March Wrap-Up - Portugal (Aveiro)

Tuesday 13 March - Two days after my Dad's 90th birthday party, Karina and I drove to Aveiro, a small city with about 55 thousand inhabitants in the centre of Portugal, about 2,30h north of Lisbon (about 50min south of Porto). 

Sometimes referred to as the Portuguese Venice, due to the small network of canals, instead of gondolas, Aveiro has the "moliceiros" - colourful boats which were traditionally used to harvest seaweed, but now used for canal cruises.

The city lies on the edge of the Ria de Aveiro, a saltwater lagoon, where salt, seaweed (for fertiliser) and fish are abundant. 

We stayed 2 days in a small Airbnb about a block or two from one of the canals, but the city is very walkable, with all the monuments in the historic centre within walking distance.

Pedestrian bridge at the end and one of the canals and the moliceiro boats

The Ria de Aveiro and some of the Art Nouveau buildings on the other side

While Karina worked from home during the day, I would do some sightseeing, and in the late afternoon she would join me.

I loved the art nouveau buildings by the main canal - there are 28 of them in the city center - such as the Art Nouveau Museum, the City Museum, the Fish Market...

The City Museum (middle building with brownish tiles)

Art Nouveau Museum - a small museum about art nouveau design and architecture. 

Another must see is the Aveiro Old Station, built in 1864, with its facade covered in blue tiles depicting everyday scenes of life in Aveiro.

Casa dos Arcos (House of Arches) - site of a former mill, known for its submerged arches that allowed the use of mills moved by the tide. It was sold to the Ministry of the Navy in 1925 and now houses the Captaincy of Aveiro.

The Aveiro Museum or Museum of Saint Joana - Fabulous museum! Entry fee was 7 euros, which gives you entry into another 4 or 5 museums.

Housed in a 15th century Monastery, it is dedicated to Princess Joana, daughter of King Afonso V. She refused a few offers of marriage from Kings of France and England as she wanted to be come a nun. She joined this Monastery in 1475, where she stayed until her death at the age of 38 in 1490, and she was beatified in 1673.

Exterior of Museum of Saint Joana and the internal patio with central fountain

Her tomb, a 17th century masterpiece takes centre place in a lavishly decorated room, and next door a gold-leafed chapel displays hand painted tiles (azulejos) depicting her life. 

The ornate St Joana's tomb

The main Chapel with the hand-painted azulejos and ornate gold-leafed carved ceiling.

A prayer room with wooden walls and painted ceilings

Aveiro is also a town with an abundance of very ornate churches.

Just across from the St Joana Museum is the Sao Domingos Church (St Dominic's Church), Aveiros's Cathedral. 

With a baroque style facade and simple interior with a high vaulted ceiling and a skylight above the altar. From the original 1423 church only a carved wall remains, and the side chapels display different architectural styles ranging from baroque to modern.

Cathedral (Sao Domingos Church)

Simple interior of the church with some side chapels

The old organ and the modern organ next to the altar and skylight above the altar

Igreja da Misericordia (Church of Mercy) -  Construction began in 1585 under Italian architect Filippo Terzio, but was only completed in 1653 under Portuguese master builder Manuel Azenha. Only in 1876 was the facade covered with tiles. The facade has a limestone portal with 4 columns with niches for statues, with the statue of Our Lady of Mercy in the middle.

Inside, a long and high nave with walls covered in azulejos (tiles) from the 16th century, with a very ornate vaulted ceiling above the altar, which is made of limestone from the nearby town of Ançã.

Igreja Nossa Senhora da Apresentacão (Church of Our Lady of Presentation) in the Vera Cruz Parish. Built in the  17th century, the interior has tiled walls, golden carved wood and baroque sculptures.

Church of São João Evangelista (Carmelite Church), a church in parish of Glória and Vera Cruz, declared a national monument in 1910. 

It was built by the widow of Prince of Tuscany Pietro de Medici (Beatriz de Lara Meneses) as a residence and destined by testament to become a convent in 1658. Construction lasted about 200 years and only finished in the 18th century. 

The lavish interior has lots of gold carvings and blue and white tiles (gold on blue being a synonym of perfection) contrasting with the colourful paintings on the ceiling and walls.

The Fish Market, a metal framed building from 1904, in the town's centre was closed for renovations, (the fish market has been moved to another market with better parking options) and once renovated this venue will be dedicated to restaurants only.

The Fish Market

I visited the local Market - plenty of fresh produce, flowers, fish and meat...

I bought some fruit and bought take-away lunch for Karina and I from one of the small eateries in the market. The double dose of chick-pea soup and codfish rice was so big it was enough for two meals for each of us.

Fresh fruit and veggies, flowers and our take-away soup and Codfish rice

A couple of bridges linking both sides of the canals are covered in colourful ribbons, a better option to heavy padlocks, and people can write names and messages on the ribbons.

Ribbon bridges

And you can't leave Aveiro without trying their speciality - Ovos Moles - made with sugar and egg yolks encased in a wafer like pastry shaped into nautical shapes like shells, wooden barrels...  A calorie bomb but delicious!

At one end of the canals in a residential area is a park with statues of the "ovos moles".

And here my favourite Portuguese pastry - Pastel de feijão (pastry made with white beans and almonds) served with hot chocolate. (Actually my breakfast one of the mornings)

                                                         On our last day Karina and I went on a 45 min long Moliceiro tour at the end of the day, which we really enjoyed. Our guide was knowledgeable and quite funny and alternated between languages quite easily. Price is 13 euros per adult.

Top right: a former factory now the Cultural and Congress Centre. 

Valentine's bridge at sunset - a yellow bridge with Eagle coat of arms in the middle

The modern residential area at the end of one of the canals

The steps "I love Aveiro" in the modern residential area and a tiled mural

The sun had set when we left the boat tour. The guide had suggested we climb to the garden (Olive tree garden) on top of the local shopping centre - Forum Aveiro - a lovely spot for some peace and quiet among the greenery as well as a great view over one of the canals.

Night photos in Aveiro:

On our last night we had a late night drink at a bar near our residence:

The following day we left Aveiro and drove about 15 minutes to the iconic Costa Nova beach, known for its candy-striped beach houses, formerly fishermen cottages.

We stopped for lunch at a lovely restaurant - Bronze - on the beach, then Karina had a phone meeting while I chatted to Jose on WhatsApp sitting on the sand. 

 

Lunch at Bronze on the Costa Nova Beach

Afterwards we left town and drove towards Carregal do Sal, (1,20h East) the small town where we lived for 12 years before coming to Australia.

Signs: 

Seen in a Music shop in Aveiro

               

            

The Moliceiros had funny and "dirty" sayings

I really loved this city - a town with good quality of life, spectacular monuments, rich with gold, tiles and carved wood, beautiful tiles everywhere, Art-Nouveau buildings, canals, friendly people, great food, relaxed atmosphere, young vibe probably due to the university....  and I found plenty of murals too, which was a bonus!

Tiles, tiles and more tiles...I never found the same one twice

Karina and I on the steps of "I love Aveiro" 

And in case you want to see more of Aveiro, this 4 minute aerial view from You tube is quite nice.

You tube video of Aveiro

Also joining Tom's signs. Please check his blog for signs from around the world