Portugal has a little bit of everything: wine, food, history, mountains, big waves, and hot beaches. Most only drive by Portugal as part of their Iberian peninsular journey. But let me show you why Northern Portugal should absolutely be on your list of places to go.
Mesmerized by the Azulejos
Even within, Portugal, there is a lot of diversity. You will see that in the color of skins as well as in the colors of the stone walls. What sets Northern Portuguese, especially Porto, architectures apart are those intricated decorated blue glazed tiles. You can find them everywhere, especially in unexpected places.
Also worth seeing is the Livraria Lello which is said to inspire many J.K. Rollins in writing of the Harry Potter series. Don’t forget to get the tickets ahead of time to save you from queueing.
Speaking of diversity, we definitely can’t skip the food.
My stomach loved the variety and the gentle flavors. Since I had plenty(5 in a day) of pastel de nata last time, we chose to stick with the non-desert traditional foods. Not surprisingly, the Portuguese consume large quantities of seafood. However, bringing the primary player of the European age of exploration, you are likely to find a variety of dishes that are not seafood such as ribs and Francesinha.
Food and wine
The Northern city of Porto is known for the delicious dessert wine commonly called the Port wine. Like regular wine, Port wine has different coloring and tasting. You can try some out in Porto while facing the famous hillside red roof houses by the Douro River. Pro-tip, the red roofs look extra awesome during the blue hours, better with wine in hand.
Tracing the Douro River up will lead you to the source of the Port wine, the Douro Valley. One of the world’s oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Even though the likes of Bordeaux and Loire have largely overtaken the Douro Valley in terms of fame, the tastiness of the Port wine can hardly be reduced. Neither can the sceneries of the tall valleys. Aged wine, lush wine terraces, gentle glowing waters, I knew wine tastings are relaxing. But this relaxing? It’s been a while.
Cities and churches
Blue tiles aren’t the only unique aspects of Churches around Northern Portugal. The Bon Jesus de Monte above the Braga showcased the beauty of other kinds: geometry and superior geographical locations.
Riding out the sunset. Ciao Portugal!
