Where they see squalor and a depressed urban landscape in some raggedy streets and obscure alleys, I see a raw, gritty, honest beauty – a down to earth yin to the yang of the city’s grand architecture. This Jekyll and Hyde character partly makes Lisbon the compelling city it is. […]
Driving through an endless savanna where mounds rather than hills rolled lazily toward infinity, a travel article I’d read in The Guardian a couple of years ago popped into my head. It was called ‘A foodie tour of Portugal’s Alentejo’ and claimed that Portugal’s largest region was being touted as the new Tuscany. […]
Tales of magic, mystery and sacrifice surround Val des Nymphes. As I stand astride the rock, I imagine throats being cut and blood spilling down into the undergrowth […]
…the bridges and houses of Regua give way to layer upon layer of slopes braided in vines as the river narrows and the banks draw closer, embracing us in their unbridled beauty. […]
Bejeques (house leeks) the size of small bushes burst from cracks in dry-stone walls. Sweet peas, snapdragons, and California poppies devoured whole sections of embankments outside traditional cottages. On grassy tracks between hamlets, wild flowers – proud tajinastes and aromatic wild lavender – took over the reins. […]
It’s a comfort blanket; a sense of feeling relaxed, being amongst kin and of escaping to a world scripted by Bill Forsyth with hints of Irvine Welsh thrown in to add that essential realistic grit. […]
A wee bit of research uncovered it was a competition which had been held every year since 2007, each year involving a different aspect of Portugal’s many natural and human-made attractions. It was like finding a direct insight into a ‘best of’ the country as known by residents. […]
There’s history as rich as anywhere, Roman ruins, golden beaches, forests, plains, scenic ridges, Moorish castles, traditional towns, sprawling vineyards, more gastronomic specialities than you’d find in a trendy London deli, the people are exceedingly friendly, and there’s the Virgin Mary on a giant mule. […]
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