Our Trip to Viana, Portugal

I've been posting about Galicia next door at my Fourth Wish blog, so I'll save blogging Portugal for this blog. (Portugal and England do have a connection, although it goes back much further than the Victorian Era.)

We normally spend a few days in Braga, Portugal, each time we come to Spain. I have set a mystery novel in Braga, and in the process of doing research, my husband and I made several wonderful friends there. One of them moved to Viana do Castelo, not too far from Braga and not too far from our Spanish location, so this time when we went to Braga we added a day in Viana.

We stayed at a very nice and modestly priced hotel in the historic section, Hotel Jardim (Garden Hotel) with a view of the Rio Lima. Viana is actually situated on the estuary where the river meets the Atlantic ocean and it is also at the foot of beautiful mountains. It's a truly beautiful city.

View from our window.
You can see the river is
like a mirror. 

Another view of the hotel

Our friends, Joana and Luis.

It's impossible to see all of Viana in one day, so we didn't try. But Joana, whom we knew from Braga, and her partner, Luis, whom we met for the first time, gave us a wonderful tour.

They took us by Funicular up to the Santuário de Santa Luzia.  (Santa Luzia is the patron saint of healing eyes, and since I have glaucoma, it seems in retrospect a fitting basilica to have visiedt in this city so full of beautiful sacred buildings.)

The four immense rose windows are spectacular from inside. (I didn't take inside pictures, but the nave and apse and individual alters were awe-inspiring. Outside, I did take this picture outside of an ancient statue of Christ in an alcove. The the church offers breathtaking views of the city,  river, sea, and beach.

The bridge you see here is the Eiffel Bridge,
inaugurated in 1878, designed by the same
Eiffel famous for the Eiffel Tower in Paris. 

This was a close-up of the
beach, taken from above.

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Before and after the trip up to the Santa Luzia Basilica, we walked through the historic part of the city, including the main plaza overlooking the river.

The remarkable rectangular sculpture with the broken chain you see below symbolizes Portugal's freedom after the authoritarian Prime Minister Salazar died in 1974, followed by the bloodless "Carnation Revolution" four years later. The plaza has a second interesting sculpture, but I didn't learn its significance.

I love the famous "Azulejo" tiles so typical of Portugal. Traditionally they are blue and white, or blue, yellow and white. But the tile work all over the city is wondrous and is often in different colors. Viana has a museum of Azulejo tiles, tracing their history (originally was inspired by the Moors) and their development through time.

The museum

Inside the museum

On a building wall outside

A really intriguing feature was the hospital ship that had been used in the 1950s to give aid to fishing boats. Viana has an old section of town devoted to the fishermen of yesteryear as well. This ship is no longer in use but is now a museum. We didn't go inside, but we were certainly tempted.

There are also numerous small plazas, parks, and fountains.Many of the names eluded me, but here is one of the small parks, and one of the pretty fountains. And here is a group photo of ourselves someone kindly took.

Luis, Joana, Me, Rajan, (L to R)

After we walked around quite a bit, we went to a restaurant in "old town" famous for its fish, and I must say I had a delicious salmon to remember, although the serving was overly generous. Then, as the evening wore on, we went to a bar. Over a savory red wine, we talked late into the night. Thanks to our friends, it was a wonderful afternoon and evening to remember.

One last view of the Basilica, high on the
hill before we drove off from the Marina,
where we had parked overnight.

Do you like old cities? When you vacation somewhere, what attracts you? Parks? Beaches? Statuary? Churches?

An Evening in Apúlia That Began with Pessoa

My husband and I returned Sunday from a five-day trip to Braga, Portugal. We went for the Braga Romana Festival, which I'll be posting about soon, with pictures.  Here is a little "taster" until then. But today our last evening in Braga is fresh in my mind, because friends we've been privileged to know — Carla Pereira, her husband, Armando Coelho, and their daughter, Beatriz — made it magical.  
         
To begin with, I am a fan of Pessoa, the mysterious Portuguese poet whose poems were never discovered until after his death. He's considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th Century, and one of Portugal's two greatest poets. The fact that I'm a fan doesn't mean I've read a lot of his work: But I do have two books of his translated poems that I dip into from time to time. And when I do, there is something about his use of words, even translated, that etch the heart and linger on.
   

So the evening we were to go out to dinner, Carla invited us to their flat for snacks first, and gave us this marvelous present: A hand-crafted book of some of his poems. You can see what a marvel the book is: The cover is wood, as it the spine, all lovingly assembled into a masterpiece of workmanship. The poems are in Portuguese, alas, but I will make it my Portuguese language lesson to start translating them one by one — probably for the next 30 years! 😊 She also gave us a bottle of Dona Carla wine, which we are saving for a special occasion. (Maybe when my new book comes out in October)

Those were the first two surprises.

The third surprise was where we went for dinner — a small fishing village about 32 kilometers away from Braga. It's called Apúlia, which is also the name of a town in Italy, and it is thought that perhaps there is a connection, due to Roman-style original folk costumes that may go back to the Roman Empire. The name of the restaurant was A Cabana (The Beach Hut). More about that later, but first we walked along the beach, enjoying the fresh breeze, the susurro of waves, the peacefulness that always comes near the ocean.

