From Porto it’s a short distance north to Guimaraes, known to the Portuguese as the place their country was born. It was here that the first independent king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, was born in 1110. While the newer town that surrounds the small medieval center spreads into the hills, the old town, crowned by the ruined castle and nearby ducal palace, is singular. At the foot of the castle stands the amusingly posed statue of King Afonso Henriques, decked in medieval mail. The remainder of the old town has a couple of focal points around its central “squares”, which are connected through different medieval covered galleries. Now the spaces are mostly occupied with restaurants and cafes with large outdoor terraces, a handful of shops and a number of buildings waiting to be restored. There are groups of tourists that bus in for a few hours during the day, but by evening, the old town is blanketed in quiet. At the edge of the medieval center is the Praca Toural, which is rimmed with older, restored buildings, and the very pleasant Café Clarinha, where they offer conventual sweets and very proper service.
On the Thursday morning we set off west to the town of Barcelos, home to what we were given to understand was the country’s best market, and also the town from which the Portuguese rooster symbol hails. (See the link for the whole story…. )http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooster_of_Barcelos
Truth be told we were not particularly impressed with the wares or the market, although the people watching was terrific! So was the overwhelming smell of dried cod—in the bacalhau section.
On our return trip we stopped off in Braga, the country’s third largest city. A few hours of wandering took us by the old bishop’s palace, backed by lovely manicured gardens, some medieval landmarks, and most particularly its lovely Se(cathedral), which has a particularly lovely 15th c. porch at its main entrance. Undoubtedly more to see, but we resigned ourselves to missing that, tried unsuccessfully to find our way to the massive sanctuary outside the city, Bom Jesus do Monte, and headed back to Guimaraes, completing another full day.
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