Chaves, Braga & Bom Jesus do Monte.

Another bright sunny day as we leave Braganza to drive across the mountains to Chaves which is about the halfway point to Braga our destination for today.

Part of the walls of the citidal of Chaves, a very pleasant little town, they have hot springs here same as our village back in France, and like Lamalou first discovered by the Romans .

The Pont Romana, built by the Romans in AD 104.

 A Roman milestone on the bridge.

A new bridge over the river. I wonder if this will still be standing in 2000 years?

We then drove over the mountains into the Minho region of Portugal and the city of Braga. We stayed in the 5 star Melia, it was not very good, which I suppose is the reason we could to afford it.

After the worst evening meal of the trip, the worst breakfast and the worst nights sleep, we could'nt turn the heating down it just kept pumping out the heat all night long, we had the desk fella up twice but he could'nt do anything, they do say things happen in threes, we get them all at once. Pic is the funicular up to Bom Jesus, which was worth the awfull night, a truly inspiring place

The Bom,Jesus do Monte, this is the staircase you accend to get to the church at the top, the really devout go up on their knees. At Easter I be leave they have paramedics on hand to deal with all the damaged knees.

The church has just been cleaned, they have just started to work their way down the stairs cleaning the walls and statues.

This is what you see after you get to the top, the main alterpiece.

And the famous crucification scene in a side chapel.

Looking down part of the staircase.

I think this is one of the most unforgettable sights I have ever seen, well worth the journey.

Braganza, Portugal

Only a short drive today, over the border from Zamora into Portugal and onto Braganca, 105 klm.  Braganca is a pleasant little town high in the hills of the Tras-is-Montes region of Portugal guarding the border with Spain, with a magnificent castle, built on the hill overlooking the town.

A sight common to Canadians not seen much in Europe,  but enjoyed by the locals.

The approach to the Cidadela (the castle)  on the hill overlooking the town. Inside the walls there are a collection of house's, restarants and shops.

Looking through the gates at the little village inside the Cidadela.

 Part of the fortifications.

Looking over the walls back to Braganca.

The view from the walls over olive groves towards  the Spanish border.

This little church in the main parade ground, quite beautiful inside with a very impressive ceiling.

Today's lunch, they eat at normal times in Portugal, we sat down for lunch around 1pm.  I had bacalhau which I think is the best food to come out of Portugal, it has a Canadian connection around 1500 when Portuguese fisherman were taking the cod from Newfoundland the only way they could get it back to Portugal was to salt it, once back in Portugal it was soaked in water to get rid of the salt and can be cooked in 365 different ways. Today's version was a local recipe with local ham added and then cooked in batter, it was super.

Ruth being a fishermans daughter won't have her cod any other way than they do it in Whitby! She had wild boar stew with a selection of vegetables. She says it was very good. Portuguese cooking is not a gourmet tour just really good plain food cooked like your Mum did, I think this is one of the reasons we keep coming back, makes you feel good and happy.

Perigueux, France to Zamora, Spain

 

Boxing Day and we move on from the family festivities and head towards Spain. The first 2 hours of the drive through the Perigord is fine, but after Bordeaux we have to go through a part of France called the Landes, which is the most boring drive in France. A couple of hundred years ago some bright spark decided the only way they could stop the Atlantic continually flooding the land was to plant pine trees on the sandy soil, it worked creating what is probably one of the best beaches in the world, it runs from Bordeaux to the Spanish border over 200klm but as for driving it all you see is pine trees, small ones, big ones, piles of cut ones, miles after boring miles, all in dead straight lines standing to attention. When you get to the border it changes and you enter the Basque Country which is magnificent, hills, valley's, rivers, a total change. No pics I'm afraid just after we crossed the border the mist came down followed by rain.

We stopped for the night in a small town called Miranda del Ebro at a converted convent, Hospederia el Convento and what a surprise, the room with breakfast 48€. The evening meal was 19€ with wine and was 7 courses! We gave up after 5 completely stuffed. When in Canada and the U.S. We struggled with the five pm dinners. Spain is evan stranger dinner starts at 9pm.

 After breakfast which they eat at the normal time of 8 to 9 am we headed of on the second stage of our journey to Zamora about 300klm yesterday we travelled around 550klm.

Arriving around12:30 we decided we would have lunch and give the evening meal a miss. Lunch in Spain is taken from 2pm we were in the restarant on the dot nobody else arrived till around 3pm as we were just finishing up, a different way of life it surely is. I had pasta and prawns to start Ruth marinated salmon. The photographer not quite on the job here. Will try and do better.

Main course roasted veal for Ruth, Iberian tournedos for me.

Ruth had the tiramisu and I had the rice pudding. Then like the rest of Spain we had a siesta.

Tomorrow we move on into Portugal.