Tom`s travels: 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.