3 cities 3 eras Portugal

Travelled: 125km
Visited:Braga, Citânia de Briteiros, Guimarães
Stay: Avintes (7km from Porto) in a motorhome park at the Gaia Biological Park, €12 inc electricity and services. Bus stop to Porto just outside of Park. GPS N41°05'49" W8°33'17"

Had a busy day. Our first town was Braga. We managed to find the bus parking area (N41°33.1710' W8°25.8228') right outside the old quarter. Although reserved for buses and trucks it was not very busy and a couple of truck drivers even directed us into a spot! So assuming they were ok with it we took the punt and left Bluey there. Other people told us they had parked at the Cemetery. Sorry to bore you with parking but it does become an issue near big towns especially with a motorhome.
Anyway, it was a beautiful summers morning and we promptly had some breakfast trying out some little pies called Empadas. 2 of those, 2 chocolate croissants and a coffee came to a grand total of €4.85! So tummies full we set off to look at some of the many points of interest in the old quarter. The city has a long history as a religious centre and so we looked in on many churches all different. The most impressive being Sé de Braga, the alter and the organ were amazing. It was a very pleasant city to visit.

We then visited Citania of Briteiros, one of the most important archaeological sites of Portugal. This castro settlement has been established since the 4th century BC and was discovered in 1875. It is a fortified village with different shapes of foundations: circular, quadrangular and elliptic. It was a very interesting place to visit and also had great views of the surrounding valley.

We then made our way to Guimarães and again we were very lucky to find a free park spot close to the action (GPS N42°26.5314' W8°17.2902'). It is a city of medieval origin and UNESCO classified its old quarter as World Heritage. As it was time for lunch, we sat at one of the many restaurants and ordered northern Portuguese traditional dishes. It was their version of a hamburger and toasted steak sandwich, except the egg, cheese and sauce where on the outside. Looked different, tasted yummy!  

The Ducal Palace was our next point of call and was quite different and grand with immense rooms. Mark particularly admired the high vaulted ceilings.

We had a quick walk through the castle where a man was showing off some falcons.
Starting to feel weary we strolled again through the historic centre back to Bluey.

We now had 2 choices: drive up the hill to Penha (similar to Bom Jesus) and to the camping area there or go to Porto.... Porto it was, but although it was much quicker on the toll road it was payable by etag only, which we don't have. So 1 1/2 hours later we were the only ones relaxing in the motorhome park at the Gaia Biological Park. Tomorrow we take it easy (well that's the plan) Our fee includes visiting the park with animals and all.