Bragança

After 5 weeks, we returned to Portugal...

We began our summer road trip on 29 July. Our first few nights were spent in Guimarǎes, a medieval city in northern Portugal. We left Pamplona on 28 August and headed to another northern Portuguese town, Bragança. On our route, we saw the scallop shell placards denoting the Silver Road of the Camino de Santiago.

The view from our hotel room.

The Pousada

We are familiar with the hotel brand The Pestana Pousadas de Portugal as they have a very nice hotel in our small town. Many of our friends have joined their loyalty program and look to the Pousadas first when traveling. One of the draws of this brand is that many of its hotels are in former castles, monasteries, and palaces. While the Pousada de Bragança is a good, clean, comfortable hotel … it is more like a traditional chain hotel built in the 90s’. But the good news is it allowed dogs.¹

After dropping off Onix, we walked down a steep hill to the center of town. After a quick lunch, we stopped at the tourism office to pick up a map. We first headed to a street aptly called Museum Street. Five museums line three blocks. Two are dedicated to the history of Sephardic people and culture in this region, one is in a former Episcopal Palace, and two are dedicated to art. At the time we visited, The Georges Dussaud Photography Center was closed, but we did take time to visit the Graça Morais Contemporary Art Center.

Denise views one of the paintings in the “Hidden Works” collection.

Like the artist Paula Rego, whose museum we visited in Cascais, Maria da Graça Pinto de Almeida Morais is a Portuguese artist (born in 1948) who addresses social causes in her work. I was particularly moved by her series The Shadows of Fear (As Sombras do Medo) and by The Walk of Fear (A Camino do Medo). Her work is not a pretty landscape or still life intended to compliment your living room furniture but raw expressions of the worst of the human condition.

Citadel de Bragança

We then headed up the hill to the oldest section of the city … a fortified area that traces its roots to when Bragança was first settled in the 12th century. Inside its walls, you will find museums, cafes, a church, and even houses occupied by 21st-century residents.

Denise stands below a gate to the citadel … note the white-washed houses in the background.

While we visited The Military Museum and the Santa Maria Church, we spent most of our time in the Iberian Museum of Mask and Costume.² We were immediately reminded of the Carnival costumes common to Podence and the Festas dos Rapazes (Feasts of the Boys). Over three floors, 50 characters are displayed … masks, costumes, and props made of cardboard, wool, paper, tin, straw, and cork.

Three of the costumes on display.

We did not take time to explore the best-known attraction of this area, the Montesinho Natural Park. Friends have visited and said it is not to be missed. Perhaps another trip is in order.

Bem-vindos a todos os meus novos leitores, e muito obrigado aos que ficaram,

Nanc

Editor’s Note: On 6 December. we flew to Vietnam and will be traveling on a Uniworld River Cruise, returning on Christmas day. Don’t worry I have scheduled weekly posts while we are traveling … but responses to emails may be delayed.

1. Funny sidetone: If you travel with a dog in Europe, you should have a “passport” for your pet. We obtained such from our vet shortly after arriving in Portugal. The passport includes chip identification and a record of all vaccinations received. If you are traveling with your pet to another country, you are required to have your dog examined by the vet and the passport stamped within 30 days of your departure. We did. However, after eight countries and 21 hotels/Airbnbs, the only place that asked to see Onix’s passport was the Pousada de Bragança … the penultimate stop of our 5-week trip.

2. Please note: the hills in this town will give you a pretty good workout. Not only that, but the museums in the citadel offered plenty of stairs. Below is a photo from the Military Museum.