Porto, having given its name to port wine and the country itself is the second largest city of Portugal. It is motherhood of Portugal wine industry. Initially Porto has been constructed as a Roman port. Mentions of crusaders and riches inflow from Portuguese sea colonies have been saved in the past of the city. The city is situated at the Douro river, which is one of the biggest rivers in Europe. Its name derives from the word “gold”. This is not only because the river supplying grapevine which was used to make the wide-known wine was the main source of the country’s wellness, but also because ships put out to sea by this river in the period of Portuguese inventions.

Porto is an ancient brisk passionate city. It is full of beautiful buildings. The Se Cathedral and many churches built in the XII century impress a lot. The history surrounds you as you visit the castle where Alfonso Enriques was born. Read the rest of this entry »

Portugal is a democratic republic ruled by the constitution of 1976 with Lisbon, the nation’s largest city, as its capital. It is a founding member of NATO (1949), OECD and EFTA; it left the former in 1986 to join the European Union. It’s also part of the world’s oldest active alliance through its treaty with the United Kingdom.

It’s a nation situated on the west of the Iberian Peninsula, being bounded on the north and east by Spain and on the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean. As for climate with an average mainland temperature of 55 °F in the north, and 64 °F in the south it is one of the warmest countries in Europe. Read the rest of this entry »

A few years ago I went on holiday to the Algarve, Albufeira no less – What a lovely laid back tourist spot, fishing boats on the beaches, fishermen mending their nets talking about the catch of the day, idyllic. The scenes have most likely unchanged since the town was nearly all destroyed in an earthquake in 1755. It was merely a fishing village then.

We spent some of the long balmy days on the beaches, enjoying the water sports and getting a tan whilst the nights were spent dining on local cuisine. – fantastic! To get away from the beaten track we went inland to cooler areas and walked amongst the flora the region has to offer, such as almond trees, fig trees, pines and orange-trees. Read the rest of this entry »