Read more about the article Badajoz – Spain
Badajoz - Spain

Badajoz – Spain

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Former capital of the small Muslim kingdom Taifa of Baṭalyaws

Double the excitement for visiting a city completely not planned in the original plans for this weekend that turned out to be totally feasible and in turn, a great surprise for its prettiness, yet small, historic centre. We arrived quite late, that was our only downside, however still managed to get really nice pictures of most of the city in daylight, and take with us a great load of shopping. Why not to take the chance for getting some nice meat cuts, cheeses and staff I really like and cannot find anywhere else at this quality? Now this was a trip that really paid back well.

Our base was Elvas, merely 10 kilometres west from Badajoz. So while one is the last city of Portugal, the other is the first city in Spain (border-wise talking here). And because we perhaps planned too much time for Elvas while in reality it is a very small city, I strongly recommend if you fall in the same situation to plan beforehand the day to include both Elvas and Badajoz. Certainly we could have been more time in Badajoz, but as this was just planned on the go, never checked pictures of the city, nor a map nor nothing before coming, we did not know that in reality there are a lot of sights to enjoy, but as suggested before, this is a city where a full day can definitely be too much as well.

There are two well different areas in the city, one, the traditional old town around the old Moorish citadel, the Alcazaba and the perimeter walls and bastions surrounding it, and the newer city outside of the walls, and across the Guadiana River. The way we drove in from Elvas, meant we came directly towards the north bank of the river where we saw the most picturesque image of the city. Without any doubt it’s the most beautiful skyline view, with the Alcazaba in the foreground and the towering old walls across the crystal clear waters of the Guadiana river with the historic Palma Bridge. Only for this view the trip is already worth it. (more…)

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Read more about the article Elvas – Portugal
Elvas - Portugal

Elvas – Portugal

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Frontier fortress of Portugal

Once again returning to beautiful Portugal, and for the many more trips to come hopefully in the near future. The plan for this weekend was something more off the beaten path than the usual big cities. Instead, two smaller towns yet full of history: Elvas, the easternmost city near the Guadiana River which is the natural border between Portugal and Spain, a city sometimes referred as “the fortress of Portugal” due to the large amount of fortresses and bastions; and the city of Evora, famous for being home to some of the finest and most complete Roman monuments in the country. Ans considering that less than 10 kilometres ahead of Elvas, already across in Spain is the city of Badajoz, we left the possibility, if time permitting, to come and visit, which… of course it did happened.

Reaching both cities was not an easy and direct task. Unfortunately the nearest airport is Lisbon, 230 kilometres west from Elvas, that’s a long drive to consider. However, this is all along the motorway that continues after Portugal towards Madrid. This translates is less than 2 hours from west to east which is acceptable. Evora is nearer to Lisbon, at around 180 km. The same you can do by driving, you can take the train as both cities lie along the major rail link between Lisbon and Madrid, so don’t worry if you do not drive, you can still perfectly do both cities in a weekend.

Because of the large amount of immaculate fortifications in the italienne trace (star fort) style, most of which still complete, the city was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO under the listing of: Garrison Border Town of Elvas and its Fortifications. Such extensive fortifications were built from the 17th to the 19th centuries becoming the largest bulwarked dry ditch system in the world. There is of course much more than this, as the impressive 15th century 6 kilometres long aqueduct, its Gothic cathedral and the many remains and influences from the Moors in the city’s urban fabric. (more…)

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Read more about the article Brescia – Italy
Brescia - Italy

Brescia – Italy

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The Falcon of Italy

At only 54 km east from Bergamo (our base), and the very same distance to Verona; the city of Brescia is greatly located in the most populated area of Italy, also very near Milan and equidistant to the beautiful lakes of Iseo and Garda, right at the foothills of the Alps. For us this was one of the few important cities that was still pending for a visit, so in combination with Bergamo and Crespi d’Adda that we visited the day before, made another great weekend, and looking forward to just in a few more weeks time until the next trip to the north of Italy, flying to Verona to be the base for continue visiting the places we’ve not yet been of Vicenza, Mantua and Sabbioneta, all of which UNESCO World Heritage Sites listed.

