Little Dots ... http://littledots.posterous.com . Music . Cinema . Photography . Food . Travels . posterous.com Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:48:00 -0800 Travel Dot: Braga and Guimarães (Portugal) http://littledots.posterous.com/travel-dot-braga-and-guimaraes-portugal http://littledots.posterous.com/travel-dot-braga-and-guimaraes-portugal

This last weekend (11 and 12th of February, 2012) I went to visit Braga and Guimarães with some friends. It was my first time in both cities (I am Portuguese, and living in Portugal) and I must say I was amazed.

This trip was unscheduled, and that made it even better. The decision was taken the day before leaving. We booked a cheap Hotel, packed the car and drove off. 

Road tripping with friends its amazing. The constant laughter makes the 2-hour trip seem like a fast drive to the sea side. We arrived to Braga early evening, checked in the hotel (which was really amazing for what it cost!) and left immediately. 

We roamed an empty city for a while and stopped for dinner. We assumed the cold kept the people inside, we didn’t want to believe that a city so young was so abandoned. We ate like kings, and drunk also. Everyone appeared to be so nice and easygoing. 

We walked a while more and tried out some of the city bars. Early as it was, most of them were still empty, or under populated. Meanwhile, we called other friends also visiting Braga to see what they were up to. 

We end up meeting them in a local bar, called Mini-Mercado da Mavy. A alternative bar, really cozy and packed. The music was really good and the vibe also (later we found out the DJ was Portuguese rock start Slimmy). We spent a good night there, drunk some more and the rest became a bit fuzzy. I remember drunk walking and karaoke songs (??)

During Sunday we took quick viewing of the city, the center is quite small. Even though we didn’t had much time, I found the city marvelous and wanting to come back soon. 

We drove off to Guimarães through the secondary roads, uphill and downhill, so we could visit some sanctuaries and enjoy the mountain scenic view (Recommend!). We stopped at Bom Jesus, and Sameiro. 

We arrived Guimarães in the afternoon, had a snack and a quick look around the Europe Culture Capital of 2012. I must say the money was well spent. The city looks amazing. Small, but stylish. Alive.

We came back after that. Sat down for coffee and some after-party talk. 

 

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http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/ehx30B9CtaSnw João Bastos littledots João Bastos