Coffee and Poetry

Besides the historical connection between Portugal and Brazil, I have to admit my bookwormish side. In graduate school, I studied Brazilian and Portuguese literature. In addition to running into places connected to our historical characters, there were also the writers I … Read More

Sanctuary of Fátima

When we visited Portugal in 2018, we had several cities and sites we were certain we would want to visit. Besides the historical connection to Brazil, there were some specific cities in our list where we knew we would make … Read More

Basilica of the Holy Trinity

— In order to accommodate the large number of pilgrims who visit the Sanctuary of Fátima, Portugal, the Basilica of the Holy Trinity was built across from the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary. It was obvious that on … Read More

History Lesson

— We arrived early at the São Bento (Saint Benedict) train station to catch a train from Porto to the Algarve region in southern Portugal. Since we had ample time we walked around the station. We couldn’t help but notice … Read More

Portuguese Sidewalks

— During our first walk in Lisbon, Portugal, there was one thing that caught our eyes immediately: the intricate and carefully crafted Portuguese sidewalks. We were staying just a couple of blocks from the tree-lined April 25 Avenue. Once we … Read More

Fake Ruins (Ruínas Fingidas)

In 2018, we spent a month in Portugal traveling all over the country. One of our stops was the city of Évora. We stayed right in the middle of the historical city center and parked our rental car near the … Read More

Douro River

— When in Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, you owe it to yourself to experience a sunset by the Douro River. Do it as we did in 2018. Go across the Dom Luís I bridge to the Vila Nova de … Read More

Praça D. Pedro IV

— Walking around the city streets in Lisbon is one of the most fascinating things. Even if you have no purpose whatsoever, the historical lessons you relive are priceless. Not too far from where we were staying in Lisbon, when … Read More

Praça Dom Duarte

— This is one of those moments captured just by chance. As we were visiting the Castelo de São Jorge in Lisbon, we were admiring the beautiful cityscape from that vantage point. The castle sits high above Lisbon and provides … Read More

Douro River

— One of the things we had decided in advance we’d do while staying in Porto (Portugal) was to take a cruise down the Douro River. We thought it would be a relaxing day. We were right about that, and … Read More

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