It takes a short time if you drive from Bergamo to Brescia, otherwise it is only 1 hour by train, and even less on a bus, both of which options are quite frequent. There is also no need to have a very early wake up in order to start sightseeing the city because in a day you can enjoy everything without any rush. The medieval city centre is very compact where distances in between the sights are short, yet still, we are talking about a city where almost every building is a sight on its own; but that’s something repeated at almost any city in Italy. Brescia is often bypassed by tourist, so while you find hordes of tourists in Milan, Bergamo or Verona, here the city is much peaceful and quiet, although trends are quickly changing as the city is been “rediscovered” and transforming itself into a strong tourist pole.

Brescia’s fame is not due to its architecture and history (which is impressive nonetheless), instead is eclipsed by its strong and powerful industry and manufacture, something that is still as of today the core of its economy. In the other hand, some of the city’s monuments have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the wider listing: “Longobards in Italy, Places of Power”. The growth over the past 50 years have been such dramatically fast that a second city was built south of the historic one; this is commonly known as Brescia 2. Another interesting (and unique for now) fact, it is the smallest city in the world with a full metro system. (more…)

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Read more about the article Bergamo and Crespi dAdda – Italy
Bergamo - Italy

Bergamo and Crespi dAdda – Italy

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Città dei Mille: City of the Thousand

Returning to Italy is always great; literally everywhere you go in this country is like visiting a museum. So much history at every turn that overwhelms anyone, and always a new place to see never been before. In this case, we booked flights once more to Milan, but skipping it on this occasion as we’ve been few times, even though we are looking forward to return anyway; and head to Bergamo 40 km east from Milan, the second most visited city in the Lombardy region and the perfect base to also visit the nearby UNESCO listed former industrial planned city of Crespi d’Adda, and the historic city of Brescia farther east.

A weekend as usual is too short, otherwise at the same distance from Milan that is to Brescia, you could go to Cremona, birthplace town of the most famous luthier in history, Antonio Stradivari; and the city of Piacenza. That’s anyway good news for us, meaning finding another flight to any of the three airports of Milan in the near future, perhaps next year, will be well worth it and continue to discover more of this beautiful region in Italy.

Bergamo, although small, is good in size with plenty of sights for a full day visit. Any longer than this will not make sense, hence why most tourist have the same in mind, and continue to visit other cities in the region, or even head to the Alps to spend a day in the nature. No need really to mention anything about the Alps since you will see them right in front of you especially from the upper city of Bergamo, you are literally at the foothills and the views of the mountain range are magnificent. (more…)

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Read more about the article Braga – Portugal
Braga - Portugal

Braga – Portugal

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Cidade dos Arcebispos: Archbishop’s Town

At only 60 kilometres from Porto, this makes the perfect day out if you have the time after visiting Porto, or if you planned this trip on purpose. The city lies only 20 kilometres west of Guimaraes, the city where the country Portugal as such was born in the 10th century, another of the most beautiful and historical cities in the country, UNESCO World Heritage Site listed. The three of them, Porto, Braga and Guimaraes are unique sights on their own, some of the must visit places in the country.

We planned this trip from our base Porto, and while we decided to have as our main highlight the city of Guimaraes, we left the open possibility, if time permitting, to then end our weekend tour here to Braga for the rest of the day before heading back to Porto’s airport. Our flight was thankfully quite late at night, so we had plenty of time; all we needed is good organisation and preparation and this worked great as you can imagine; otherwise I would not be writing a travel guide for this city right now.

The city is a wonder, like anywhere in Portugal you can never be wrong. There is a large amount of beautifully preserved old buildings covered in tiles all over the historic area, palaces, charming squares and dozens of churches all around the usual and so characteristic Portuguese way of paving the streets, in stone and granite mosaics. Another unique fact in Braga is the oldest water-counterbalancing funicular in the world still in operation, linking the upper city with the sanctuary at the top of the hill from where you get the views of the entire city. (more…)

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Read more about the article Guimaraes – Portugal
Guimaraes - Portugal

Guimaraes – Portugal

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The birthplace of Portugal

At only 50 kilometres from Porto, this makes the perfect day out if you have the time after visiting Porto, or if you have planned this trip on purpose. The city lies only 20 kilometres east of Braga, another of the most beautiful and historical cities in the country. The three of them, Porto, Braga and Guimaraes are unique sights on their own, some of the must visit in Portugal. After all, this is from where the country as such was born in the 10th century, precisely right by the Guimaraes Castle. With so much history thriving on every street, every turn, it is no surprise UNESCO has recognised it and listed as a World Heritage Site.

