Porto, Portugal (photos & videos)

After we finished in Spain, we flew to Porto, Portugal to visit Brittany's uncle Chuck and aunt Liz. President and Sister Walton have been serving in the Portugal Porto Mission for the last two years, and are now headed to Angola to lead the missionaries in that part of the Mozambique Mission. It was so fun to spend time with them and see how much the missionaries in Porto love them! I had to split the video into two sections, so the playlist below includes both parts. (I'm experimenting now with Jump Breaks, so you'll need to click Read More to see the content of the post. I'm just trying to make the blog a little more readable, as we'll probably be having several epic posts this week.

Day 1 - P-Day with President and Sister Walton

The first day was a Portuguese holiday, and coincidentally, their personal day. We were lucky to have them show us around northern Portugal and visit some of the sites. We drove to the top of a large hill to see the Santa Lucia church and get a beautiful view of the northern coast, looking out into the Atlantic Ocean. We then visited a Roman bridge in Ponte de Lima, where a nearby arts and crafts fair was going on. Later we visited Guimarães Castle, commonly known as the Cradle of the Nation, because of its historical significance in Portugal's early beginnings. It is also located right next to what was the Paço dos Duques de Bragança, which was once a royal palace. After falling into ruins, it eventually became a national monument and was restored. We later enjoyed a surprising treat when we discovered a festival with music and traditional dancing. If you watch that part of the video, you may want to turn the volume down, as the woman singing probably wouldn't have made it very far on Portugal's Got Talent.

Santa Lucia church with Chuck & Liz (aka President & Sister Walton)

With the river emptying into the Atlantic in the background

It was fun just walking through the streets in the Portuguese towns.

The front of one of the buildings where an LDS congregation met

The architecture here is unquestionably Old World European.

The river at Ponte de Lima

The fact that we're in Portugal is still sinking in at this point.

Enjoying a few rare moments of relaxation

Check out the labels on some of these herbal remedies.

Guimarães Castle

President & Sister Walton at the mission home*

As you can plainly see, we have grown and are roughly as tall as the castle.*

We were pleasantly surprised to find this festival in the town square.

* Not really

Day 2 - Coimbra

President and Sister Walton had some meetings our second day there, so they brought us along so we could explore in Coimbra, where the University of Coimbra was established in 1290--one of the oldest in Europe. The students here still wear capes and gowns, which apparently provided some inspiration for J.K. Rowling's vision of Hogwarts.

Town of Coimbra

One of the older-looking parts of the University

Day 3 - Beach

Lazy day at the beach in Porto. And when I say lazy, I mean lazy. We didn't even bother with the cameras.

Day 4 - City of Porto

Our last day in Portugal before we flew back to London for the Royal Wedding, we explored the city of Porto. I really liked the bridge where we hopped off the metro. It had a great view of the terraced banks of the river, and you could see most of the city skyline. We meandered through the narrow streets with our helados, finding lots of Roman influences in the architecture and design of the city. We also found a cool tower that I climbed to snap some pictures. Brittany wasn't feeling the stairs, so she hunted for souvenirs for a few minutes.

Jardim do Morro in Porto

Douro River in Porto

Fun little pillar outside the cathedral

Porto Cathedral

Narrow cobblestone streets in abundance

It was getting hot, so we enjoyed some helados soon thereafter.

Clerigos Tower

We really had a fun time in Portugal. We really appreciate Chuck & Liz' hospitality. They obviously had a very full schedule and a lot of things to deal with (as mission presidents do), but they were very gracious, thoughtful hosts. We wish them all the best in Angola, and I'm sure the missionaries there will come to love them quickly!