Day of driving to Braga and then living the Iberian dream

We were really lucky to have found the parking spot for our car on R. de Mouzinho da Silverado in Porto, despite the heavy traffic at the time that we arrived on Thursday night. It turned out to be a rare spot that was free without a time limit so the car remained there for 2 nights.

Scott had found our Stone Cottage accommodation in the Northern Mountains of Portugal for the next adventure.

We decided to first head to Braga, the 4th largest city in Portugal. It was about 40 minutes drive north of Porto and in the direction of the mountains. The freeways were easy to navigate and Scott set a cracking pace in our little Fiat 500 convertible.

Braga is very old (a bit tired) and centres around the oldest cathedral with shops selling religious icons and other souvenirs. We found a parking station and walked to the old town where we had coffee and admired the delicious cakes in the counters.

It was too early for lunch so while we were wandering through the old town, a commotion happened with people yelling in Portuguese and pointing towards a running young man. Apparently he had stolen an expensive perfume and the young shop assistant gave chase! I think he was stopped by someone and the perfume was confiscated from him. Peace was restored!

Braga has some really old fortress type buildings which would date back to the Moors.

Scott had found a place to have lunch which had good reviews called Antù. I ordered the chicken wings with fries and Scott chose the Octopus with black rice.

We needed to stock up for our mountain vacay so we explored the wares of the

Merciarado supermarket and bought supplies. It is always an experience to shop in different countries and see how they present their food and the range of culinary choices.

Back on the road it took another 40 minutes to find our Stone cottage. This Airbnb listing was so clean, had ample basic provisions and even supplied coal for the BBQ.