by Missie Hills | Mar 8, 2023 | Europe, International Adventures
You can’t start a post on day trips from Porto, without first talking about the most beautiful train station in the world, Sao Bento Station. It doesn’t take long to find out why people call this train station the most beautiful train station in the world. You could spend hours staring at the walls which are covered with the most intricate blue tiled murals. It’s so beautiful that it’s hard to believe that it is an actual working train station, and a well operating one at that.
We boarded our train with very little wait time and no fuss, and then rode an hour away to Guimarães, known for its historic town centre and medieval castle. It did not disappoint. We started our morning by stopping in a pastry shop where we tried multiple different egg tart sweets. It rained off and on, but that didn’t matter much as there were plenty of covered sidewalk cafes for us to linger in especially in the medieval Largo da Oliveiria plaza in the heart of the old town.
Once the rain cleared, the boys pretended to be knights as we roamed throughout the 10th century Guimarães Castle and the restored Dukes of Bragança Palace. I was rewarded with yet another beautiful ceiling in the palace. One day I hope my photography can accurately depict my love for beautiful ceilings. Until then, trust me when I say it was stunning. E pointed out the most spooky of paintings that featured a head on a platter. We didn’t take a photo of it and haven’t been able to find it since. But he talks about it often.
That medieval feeling stayed with us as we walked through the old town centre of the beautiful city stopping often to have drinks and snacks in sidewalk cafes. While sipping vino verde in one café, we were surprised with a local tradition where the town’s accordion players gathered in a circle under the medieval arches sparking all the locals to dance and sing around them. It was truly magical.
For our next adventure, we departed the most beautiful train station in the world once again for an hour ride to Braga. Braga is one the oldest cities in the country and home to many universities. But people really come here for the beautiful Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte. The day we arrived in Braga, it was hazy with everything coated in a pale yellow glow. It wasn’t a perfect day to get beautiful landscapes of one of our most anticipated sites to see, but we made do. In the town centre, we strolled through beautiful gardens while spotting dragons. We took our time enjoying the white port wine spritzers over lunch before catching a bus to the main attraction.
Bom Jesus do Monte, or the Good Jesus of the Mountain, is a catholic shrine known for the Christian pilgrimages ending with the sites Baroque stairway, climbing in crisscross style. The staircase pays homage to the five senses as you climb. You can make the climb yourself, or you can take the old fashioned water balance funicular, built in 1882, to the top. It was muggy out. We weren’t about to climb those stairs with the boys. So we rode the funicular up, I walked the steps down and back up by myself, and we rode the funicular down. I found this site to be mesmerizing. The zigzag staircase seemed endless from the bottom giving a real sense of depth. The Baroque finishings added that touch of creepy you really expect from this type of architecture. I loved every bit of it.
From knights to dragons, the areas surrounding Porto carried on the marvelous magical feeling leaving us craving more adventure. The beauty of Portugal is in the details… It’s in the intricate patterned sidewalks… It’s in the colorful stacks of sardine cans… It’s is the beautiful array of blue and green tiles… And just like the beauty of those details, Jason and I found the most beauty of our trip in the small but grand moments we shared with our beautiful family, moments that will stay with us forever.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Mar 8, 2023 | Europe, International Adventures
Whenever we travel to somewhere new, we try to wrap up our experience of the city in one word. That word for Porto came easily… Marvelous.
The city was full of this buzzing feeling of magic, stemming from features like the bookstore rumored to inspire Harry Potter, the streets full of eclectic street art, and the walls covered with famous blue tiled murals. My favorite feature was the Douro riverside landscape views of the Ribeira, packed with colorful lego stacked houses. Jason’s favorite feature was the Gaia port wine cellars. And the boys? Well, they loved the gelato.
This family vacation was Little Evey’s first trip to Europe! He rocked the flight like a travel pro. But the jet lag did its thing and we experienced our first 2 year old meltdown of the trip at dinner that night. What I always find fascinating about Europeans is how considerate and accommodating they are of families in restaurants. I braced myself for the ugly stares, but they never came. We were given the space to work through the tantrum and finish our dinner without having to leave hungry.
Having that tantrum early in trip helped us set some parenting guardrails and curb our expectations. We decided then to not worry about what the boys ate for the rest of the trip. We wouldn’t stress over picky eating until we got back home. This was hard at times, but ultimately paid off and reduced the tantrums dramatically.
We had 10 full days to spend in Porto and the extended area. We never spend that much time in one city. So, we weren’t quite sure how to do it. We had no day by day plan… just a general sense of major things to see and do and a guide book by our side. It didn’t take us long to love this relaxed way of travel. With no agenda, we were free to stop in shops we would have never have stopped in, linger in cafes we would have never visited, and talk to strangers we would have never have talked to.