             

Carla took the picture of me on the beach looking up at Rajan. The reason I like this picture so much is that a few minutes earlier, a man came along singing loudly and with high spirits. I think he was gypsy because of the melody of his song and the wonderful "warbling" effect that you often hear in gypsy music. He stopped and leaned on the rail above, looking out to sea, with his arms wide open toward the water. Rajan was beside him at that point and gave him a couple of coins, and, in Spanish he spoke at length, thanking Rajan, blessing him, blessing his wife (with a nod to me where I was looking up from the sand), and then he went on his way, singing. I had my camera and would have loved to take a picture, but it would have made him self-conscious. And it would have destroyed the moment. But it's an experience I will always remember. 

Before we got back in the car to go to A Cabana, we posed for two group photos. And then we went on to the restaurant which was another great experience.

The restaurant was one of several in a line, but it was absolutely packed. Obviously a popular place. Wonderful artifacts of the sea and of fishing. Waiters who loved to joke — and who were some of the fastest I'd ever seen! And the food was just delicious. We had grilled salmon, but it came with potatoes and vegetables, and the meal was served with a very tasty table wine in a carafe the water kept refilling. Everyone at every table seemed to be having a wonderful time. (WE certainly were!) 

Finally, it was time to go. But the evening wasn't over! You might call this surprise #4: Armando drove us from beach area to beach area as twilight fell. It was a beautiful night. The sky was that lovely blue that always seems so mystical. The moon wasn't visible from inside the car, but Venus was — a planet, but also known as the evening star and the morning star, and always shining brightly. That's the epitome of Portugal for me: always shining brightly. 

How about you? What is the most magical trip you can remember? What is the most magical evening? Does twilight affect you? Do you love to wander along the beach?

School Visit in Braga, Portugal

Wonderful students at Escola
Secundaria Maximinos

It's been such a busy time, that I'm opting out of the "Celebrating Small Things" blog hop for about two weeks to catch up on events in Portugal and Galicia. Then I'll get back to it, as I really enjoy all the friends I've met there.

Now that book events of the last week are winding down, I can get to a school visit in Braga that give me the opportunity to meet some of the wonderful students at Escola Secondaria Maximinos, a secondary school equivalent to our middle and high school levels in the United States. (Braga is divided into civil parishes, and Maximinos, where the school is located, is one of those parishes.)

The visit was arranged by Carla Pereira, a lovely person I met on a previous trip while doing research who has become a dear friend, and one of the teachers at the school. Carla had corresponded with me and asked if I would visit her daughter's school. Of course I said yes! The teacher who set up the event, Senhorita Carminda, arranged for us to meet in the library, which provided a warm and welcoming environment.

Carla, her 12-year old daughter,
Beatrix, and me.

Carla's daughter, Beatrix, is twelve, but the majority of students were between 13 and 15. Students from two 7th grade classes and two 8th grade classes met in the library, which hosts visitors and various programs. (You can learn more about the library programs HERE.)

A table had been set up at the front of the room, and what really amazed (and delighted) me was a screen that had a picture of my book cover! I had bought posters to pin up, but they were entirely unnecessary.

What to my wondering eyes did appear.

Senhorita Carminda, me, and a charming
supervisor from the school district. I'm
sorry I can't tell you her name. I met a lot
of people all at once. But she was warm
and welcoming, like all the staff. 

The students were a great audience: attentive, curious, serious, well-behaved. They understood English and asked interesting questions: everything from what made me come to Braga (another book I'm writing), what did I like about Braga (oh so much!), how long I had been writing (all my life), and a few other questions.

Following along. . . (you can see my
husband, Rajan, near the door.)

The students were pretty focused.

And attentive.

I really enjoyed their questions.

Some of the students told me they write, too. And -- impressive -- one young man is studying both Spanish and French, in addition to the English he already has been learning. Here are some
    pictures of these cool young
    students:

 
 Altogether, the visit took about 45 minutes, and the time went by very fast.


Before it was over, I was presented with a gift from the school - a pen with a wooden shaft in a beautifully crafted wooden box. And because they do things in such a special way, the box was wrapped in paper with a picture of my book cover!

The wrapping.

The special pen. My poetry pen. 

Even though I write my fiction on the computer, I write my poetry by hand, and this is now my poetry pen, which will always hold special memories for me of this lovely event. (I took these pictures when we got back to our house in Galicia.)


After the students went to their next class, we had some pictures taken with our hosts, two hard-working librarians who also teach classes. They set everything up for us and created this inviting and comfortable atmosphere.

Rajan, Senhorita Carminda, me,
supervisor, and 2 gracious librarians.

Senhorita Carminda, Beatrix, Carla,
me, and charming supervisor. 

But there was another surprise, too! I actually received this the day before when I walked over to Casa Stop to arrange with Carla the meeting time to go to the school. Casa Stop is a cool shop with a little bit of everything, including needlework. (I waited until we returned to Galicia to take this picture in our little dining area.) The embroidery work featured is a logo of the Sé Cathedral in Braga.

A beautiful apron and potholder, and a little "pocket" to keep them in. Of course, I wouldn't dream of cooking with them. I'm a cook who sometimes spills things. These are a gift I will treasure, along with my new poetry pen, and the memories attached to them - examples of the generosity and kindness so typical of Portuguese culture.

Thank you, Carla! Thank you Escola Secondaria Maximinos! 

Next week: A very special Fado singer. Stay tuned.