Month: September 2023

Ponte de Lima

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We are back home in Leiria today. It’s nice being back in our apartment, but I already really miss Northern Portugal and all of the things to do around there. The kids keep asking to go back to our hotel, lol. Sofia went back to school today. She really didn’t want to, but it probably helps that tomorrow is her birthday and they’ll celebrate with a cake at school.

We went to Ponte de Lima again a few days ago. The festival was over but they still had a few carnival rides going, so the kids got to go on a few rides. They were so excited.

We walked around a bit on both sides of the bridge. On the side away from the city center is a park with a garden and playground. I love walking over the bridge- it’s so beautiful and peaceful.

We didn’t really venture much from the river. I can’t wait to visit again to walk around some more and see more of the city. We heard quite a bit of English there, which surprised me given how small the city is. I didn’t think it would be on most people’s radar.

Sometime in between our two Ponte de Lima visits I took the kids to the Porto zoo. I can’t see going often, but it’s definitely worth a visit or two. The kids loved it and had a lot of fun. Next month we’re taking them to the Lisbon zoo and I’m really excited about that. We went once when we first moved to Portugal, but the kids were so young then. They’re old enough now to get more excited about seeing the animals.

Now that we’re home it’s time to really start looking for an apartment. We’re both nervous about moving- it will be another big first. I have no idea where to buy boxes, how to hire movers, or any of that. But we will figure it out. We both agree after this trip that it will be worth it. We love Amarante, Viana do Castelo, Ponte de Lima, Braga, Porto, and Guimaraes and we can’t wait to be closer to all of those places.

Amarante

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Kyle read about underrated places in Portugal a while ago and Amarante was on the list. He has been wanting to go for a long time, but it’s easier to get to from the north so we weren’t able to go until today.

Amarante

Kyle definitely undersold it 😂 He said that he was hoping to go get a few pretty pictures. It turned out to be even more beautiful than either of us expected. It’s also a little bigger than we expected- not big by any means, but more than just a few pictures.

I’m excited to move north, but I will really miss some places, like Obidos. Amarante is charming and unique, so I will be happy to add that to my list of amazing nearby places.

We walked around Amarante for an hour or so and then we went to Guimaraes. We have only been to Guimaraes once and I remember that I loved it. I might have even liked it more than Braga, I’m not really sure. They’re both great places.

I loved Guimaraes even more when we drove around today. It’s a great combination of new and old. The driving isn’t bad or too stressful. Yesterday I drove around Braga during rush hour and it was a lot busier than I’m used to. Guimaraes was busy in the city center, but not too bad. We went to the city park. It had a great playground and lots of green space.

Kyle really liked Guimaraes today too, so I’m happy about that. Viana do Castelo and Guimaraes are the top contenders to live. Guimaraes is definitely bigger and the location is great. Really easy and quick access to Braga and Porto. And Amarante. We are already looking forward to a day trip there one day when the kids are in school. If you have the chance to go to Amarante I highly recommend it!

Viana do Castelo

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We had a change of plans today, so Kyle and Leo decided to stay in Barcelos and Sofia and I headed to Viana do Castelo to check out the city center.

We all went together last week and saw one of the best playgrounds we have seen in a long time. It’s huge and right by the water. The kids had a blast and each kept running off to try something new. We could take them to that playground for years and it would never get old.

I love that there are walking and biking trails around the city, especially next to the water. The city is pretty flat and easy to walk around.

We also checked out the mall, which is attached to the train station. The mall is fine- it’s nothing special but has all of the stores we need. It also has a cute little train playground for the kids.

We also went to Santiario do Sagrado Caracao de Jesus Monte de Santa Luzia and took the elevator up there. The views were amazing and worth the trip.

Today Sofia and I wanted to see the city square and Praca do Republica. It’s really pretty and the pedestrian only area is a good size.

I loved Ponte de Lima and I’m excited to see it again, but I think Viana do Castelo makes more sense for us and will be more likely. It’s bigger and has more housing. When I looked in Ponte de Lima there was literally 1 apartment listed in our budget. Viana do Castelo doesn’t have a huge inventory, but it does have more than Ponte de Lima. It will be tough to find a place but I really hope we can.

Viana do Castelo has lots of water views, great waterfront paths, an amazing playground (and probably many more playgrounds), a mall, a train station, and a super charming downtown. We noticed how warm it was yesterday in Ponte de Lima, but in Viana do Castelo there is a nice breeze. I also love the proximity to Braga and Porto.

I have been on two day trips to Viana do Castelo now and I feel like I have seen the major sites but still don’t have a great feel for the city. I know there was more to downtown than what we saw. I really like the city and I’m excited to get to explore more of it.

Barcelos

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We’re on our Northern Portugal road trip. It’s a working trip for me and I worked the past two days. I had today off and we may have gone a little overboard, lol. We are staying in Barcelos, about 10-15 minutes outside of the city center. The house we’re staying in is nice and the property is beautiful, but we don’t really like the area. It’s good to know because Barcelos is in a great location and we were wondering if we would like it. Today we ventured into the city center, which is pretty, but I think the city has been ruined for us (at least for now) due to our first impressions.

The roads in the area we’re in are pretty bad. A lot of them are cobblestone and there are so many blind turns. It feels like every time we turn there is a mirror to help us see if cars are coming. There are some really awkward angles and turns to make. We have driven quite a bit around the Silver Coast and Lisbon area and I haven’t really seen roads like this anywhere else yet.

Before we moved to Portugal I read posts from expats complaining about the driving here. It has never bothered us. We lived in Florida for 7 years and the driving there is some of the worst I have seen. Portugal is much better than Florida driving. Well, in Barcelos we finally are experiencing some of other people’s complaints. In Barcelos we get tailgated no matter how fast we are driving. The speed limit, 10+ over really doesn’t matter. Someone will come along and tailgate you. And they get pretty close. It’s really frustrating and annoying.

Anyway, it has been a few days of that. Also the area we’re staying in is more run down than we have really seen. So we had been having a bad impression of Barcelos for a few days before we got to see the center. Like I said, the center is pretty nice, but Barcelos is not for us. And that’s okay.

After visitng the city center, we decided to head to Ponte de Lima because I have been excited to see it. I love it. It has moved to number one on my places I want to live list. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to work out because it seems really hard to find an apartment there, but we can try. We stumbled upon a huge festival there by accident. We’re going to return later this week, after the festival to get a better feel for the city. I’ll do a seperate blog post on Ponte de Lima after our second visit.

We went to Viana do Castelo last week, but we just saw an awesome playground and the mall, so we plan on returning there this week too. I’ll write a blog post about Viana after our second visit too. Tomorrow I think we are heading to Amarante. Kyle has been wanting to visit for a long time because it looks like a beautiful town.