and as a Calvary it wounded up the hill, with 686 steps all the way to 500m. It was really hot and the climb took a while, along the way some parts of the stairs were blocked because workers and gardeners were fixing and cleaning the stairs and park for the 10th. Once on top I was drenched in sweat and my legs weren't happy, I entered the church itself Baroque in style, which from the outside was pretty while inside looked quite anonymous. I cooled down for a while and then went back out, I walked down the hill on the other side and passed by the Igreja Santa Cruz which was part of a military base so it could not be visited. Then further down I reached the city center again, and along the way I picked up a few cherries from some trees, they were pretty good but no as good as the ones from Marostica. It was time to head up towards the castle, and I had to climb another hill to reach it. I passed by the Igreja de São Francisco which was closed and then I eventually reached the top of the hill where the castle was located. The castle itself was just a small keep consisting of a single tower with walls around it. The lady inside was amazed I spoke portuguese after I had told I was italian and showed me the way inside the tower. Panel illustrated the history of the castle and the city, and after going out and climbing the walls for a nice view over the center, I headed out towards the cistern. The lady at the desk there was very informative and good at explaining without being boring. She said it was the only cistern of the 13th century in the whole Iberian Peninsula, used as a water source for the whole town, and also told me how Lamego was the city with the most monuments per square km in Portugal and the only non district city with a bishop of its own, After visiting the cistern I headed down the northern side of the hill and ended up in the Igreja de Santa Maria de Almacave, a nice example of romanesque but with not much left in the interior. After that I headed down to the Jardim da Republica to rest and read a little; I decided to have dinner in the park too after having gotten a few sandwiches from Continente. After relaxing it was time to head back to the train station; I took the 9pm bus and arrived in Vila Real where I switched bus immediately after and arrived in Bragança at 11:45pm, from where I walked towards the hostel. The hostel itself wasn't that good though: the bathrooms were quite old and being in a 6 people bed room, even though with only 2 people one of whom got in the room at 1am and turned the lights on without bothering and the other that came in at 4am...wasn't the best. After waking up at 8am and having breakfast, I left the hostel and headed towards the city center. Bragança is very small, most of it now has a more modern part, where my hostel was located, surrounding the old town; it didn't take me much to reach the center. I walked along the main street heading towards the castle which was located on top of a hill. I passed by and entered the Igreja de São Vicente, and then headed up the hill, through the walls and reached the castle keep. The castle built in the 12th century is very nice and fortified, I entered and paid the 2€ ticket which also included the interesting military museum hosted inside. I then climbed the walls, and the view from the top of the keep was really nice, with the town on one side and the fields and hills/mountains on the other. After visiting the castle I headed into the very nice Igreja de Santa Maria, which would have probably served as the castle's church, and had a nice painting ceiling and then the Domus Municipalis, the oldest example of city hall in all the Iberian Peninsula, built in the 12th century. Right in front of the castle was the Pelourinho: very interesting since it had at the base a statue of a pre-roman, surely Lusitanian, pig/boar. Next on was the Museu iberico da Mascara e do Traje; a small but beautiful museum showing the masks that are still used during carnival but mostly for winter solstice in villages in the northeastern part of Portugal and over the boarder in Spain (some looked scary but amazing). I then headed back to the city center and entered the cathedral, or the old one since they built a new one in 2001. It didn't have much in the inside but it was particular cause the bell tower had served as a defensive one too. After that I tried the local swee and got a sandwich before catching the 11:45 bus to Vila Real. At around 13:20 I reached the destination; I decided though to head directly to the main monument, the Mateus Palace which was located 40 minutes by foot from the city center. Though overly priced: 7,5€ for the outside and gardens and 11€ for the inside too, I just payed for the outside which had beautiful garden and cherry trees, from which I picked a whole bag to eat at home. The Palace built in the 18th century, probably from a design by famous italian, naturalized portuguese, architect Nicolau Nasoni, had a beautiful Baroque architecture and the gardens and pond around it were very nice. It is now also famous for producing a good and widely know Rosé wine called in fact Mateus. After the visit I headed back to the city center, which took me another 40 minutes, and walked around the city center for a bit, checking out the Igreja dos Clerigos, also designed by Nasoni, passed in front of the Capela da Misericordia which was closed, reached the Capela de São Bras, which was closed but particular since it was surrounded by a cemetery and finally reached the Cathedral. The Cathedral, or Igreja de São Domingos, built in the 15th century was open so I went in and looked around, it didn't have much but was still quite nice. After that it was time to head home, so I went to the the small bus station and took the 6:25pm bus but had to switch in Porto, from where I finally reached Coimbra at 10pm.

View of the side of the Cathedral of Lamego

The Sanctuary of Remedios in Lamego

The Façade of the Cathedral of Lamego

One of the streets in Lamego

The inside of the Chapel in Lamego

The Sacntuary of Remedios

View towards the castle of Lamego

The Castle's Keep in Lamego

One of the streets in Bragança with the castle in the back

The castle of Bragança

View from the castle's walls

The Domus Municipalis of Bragança

One of the costumes in the Museum of Bragança

Two other scary costumes

The Cathedral and main square in Bragança with the castle in the far back

The Mateus Palace in Vila Real

Close-up of the Palace

The Chapel annexed to the palace also built by Nasoni

The gardens of the Palace