Braga is a wonderful city in Northern Portugal. It used to be the capital of the old (from 409 AD) Kingdom of Galicia (not to be confused with present-day Galicia, the autonomous community in Spain whose capital is Santiago de Compostela). The Kingdom of Galicia included most of northwestern Spain and northern Portugal.
The Metro from Porto doesn't reach Braga - instead one has to take the train. It's about an hour away from Porto Campanha station (if you happen to have Hugo at the ticket counter, please say Hi to him from us - Hugo was very helpful with our several day trips).
Our first stop was The Cathedral of Braga. From Wikipedia: The Cathedral of Braga (Portuguese: Sé de Braga) is a Roman Catholic church in the northern city of Braga, Portugal. Due to its long history and artistic significance, it is also one of the most important buildings in the country. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Braga and of the Primate Archbishop of Portugal and Spain.
(Click on the photos for more detail.)
Notice that it's not entirely symmetrical. Can you spot the asymmetry in this
romanesque structure?
UCLA has a similar asymmetrical romanesque building,
Royce Hall. One reason why certain architects supposedly didn't make perfect-looking buildings was because for them, only God can make perfect things.
Click here for a virtual visit to the Cathedral.
The ice cream here is delicious! This is
Pappa'lab, a family-owned business. Martha's family own an organic farm and she conceived of this business to showcase the organic dairy produced by their cows. All the offerings are made right in the shop with
all-organic seasonal ingredients.
Walking around town.
We took a bus to the
Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Get off at the top if you don't want to climb the stunning baroque stairway that climbs 166 meters (381 feet). The stairway's 583 steps were traditionally climbed while on your knees.
Many of the churches we saw in Portugal featured a ladder-like altar. It's supposed to be a representation of
Jacob's Ladder.
The Sanctuary is surrounded by a large park with restaurants, hiking, and even boat rentals (there is a lake). More info is available at the
Bom Jesus website.
Back in the city. Braga is famous for its flowers. The city centre is filled with them.
Victor (or was it Carlos? I didn't take notes) even walked us to a bakery when we asked him to recommend one when we felt hungry for some bread.
More flowers and beautiful buildings.
This is the
Arco da Porta Nova. We passed by here on the way from the train station to the city centre, and it's also on our way back. According to Wikipedia, it was used to present the keys to the city to the dignitaries and celebrities (we didn't get one).
Victor and Carlos over at the Tourism Office told us which street hosted restaurants with authentic Braga cuisine, and this street happened to be just outside the Arco da Porta Nova.
We saw this nice-looking restaurant, but it seemed expensive, so we didn't go in.
We heard some construction noise just a few steps away from O Alexandre and we were curious and so we walked in and we met Mario Barbosa. He had just bought an old restaurant and was hurriedly getting it ready for a November opening (we met him late October). Looking at reviews on the web now (August 2023) it seems to have become popular and successful. It is now called
Aguas de Bacalhau.
Since Mario wasn't ready to sit us (there were still no chairs, no chef, no menu), he suggested another restaurant and he even walked us there. (Braga residents impressed us with their hospitality.)
The interior of Adega Malhoa is very warm and inviting.
Adega Malhoa is a family-run business and is presently managed by Renato the owner.
Renato suggested we try a famous dish from Braga.
It's called
Arroz de pica no chão (I think it translates to rice of chicken on the floor, or maybe what a chicken picks up on the floor). Here is a recipe for it I found on the web. It was delicious.
