Visiting Aveiro – the ‘Female Guiles’ of Salt: After saying goodbye to Coimbra we headed over to visit the town of Aveiro for our last day. Built on top of a lagoon, canals of water stretch throughout the area making travel by brightly painted boat as easy as walking on foot. Here even the smallest […]
Portugal – Country of Passion – Coimbra
Food and music in Coimbra, Portugal: A second guest post from Natalie; now I’m even more envious than ever that she went to Portugal while I stayed at home to catch up on some work! I talked a little about that first meal in my last post but frankly I think it deserves a bit […]
Coimbra and More – Central Portugal
Passion, History and Culture in Coimbra, Central Portugal: Heading out to visit the university town of Coimbra in Portugal I wasn’t sure what to expect. The country has been in the media’s glare recently, lumped in with Greece, Spain and Ireland as merely another victim of European economic malaise. The Portugal I visited, however, has […]
Serra D’Estrela and Casa Das Penhas Douradas
Luxury on top of a Mountain: Casa Das Penhas Douradas The van clambered up a steep and ancient road. The Portuguese road network is for the most part remarkably modern and well maintained, even small villages have perfectly laid roads where you might have expected cobbles or at least the odd pot-hole. But, we’d taken […]
A Passion for Portugal – Herdade Da Poupa
In which we meet Poupa the Deer and his Rather Goaty Step Mother: An estate of around 4,000 in the heart of the Tejo Internacional Natural Park, Herdade da Poupa is named after a curious bird called the Poupa or Hoopoe (for its onomatopoeic call). We arrived in the late afternoon and as we drove […]
A Passion for Portugal – Faia Brava Natural Park – Cork Trees, Pigeon Houses and Vultures
Faia Brava – Discovering Cork and Watching Vultures: In addition to prehistoric rock carvings covered elsewhere on London-Unattached, the Foz Côa valley is home to a large private natural park, Faia Brava. It was our destination for ‘hiking and bird-watching’ guided by two of the biologists working at the park. Bereft of my stilettos, wearing […]