We only had one major planned event, and it started on our first morning with our tradition of getting a professional photoshoot through Localgraphers. I cannot recommend Localgraphers enough. We were paired with the local photographer, Max. He was great with the kids and our photos in the Ribeira district turned out wonderful.
With that one big planned event out of the way. We spent the rest of our time in Porto truly wandering the streets. We started our exploration with a river boat cruise where we learned about the City of Bridges. We were rewarded with perfect views of the riverfront colorful houses. We made up stories about our favorite houses and decided one of them was definitely haunted.
A lot of the trip turned out to be a rainy mess, but we’ve never let a little rain get us down. We had plenty of indoor spots to check out too. Little E (who is actually not so little anymore) and I decided to visit the famous Livraria Lello, the most beautiful bookstore in the world and rumored to have inspired the Harry Potter series. Accolades like that attract attention though. The line to get in the store wrapped well around the block even in the rain. We had bought a VIP pass that allowed us to walk right pass that line and go directly inside, worth every penny even with the death stares we got from the patrons wet on the sidewalk. However, it was still incredibly crowded inside and everyone wanted a photo of the main feature, the red double staircase. So, E and I found a few books to buy, and got out of the stuffy small space with very few photos to show.
The rain that day poured on. And so we took the kids to the World of Discoveries, a children’s museum focused on Portugal’s explorations. As a family that loves to explore, it seemed fitting. The kids loved the cheesy boat ride that slowly took us around the world. I was ecstatic to randomly find a quirky antique mall right next door. We strolled through the antique booths, spotting the most random second hand finds, and then stayed awhile in the mall’s coffee shop while playing backgammon and sipping hot chocolate next to the antique piano while everything softly glowed from the fireplace.
Turns out these small moments were more grander than seeing any major landmark or red double staircase.
Once the kids had their fun in the cutesy museum, we didn’t feel bad for dragging them along to our most anticipated event, the port wine cellars tour in Gaia across the river. After riding the aerial gondola directly over the mass expanse of wine cellars along the river, we trekked up the hill to Graham’s Lodge. We splurged on the VIP package which included a tour of the cellars and an exclusive tasting of ports in a the Vintage Room. The kids enjoyed the spooky tour in the cellars as they looked for hidden monsters. Jason and I enjoyed the Vintage Room decked out in leather armchairs, mahogany bookshelves, and old maps… a couple of cigars and it would have been perfect.
Our explorations continued over the next few days utilizing these fun travel cards. They really helped excite E as we walked through the city. Every single block we walked through had unique tiles and colors. We took our time on each street. We made stops in the city’s most beautiful churches exploring the creepy tombs below and climbing the high towers above.
All this walking made us hungry of course. We explored circus themed sardine shops full of all things fishy, stuffed ourselves with Francesinhas (Porto’s famous sandwich smothered in cheese and topped with an egg), and found the best gelato in the world (awarded by my children). Jason and I ate electric flowers from the Amazon Rainforest that numbed our mouths and opened our taste buds. We all tried the jams and chocolates packaged in paint tubes. There were egg tart pastries everywhere. And low and behold, we found a pizza place so good that even Little Evey ate a slice!
The last couple days we had in Porto, you guessed it, we roamed even more. We found an fascinating photography museum hidden in an abandoned prison. We took the trolley to the beach to see the Atlantic Ocean. We looked for the best street art in the city. We counted how many Mario flower powers we could spot (we found 11 total). E loved being old enough to start learning how to use my camera. I took advantage and played his model to finally get a few photos of me in the mix and a couple of me and Jason as well. Turns out he has a knack for it!
Yes, we don’t typically spend this much time in one city. But because we did, I think we found a new way that we love to travel. The best memories we have of this trip aren’t from the top attractions you find when you google Porto. It’s the small moments. It’s the excitement in Little Evey’s eyes when he saw the trolley for the first time. It’s the laughter from E as we took turns spotting fun things in the shops. It’s the way Jason and I both would say, “This is the best one yet…” every time we ate a new Francesinhas. And most of it all, it’s the magic we felt in the air… that overwhelming feeling that we could only describe in one word… Marvelous.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Mar 22, 2020 | Europe, International Adventures
It was too dark to really see what we had in store for us the night we drove into Riga.
Still, we knew we were in for something special. We splurged on a fancy hotel,
thanks to Hotels.com for a free night, and the moment we walked in we were treated like royalty. We didn’t want to waste any of the time we had in this city. So, we headed out immediately to try one of the city’s most innovative restaurants, 3 Pavāru.
Riga is actually well known for its upcoming food scene, and this restaurant did not disappoint that expectation! The unique menu made us feel like we were fancy food critics with items like ostrich tartar and veal cheeks. And the staff was phenomenal! We always worry a little about how the staff will react to us bringing a toddler into a fancy place, but our waitress was a pro. She made a special menu for E and even brought him a surprise dessert!
