Cold and Quaint Braganca

Igreja de Sao Vincente - Where Dom Carlos secretly wed Ines
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After our short stay, it was time to hit the road again and head further north to Braganca - if we could get out of Braga that is.  Armed with a map and me navigating (which only added to the problem) we got dreadfully lost again and could not find the road out of Braga.

It was brave of Mac to give me the map in the first place and I let him down spectacularly. I have come to the definate conclusion that map reading is strictly a 'Male Only' skill and should be left to them. Mac was asking me to find town names on the street signs and I proceeded to look for them on the map - in the opposite direction to where they actually were. Anyway, after a few choice swear words and a couple of raised eyebrows, we finally found the right road and were off once again on our mountain odyssey.

...map reading is strictly a 'Male Only' skill and should be left to them

The 13th century Citadela
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The drive was quite beautiful as we made our way through the mountains on our way to the first stop of Chaves for lunch. Chaves has two main draw cards the hot springs and 1900 year old Ponte Romana (roman bridge) that is still in use today. The bridge is described as 'handsome' and has 16 arches, so we were expecting something pretty amazing.

We pulled into Chaves and decided to stop at the huge Hotel Trajano (right next to 'the bridge') that was reminscent of the OverLook Hotel used in the movie The Shining. Maybe it was because it was devoid of tourist hordes, but it just felt very empty, cold and spooky. After locating the massive restaurant that appeared to be on two levels, Mac went back to park the car, leaving me to order lunch with a waiter whom clearly resented us being there.

Igreja de Santa Maria
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The restaurant had maybe only 20 people scattered through it, so its not like he was rushed off his feet. I freely admit my Portugeuse with an Australian accent is not the best and I tried valiantly to order two bowls of soup, some bread and cold drinks. The waiter stood there staring me down and I swear he knew exactly what I was ordering but he was determined to make it as difficult for me as possible! After our battle, he finally grunted at me and disappeared into the kitchen and I prayed he wouldnt come back with the country's specialties of Tripe and Sardines.

Torre de Menegem
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When Mac returned, a little prickly from his own struggle with the reception staff and thier strict parking rules, I ducked off to the loo. Like everything in this hotel, the loos were also cavernous and creepy. I had visions of the Twins from The Shining appearing behind me as I looked in the mirror whispering "Come play with us, forever and ever", I wish I could say I left the toilet with dignity and grace but I didnt.

Back at the table, our lunch arrived and despite all the trauma of getting it, was quite delicious. It gave me much pleasure when we had finished to give the surly waiter one of my Peppermint Tea bags and see him bristle with annoyance as he knew he couldn't charge me for hot water - it was a petty revenge, but it felt good.

Altar of the Igreja de Sao Vincente
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It was finally time to go and see this 'handsome' 16 arch 1900 year old bridge, we had high expectations which were quickly destroyed as we exited the hotel. The bridge was right there, we had driven across it already, we had already seen it as we entered the hotel, but it as so plain we didnt recognise it. It was so underwhelming, it wasnt even worth a photograph. We counted the arches to confirm it was the correct bridge and so ended any reason we had left to remain in Chaves.

The town with no name in Spain
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The rest of the day was spent driving the winding mountainous way to Braganca, which was lovely. Lots of stunning views, little villages and gorgeous colours as the sun began to sink lower in the sky. We had a rather chilly loo stop at the top of one mountain, where Mac drove off and left me in the middle of nowhere - this kind of joke really tests your sense of humor and how much you like a person - luckily he did come back and we did laugh!

Braganca has a population of about 20,000 and has played an important part in Portuguese history for many centuries, it was here that the Spanish were reminded that they were definatley on Portuguese soil and they best get off it. Due to the town's isolation, it has only recently been open to tourists since the 1990's and remains quite unspoilt.

Tacky Portugal/Spain Border photo!
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We pulled into town late in the afternoon and found our lodgings "Residential Tulipa" which is plain but comfortable, although we had serious doubts about the cleanliness of the bedspread! After relaxing for a few hours, we headed out into the freezing night for dinner at the Restaurante Pocos.  As I have already stated, the food was delicious, the wine like nectar and with very full tummies we left the Pocos to explore the town by night.

