Porto Palafita da Carrasqueira

For best reader experience go to first post of this series. At the estuary of the river Sado there’s an old fishermen pier. The scenery changes dramatically from high to low tide. Part of the pier has been renewed but most of it still looks like it will collapse any minut. The fishermen’s huts are decorated with dollies and other colourful objects. Objects that probably got stuck in their fishing nets. Another lovely spot at the Atlantic ocean is Cabo da Roca. It’s the westernmost point of the European continent with a dramatic coastline. High rocky granite cliffs and hidden …

ÉVORA

Picture this. You’re having a lunch in a cosy classic restaurant in a city which breaths history and you hear ‘Dueling banjos’ from the movie ‘Deliverance’.When you ask the waiter about the music choice he answers that he plays Grand theft auto and this song is used in that game. Since then this Portuguese man is a big fan of country music. No fado for this cowboy. At another point, we were entertained by a gang of buskers while enjoying our apéro. Music and good life seems to blend very well. Évora is a charming medium-sized city and the historic …

ALGARVE

In all honesty, this was our least favourite area in Portugal. Can’t really explain why, it simply felt that way. Something with les goûts et les couleurs… Speaking about taste. We had the BEST vegan meal ever in restaurant Pisco.If you happen to travel to the most South-West point of Portugal, Cabo de Sāo Vicente, you really have to stop in Vila do Bispo and have a meal there. We stayed on a walking distance 2 nights in a B&B Pure Fonte Velha. Too bad Pisco doesn’t serve breakfast ;-) Traveling outside the normal touristic season has its advantages. The …

ALENTEJO

After a 3 days stay in the sparkling Lisbon we drove south to enjoy the countryside of Alentejo. A rural area with cork trees, rolling hills, sleepy villages and deserted beaches. But its biggest asset, tranquillity and hardly any, if any, tourists.During our drive, it became very clear that not a drop of rain had fallen in the last few weeks. Everything looked dry and barren, no lush green fields as far as the eye can see.Climate change not real? Think again. Not so far away from Vila Nova de Milfontes lies, somewhat remote, a cosy guesthouse Três Marias. Our …

LISBOA #2

35 mins by bus and you enter a different world. LX Factory in the Alcantara district is a super-cool place! It was an old tissue factory founded in 1846 but got transformed into an inspiring melting pot of painters, designers, art shops & bars. All located under the shadow of the 25th of April bridge and it breaths creativity. The below art work is from Artur Bordalo (*1987) a Lisboa born artist. He’s a socially engaged visual artist who criticises the consumer society and makes beautiful murals with waste materials found on the streets of Lisbon. If you look closely, …

LISBOA #1

Where to start? Maybe with a quote of our city guide: ‘Portuguese are the worst promoters of themselves and we have an inferiority complex’Well, they don’t have to. It’s true they once ruled the world and had numerous setbacks but without the Portuguese world’s history would be different. Lisbon is one of a kind. History, spacious avenues, small and steep alleys (becos), great food, sea, Santa Justa elevator, azulejos,…. and not to forget, the red & yellow trams or ‘Remodelados’.We actually visited the city walking and didn’t use any of those touristic trams. As a passenger you would basically feel …

NIEUWPOORT

Newport, Nieuport. A small town at the estuarium of the Yser river at the Belgium West coast. Once the battleground during WWI where the war was settled, but today a beautiful coastal town and home of Jan Fabre’s statue ‘searching for Utopia’. Just before we left to spend the weekend, I impulsively grabbed a bunch of artificial roses. I don’t know why but i felt they would be part of something. The sky was heavy, rainy and grey. And those roses proved to be a colourful detail. The equestrian statue ‘Men’ on the breakwater is an artwork of Nina Beier. …