The next morning, we finally saw what my heart had been longing for, more of the beautiful Baltic architecture. Riga’s most famous style of architecture is the 20th century Art Nouveau. Riga is the Art Nouveau Capital of the World after all. Many of the buildings in the old town are now recognized as World Heritage sites.
Also from the 20th century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site is the Riga Central Market, Europe’s largest market housed inside multiple old German hangars. I can’t resist a good food market. So, we headed there for lunch and wandered from hanger to hanger taking in the local culture.
As usual, we spent countless hours just wandering the streets, and as usual, I continuously got left behind with my eyes behind my camera lens snapping away.
So this time, I made a change! I hired a local photographer to take our very first professional family photos prior to our new addition coming. We hired Dmitry from Localgraphers.com,
highly recommended!
We ended our wonderful Baltic adventure meeting up with some Houston friends who now call Riga their home. As we listened to their tales of adjusting to a completely new culture, we quickly became envious.
One day maybe we will pick up our family and move somewhere new and fresh. But today we sit in our beautiful Houston home looking at these photos and loving our life that is based on a strong foundation and yet gypsy at heart.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Mar 22, 2020 | Europe, International Adventures
For our last stop in Lithuania, we had to see the World Heritage site called the Hill of Crosses.
It is exactly as it sounds, a small hill covered in crosses. All kinds of crosses… from gigantic wooden crucifixes to tiny rosaries. An estimate puts the number of crosses around ten thousand. Pilgrimages from all over the world come to this location to place their crosses. We saw soldiers placing crosses for fallen comrades, families placing crosses for lost loved ones, and priests walking the perimeter saying prayers at the Stations of the Cross.
The hill has become a symbolism of the strength of Christianity within Lithuania. It has been knocked down multiple times, but continues to rise back up.
I could have walked the grounds for hours looking at all the little details, but it was freezing! The wind chill was cutting through to our bones. So, we soaked in the last bit of Lithuania before heading back into Latvia. The perseverance of this beautiful country will stay with us forever.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Mar 22, 2020 | Europe, International Adventures
Our trip to Lithuania wouldn’t have seemed right without seeing at least one beautiful castle. And luckily we spotted this gem on the map leaving Villinus. Trakai Island Castle is positioned safely inside a large lake, with a drawbridge and everything y’all! It was built in the 14th century and now houses a museum with relics from that time.
I’m sure this castle is absolutely gorgeous during the springtime, but it’s hard to imagine it looking anymore beautiful then it did on that frozen lake the day we visited.
With a full dose of beautiful castle, we moved on and made a short stop in Kaunas.
I was excited to stop in Kaunas, because I was reading a book about the Baltics in WWII that was set there. We found ourselves wanting to find out more about the dark history of the region. The Ninth Fort was the perfect museum for us to dive into that past. We were filled with emotion as we walked our way through the exhibits, placed our feet in the same grounds where so many people were murdered, and finally stood before the memorial filling us with hope for the future. The large memorial stood fierce before us, exceeding our expectations.
We were reminded once again that humanity is not always kind. As we hugged Little E and the unborn baby in my belly, we knew the importance of understanding the past to prevent re-occurrence in the future.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Mar 22, 2020 | Europe, International Adventures
Our short spontaneous trip to the Baltics required us to choose between Estonia and Lithuania. After flying into Latvia, we had to decide, should we go North, or should we go South? With a flip of a coin (and the hopes that going south would be slightly warmer in the late Winter…), we chose Lithuania. And after a short drive through the pretty countryside, we found our way to Villinus, a beautiful oldtown city with a rich history of persistence and strength.
The Baltics suffered greatly during World War II. This was our first experience learning the history of the horrible reign of Stalin. As we walked around the city with a wonderful tour guide, we started to feel the pain the city has gone through. Once again, we were hit with a dose of harsh reality that our world’s history isn’t that beautiful.
But this city has a way of shining through that harsh reality with a strong sense of pride, beauty, and humor. Fun, goofy, hidden treasures could be found all over the streets in Old Town.
And nothing encompasses the city’s culture more than the small country inside the city, The Republic of Uzupis. That’s right, another country. With its own constitution, government, and even passport stamp!
Ok, so it is not really a country. The Republic of Uzupis is the art district of Villinus that pretends to be its own country, kind of like the city’s little inside joke. In fact, it started as an April Fool’s Day joke! However, the art here is really nothing to joke about. Before we crossed the border into this fictional country, we were greeted with some rules, the most important one being to smile at all times. We visited the local post office and got a passport stamp on a postcard (since it is actually against the real law to stamp your real passport with a fake country stamp). Then we stopped to read the constitution written on a wall in multiple different languages. Our tour guide filled us in on all the weird traditions including the election process for random ministries. Her friend was elected the Minister of Frisbee!
Our decision to drive South through Lithuania proved to be a good call. The country captured our hearts with its story of strength to endure a horrific past while embracing its eclectic future.
Until next time,
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