The streets were very quiet (because every sane person was inside by their heater) in the centre but like Lisbon, there were christmas lights up and there was a certain charm with the narrow, cobbled streets and medieval buildings. We made a rough plan of what to see the next day and headed back to the Tulipa to thaw out.

Rio de Onorio
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The next morning, we were up early enough to have the pleasure of scraping the ice off our windscreen before we headed out to Rio De Onor, in the National Park. This tiny little village has the Portugese/Spanish border running right through the middle of it and looks as though it hasnt changed from medieval days, infact the villagers still speak an ancient dialect called Mirandes. We did go for a stroll through the village, witnessed the slaughter of a pig in one of the houses, saw some of the locals (whom looked ancient)and admired their ancient houses. There are no shops or modern conveniences here, even the farming is done by hand plough and you have to admire these people for holding onto their traditions. To be honest, it felt like we were intruding on them and we didnt hang around for too long.

Rio de Onorio Village
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Being tourists, we had to go to the Portuguese/Spanish border and take some predictable, tacky photographs, kissed on the Spanish side so we could add another country to our tally and much to my delight Mac decided we would drive over and go to the nearest Spanish town for coffee. Spain has long been on my list of Must See places, so I was overjoyed and this deserved a kiss on the Portuguese side of the border.

We drove into Castille De Leon to another medieval town (I cant remember the name of!!)built onto a hillside, with a backdrop of snow covered mountains and was very picturesque. We parked the car and made our first stop at a cafe for coffee where I couldnt wipe the smile off my face, I was amazed at how different the Spanish are from the Portuguese, even though we were only 1/2 hour out of Portugal, the language, town lay out, people even the colours were all different.

Beautiful scenery on the way to Braganca
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After coffee, we strolled through the streets and up the steep hill to the fort  and Church which gave us more spectacular views of the mountains and below countryside. As we made our way back down to the car, it was nearing Siesta and the shops had begun to close except this one small shop. It was down a tiny alley, so I dont even know how I saw it, must have been my woman's shopping instinct kicking in. This shop was full of good quality and quirky 'Stuff' - wood work, wallets, pens, toys - anything you could want and the coolest collection of tshirts by kukuxumusu (www.kukuxumusu.com). We certainly boost the local economy in there and each of our purchases were carefully wrapped in brightly coloured paper which added to the delight of it all.

Our Spanish side trip had come to an end and it was time to head back into Portugal and explore another gem, the Citadela at Braganca.

It was built in the 13 century and people still live within the walls as they have always done since it was built. There are the narrowest of streets with taverns and shops but they are discreet and it really felt like walking back in time. The houses appeared so narrow  and small we wondered how people actually lived in them.  Inside the walls is the Ingreja de Santa Maria, a 16th century church that has a tromp l'oeil ceiling and a really peaceful atomosphere. We walked around the rampart walls and admired the incredible views back into Spain and of town below until the sunset.

On the way up to the Citadela is a gorgeous church called the Igreja de Sao Bento, not only was the interior colourful and beautiful so was the tale  of the secret marriage that occured here in around 1354. Dom Pedro (the Prince) married his Galician lover Ines, such was is love for her (awwww). Dom's father believed her family to have too much possible influence, unaware his son had already married her, ordered to have her murdered. This is not the end of story, Dom waited for his revenge and when he was finally crowned he ripped out the hearts of Ines' murders and ate them THEN exhumed her body and made his father kiss her rotten hand to show his respect - now that is true love. Upon Dom Pedro's orders at his death, he and Ines were to be placed foot to foot in their tombs, so when the time is right they can rise up and immediately see each other - oh to be loved so!!I

It was time to head back to the Tulipa for a little rest after all this love and history.

After our rest and another huge meal we discovered there was a shopping mall and cinema complex on the outskirts of town - oh the joy! It was rather a long brisk and frosty walk but we finally arrived at the mall ready for another trip into the bright, glitzy world of shopping land. It was bit of a let down as the centre appeared bigger than it actually was but we still explored every shop and eagerly arrived at the cinema ready for the film. It was Mac's turn to pick the movie and he chose FlightPlan. The plot had more holes than a block of swiss cheese, but it still kept us guessing and was really quite enjoyable.

And so after an absolutely freezing (must have been zero!) walk back to the Tulipa and a good night's sleep, it was time to leave the very northern Braganca and start heading down south, the first stop being Vila Nova de Foz Coa.