Photos

Attached are photos of a trip that I took to Portugal and Spain in early Nov of 2006. The trip was a personalized tour that you won't find on any tour companies list of itineraries. If you want to retrace the exact places visited you'll have to plan it independently or get a travel agent to do it for you.

You'll find plenty of tour ideas on our Portugal tour links, Portugal tour and Spain tour pages. 

We visited the northern part of Portugal and then crossed over into the north western part of Spain. The cities visited are not on the typical tourists list of places that they'll visit on their first trip to these countries. This time of year is also pretty much the off season for these areas. Both of these considerations combine to give you good value and availability on accommodations and allow you to visit without a lot of other tourists clogging up the streets, restaurants, museums and other attractions. The weather is also mild year round. It was a very comfortable t-shirts and jeans type of weather, perfect for walking all around.

The photos also include pictures of things that regular visitors would not bother taking. I mean, why would anyone else take photos of the airport baggage claim area, hotel bathrooms and other tourists taking pictures. They are here so that you can get a feel for the surrounding area and put some further context to the photos of buildings, churches and statues. You'll also find these kinds of photos from my trips to Puerto Rico, Buenos Aires and others listed on my links page.

I've also added a little side note to the photos to give you some clue as to the what the picture shows. All too often it is taken for granted that others can immediately recognize or appreciate the subject matter. They may be cute and trite, but the notes do help to explain the subject a bit more and bring them into focus without a lot of thought.

I also apologize for the sometimes off center, ill framed or fuzzy photos. It's difficult to adequately compose more than 800 photos in 8 days of travel, especially when your travel companions want to move on. They are not all meant to be works of art suitable for framing, although I do have my favorites.

Please note that the cities I visited were all very nice. Some of these pictures show 'not so nice' buildings. They are included only because they stand out by being different than the norm. Many places are soo beautiful and clean that they could be mock streets in a Disney themepark. 

You can also go to our blog area and comment on these photos. If you're intrepid you could also sign up for a free blog account and add your own posts and photos too!

Regardless, I hope that you enjoy them and can learn a little from them. I would recommend all of these places to anyone who wants to travel to Portugal or Spain. I only suggest that you take more time to appreciate these sites. All of the areas warrant further in depth exploration. 

( Come back later to see more organization and information for all those "more" photos)

Slide Show of high quality original photos with download  and usage terms

Portugal

Porto

Airport - arrivals,  baggage claim,  signs,  transportation, 

Casa da Musica - front desk,  room,  sign,  steps,  steps,  tile,  tile, 

Chuches - side street,  side street, 

City Views - building,  cine,  cobblestone street,  historic center,  historic center,  historic center,  side street,  statue,  statue,  statue,  theatre, 

Douro River - boats,  boats,  river view,  river view,  river view,  street traffic,  visitor, 

Forte de Sao Joao Baptista da Foz - vendor,  view, 

Hotel Mercure Batalha - bathroom sink,  bed,  front,  front street,  lobby,  lobby area,  local bookstore,  nearby fountain,  nearby fountain,  rooftop view,  rooftop view,  rooftop view,  rooftop view,  rooftop view,  rooftop view,  side street,  side street,  side street, 

Igreja de Sao Francisco - historic center, 

Ponte D Luis I - bridge,  bridge, 

Ponte da Arrabida - bridge,  distant view, 

Porto Modern Art Museum - fountain,  fountain,  glass bulbs,  neighbors,  neighbors,  outside art,  palace,  park,  park,  park,  wall display,  wall display, 

Praia do Ourigo Restaurant - oceanside,  outside dining,  waterview,  waterview,  waterview,  waterview,  waterview, 

Sandeman Porto Wine Museum - area,  area,  area,  barrels,  barrels,  barrels,  barrels,  display,  doorway,  front,  front,  outside,  spout,  stone marker,  tasting table,  tasting table,  tour,  wine storage,  wine storage, 

Santo Ildefonso Church - church,  church view,  outside, 

Pinhao

Qunita Nova - bed,  chapel,  chapel,  chapel,  dining room,  dining room,  dog,  front desk,  hillside view,  hillside view,  interior,  interior,  interior,  interior,  interior,  interior,  kitchen,  labeling,  meeting room,  meeting room,  meeting room,  meeting room,  outside,  outside,  outside,  outside,  outside dining,  river view,  river view,  room,  room,  room view,  steps,  storage,  window,  wine storage,  wine storage,  wine storage,  winery,  winery, 

More Portugal and Spain  Photos

More - more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more,  more, 

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