Beautiful Braga of Northern Portugal

From Porto, we hopped a one hour train ride north to the town of Braga, a lively city which is one of the oldest in the country dating more than 2000 years. In fact, in the Middle Ages it competed in power and importance with Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Its cathedral is the oldest in the country built in the 12th Century. To this day, the city is one of Portugal’s main religious centers. We did not see a lot, due to circumstance with Mandy being on crutches, but made the best of it as we celebrated Greg’s 44th birthday.

As soon as we left Porto, we also left behind the hoards of tourists so we liked Braga immediately. It didn’t feel touristy in the least.

A quiet alleyway on which we had lunch at Lakkana Thai Restaurant.

Jardim do Santa Barbara is an exquisite 17th Century flower garden guarded by a medieval palace. Since we couldn’t move around like we usually do, we spent a couple of hours basking in its beauty. Actually, Mandy waited while Greg went to grab an order from “Too Good to Go.” This one was from a wine and cheese market so, after our luck in Porto, we had visions of them providing us expiring cheese plates, bread and wine for a picnic in the garden for the bargain price of 3.99 euros. Unfortunately, the store instead seemed surprised to find Greg at their doorstep and basically scrambled to give him something to take. That something ended up begin a 12 euro jar of Bacalhau, preserved salted cod, which is the “faithful friend of Portuguese cuisine.” Considering we hadn’t had much Portuguese cuisine, he open-mindedly took the jar and asked the lady at the market for advice on how to use it. Making “mmmm” noises and practically licking her lips, she encouraged him to put them in a salad or pasta. “Bom! Bom! You’ll love it!”

Mandy being forced to slow down and make the best of the moment.

What an idyllic place to meditate!

When Greg got back with the Bacalhau, not the cheese Mandy was daydreaming and salivating about, naturally she crinkled her nose when he whipped out the jar and proclaimed his “score!”

So, we collectively hobbled over to a nearby cafe in hopes of grabbing some food and a beer, while soaking in a few more luscious views as the sun started to sink.

Unfortunately this was in fact, a pastelaria and only provided sugary goodies, but at least we were able to grab the latter. As we began to brainstorm and google ways to use our jar of “Oh my Cod,” the bag it was in tumbled off the chair and Ker-plopped on the concrete. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like it had broken. Oh, but wait….! In the next few minutes, a foreign odor began drifting its way up to our noses. Greg stuck his hand in the bag to check the jar again and sure enough, the revolting fish oil was leaking all over our reusable grocery bag we’ve carried with us since 2017. Absolutely disgusted, Greg took the entire bag and chucked it into the bin with Mandy helpfully “ewwing” and giggling at the table. Ironically, the lady who had given them to Greg passed by moments after. Mmmm??? Was she crazy? Oh those Portuguese. Maybe another time and place for the Bacalhau. Lol.

Some unique tilework near the Braga Cathedral. It was the first time we’d seen the three dimensional variety.

The building from afar is not quite as impressive as when you zoom in.

When we picked up Mandy’s second pair of crutches (first were left in Vegas) in two months, they were just awful. They had no padding and simply helped develop new pains. Greg spent a morning doctoring them up using cloths, sponges and electrical tape to make her new ride a little more bearable. Being mobility challenged in Europe is NOT easy.