The city is very small and extremely compact. The UNESCO area is reduced to the medieval core which is intact. Once, it was completely surrounded by fortification walls, but were mostly turned down in order to expand the city with elegant wider streets and avenues, notoriously to the east of the old town, centred around the Mumadona Square where the streets follow from here an orthogonal grid typical from the 19th/20th century extension of most of the European cities.

Visiting Guimaraes is straightforward and won’t take you much time. A day trip is well more than enough, with plenty of time to do everything and actually having the other half of the day to complete your day by going to the nearby city of Braga. Although double in size than Guimaraes, is a perfect combination that I strongly advice you to do. Going from Porto to either of them by commuter railway only takes approximately 1 hour, and in between them, one of the many public buses take around 30 minutes. (more…)

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Read more about the article Porto – Portugal
Porto - Portugal

Porto – Portugal

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A Cidade Invicta: The Unconquered City

Over 6 years have passed since our first and only time in this incredible city, and still not sure how so much time have passed to return only for the second time. There are certain cities in Europe where does not matter how many times you return, there is always a fun in coming back and always something new to see and enjoy. Porto is one of them for sure, and now that there are better and more frequent choices of airlines and timings, will be easier to find another good deal in the near future. However, as pretty much everywhere else in Europe, during high season it is generally cheaper to fly farther away to more exotic destinations to the rather “around the corner” Porto. Anyway, this was about time to revamp the guide for this city, since what I wrote years back was not so complete and already getting obsolete.

Have in mind that a weekend for this city can be short. There is simply too much to see and do, and our plan this weekend also included visiting the nearby cities of Braga and Guimaraes, or at least that was our initial intention, if not both, then just Guimaraes. On literally every corner there are sights and amazing buildings everywhere. The old town core is very large considering the overall size of the city, one of the most historic cities in Portugal, no wonder it is listed an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Yet despite this fact, it is unfortunately in much need of restoration. Many buildings falling apart and many others totally ruined. Thankfully the city is slowly revitalising and regenerating bit by bit which surely in few years time will make a huge difference. It does already in these 6 years lapse, nothing to compare to the rather run down city we once knew. The current gentrification is perhaps too fast, with trendy and chic shops, cafes and bars popping everywhere but with an ideology I don’t quite share: skyrocket prices.

While distances in the city seems “small” on a map, they are not in truth. The city was built among steep hills, and the up and downs are considerably, not to mention the gorge the river Douro marks along its length, cutting the city in 2 and connected by high bridges. Among them, the iconic and symbol of Porto, the Ponte Dom Luis I, and the Maria Pia Bridge by Gustave Eiffel. Paris has the Eiffel Tower, and Porto this masterpiece of a bridge.
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Read more about the article Katowice and Auschwitz – Poland
Katowice - Poland

Katowice and Auschwitz – Poland

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The Holocaust

After many years trying to find a good deal to this part of Poland, either Krakow or Katowice in order to finally reach Auschwitz, it came when less expected. Over 6 years have passed since our first and only time in Krakow, and ever since, with the city booming more and more tourist-wise talking becoming much more expensive in every way; now it’s cheaper to fly to the Canary Islands than here as an example! That’s the only reason why we kept postponing a return until eventually, finding a good deal. In this occasion, not to Krakow but to nearby sister city Katowice. After all, when thinking in visiting Auschwitz, it does not really matter which of the two cities you fly into as it is literally in the middle of both.

Katowice is a modern city, developed from the 18th century gaining importance and great wealth because of the enormous coal deposits in this area of south Poland. Mines opened everywhere, the industrial revolution boomed here, and so the city grew. Not in the way of a merely industrial city, but in a good way, where the new architecture from the era, the art-nouveau, left a big mark, coupled with some fine examples or art-deco that followed the next decades until World War II and the Nazi occupation took the toll.

While many old buildings were demolished to make way for wide avenues and monuments typical from the Soviet era, half of the city was thankfully spared, notoriously the southern half where the most elegant buildings are, most of them former headquarters of coal mines, industries and banks. The northern part of the city is older and centralised around the old Market Square (Rynek), but do not expect to find a large old town, nor a market square typical from majority of the Polish cities completely surrounded in beautiful architecture. In fact, visiting the entire city will not take you much of the day, therefore plan your time accordingly as there are many places you could visit nearby truly worth it. (more…)

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