10/6 -- Minho Province, Visit Guimaraes and Braga

View from our window last night

Same view this morning before the fog got thick.

We rode northeast from Porto to Guimaraes to start the day. This is considered the home of Portugal because it is where the first king was born. Portugal was declared a country by the pope in the 1100s, making it one of the oldest countries in the world. It was also the original capitol. However, as more of Portugal was reclaimed from the Moors, the capitol edged south to its present location in Lisbon. This area is considered a cultural center.

Our first stop was a ceramics shop where one of the last few people in Guimaraes makes the Lover's Gift Pot, a traditional gift given to get engaged to a girl. The cup is not for using except to have small gifts placed in it for the wedding couple. It is made in a single piece (except for the handle, lid, and decorations). The decorations are a combination of lines and dots etched into the pot and small shaped bits of clay with grains of powdered mica embedded.

We watched a master potter work, and she made
it look simple.

The yellowish one is the one that was thrown
while we watched and needs to be decorated
and fired. The red one is a completed pot. The
fluted edges are a trademark of this factory.

Then it was our turn to try. As you can see, it was a fun(ny)
process.

Iwona's ended up with an interesting wrinkle.

Katie ended up being the most successful -- a new career???

Jim gave it a try because his attempt in Indonesia was WAY
better than mine.

However, he had some difficulty trying to make a bowl
instead of a plate.

And eventually gave up. I tried too, with very little time and
somewhat more success, but the pictures of my attempt
didn't turn out well.

This original section of the Roman wall says
"Portugal was born here".

Another, longer section of the Roman wall

Alfonso, Count of Barcelos, an illegitimate
son of the king, who built the Ducal Palace,
pictured below.

After being abandoned as a palace, it was used as a military
barracks, then in 1935, restored as a summer residence for the
president, Salazar, who also wanted it to be a museum. The
top floor is officially for the president, but has no hot water,
so it is only used for meetings.

We walked down the hill into the main part of the town but first off, we noticed a scallop shell imprinted in the sidewalk and learned that this is part of the Portuguese Camino de Santiago.

Someone asked about the rooster decorations we see and Yolanda told us the story of the two miracles. A man was accused and convicted of a crime that he said he did not commit. He managed to talk his way into seeing the judge and declared that his innocence would be proved when the rooster on the table (currently headless and in a roasted state) stood up and sang when as the convict was being hanged. The judge did not eat the rooster, but refused to reverse the sentence. The rooster stood up and sang when the hanging started, and St. James extended  his hand to hold up the convict so that he lived. Now the rooster is the symbol of honesty and a good heart. The  most authentic are shown like the ones below: large comb, painted hearts, and standing on a blue rock.

Famous dessert of Guimaraes, translates as 'bacon from
heaven' though it is really an almond cake with no bacon.

One of the village squares we saw.

You can identify the wealth of the residents from the balconies.
The rich have metal ones, the middle class has wood, and the
poor have none.

Old city hall. Business was conducted outdoors in the sheltered
lower  level (because of frequent rain) and villagers never went
upstairs to the offices.

The next square over is famous for its church, Our Lady of the Olive Tree, and an olive tree that supplied the oil for the church lamps. When the tree got sick, the lamps went out and a new tree was planted. After a glass of the local vinho verde and some cheeses in the square, we hopped on the bus for the ride to Braga and lunch.

Our Lady of the Olive Tree

 Our main objective in Braga was the Bom Jesus do Monte, a pilgrimage site that translates to Good Jesus of the Mount. There  are a lot of steps -- almost 700 -- to go to the top, but fortunately, we walked down. There is also a funicular that goes both ways. There are six sets of stairs and landings which are designed to make the pilgrim consider each of his sins on the way up.We went backwards, down instead of up,

The church also contained the mummified body of St. Clement
who was a favorite of students in Braga, one of the main
university locations in Portugal.

Interior of the church -- relatively constrained compared to many
others here.

The altar area is unique in that the depiction
is in 3 dimensions instead of just  painted.

Looking west from the top of the Bom Jesus staircase.

The level just below the top. The three tiered
fountain represents the trinity.

Looking down over the various levels you have to walk up.

Yolanda explains the meaning of the first sense
level we encountered. All 5 senses are represented
in order of their badness. The worst was touch
because you can use touch to kill and lust could
play a factor too. Each sense also had an animal
associated with it, though some of the connections
seemed a bit weak. (Bull for hearing because they
hear so well????)

Looking back up, Yolanda said you could now see cherubs
that were not apparent on each individual level.

We took the bus down to the main square and walked around some more. The day had turned out to be quite warm and the three fountains in the square wafted some lovely mist in our direction.

The square used to be an ugly transit hub and is now more
attractive and relaxing.

Looking back up the hill and using my long
zoom, we got a great view of Bom Jesus.

This is a prime shopping area and at  least 3
of us could have spent more time here.

This church has a patron saint La Virgen de La
Leche, the virgin of the milk. This rendition
was considered to be too risque for the sanctuary,
so it was placed outside and a more discreet
version was created for inside.

From there, we drove back to Porto for another dinner,  and now it is time to think about packing for the trip home. Only one more day to tour here! The time has gone really fast.

The  monastery across the river all lit up at night.