More Portugal Fun!

After spending 6 days with Vovo, we went back to Tio A`s house for the next 4 days. During those four days we did quite a bit. First we went to watch Tio A and cousin J perform in a folklore after a religious procession. It was nice to watch. Uncle A played the concertina and Cousin J played the guitar and danced traditional Portuguese folklore. Baby liked to listen to the music and everyone dancing around. He even got a little private concert after the show ended.

The next day we went to another outside market. This time it was in Pont de Lima, where my hubby`s last name comes from. This market is known to be the biggest in all of Portugal. And indeed is it big. It takes place right near the Rio Lima (Lima River) and passes under the Pont de Lima (Lima Bridge). Like I said in my last post, I love these outside markets. Although, you see a lot of the same things in most of the markets. It`s fun non the less. I even bought myself a spiffy hat to shade from the scorching sun. You can see me wearing my new hat on the picture to your right. I am standing on the Lima Bridge and you can see all the tps of the white tents where the market is happening below.

The next day we headed out with Cousin C for the whole day. First we stopped in the town of Pont de Lima for a little breakfast. It was yummy!! Then we went to Braga Parque which is a really big mall in Braga. We went to their Multi Media Store called FNAC. It sells books, DVDs, computers, etc. We also had lunch at the mall. Then we headed out to the oldest town in Portugal, called Guimaraes. It is often refered to as `the cradle city` as it is where the first King of Portugal was born (Afonso Henriques) and it was he who battled against Spain to keep Portugal independant. This king even locked his mother away in a tower because she was in cahoots with the Spaniards.

So we went to visit the castle. It`s pretty much just a fortress as it`s just a whole bunch of walls. I dont think it was to live in. It was interesting to see. Then we strolled around the city and stopped for a snack at a cafe and then headed home. Baby even took a picture in a cardboard cutout of the King before we left! That night we met up with Primo J and we all went out for supper at a very typical Portuguese restaurant. It was really delicious food and we had a really good time. We even bumped into the goalie from the Portugal national soccer team. He was leaving when we got there. So unfortunately we dont have a picture with him, but I guess he goes there a lot because there was a whole display with his shirt and gloves.

Our final day at Tio A`s, we headed out again with Prima C and this time her boyfriend came along too. We decided to spend the day in Spain. You see, Tio A lives a very short 20 minute drive from the border of Spain. So everytime we visit, we make a point of taking a drive and hopping over the border for a day. First we went to Vigo. We walked around, went into the shops and stopped for some afternoon tapas. Yum! That was most part of the day. The in the late afternoon was drove to Baiona. That town was one of the places Christopher Columbus stopped on his voyage. To commemorate this, a replica of one of his ships (Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria) ( not sure which one) was built and sits in the harbour for all to visit. Unfortunately, when we arrived, it was already closed for the day. So we didnt get to visit it, but we did eat an ice cream! hehe!

And thats pretty much it for our visit to the north and my hubby`s side. We`ll be back at the end of our trip for three more days. But that`ll be a later post. Now was pack and get ready for the second half of our trip to the south!! See you later!



Ni -xox-