Day 66. Monday 12 May.

Some serious rain today and the river beneath us has risen. Aida had said that once in her ownership time it had come above the wall!!!! D’s roadworks would be of no use if that was the case; however, returning this afternoon from a visit to Braga, the little Peugeot found secure footing where D had placed slate, so we arrived safely; T will cook an omelette for dinner, but not the promised potato, as we had a very substantial lunch.

Heavy rain receded enough for a town amble with occasional light showers, and T hung out in a fabric shop for a good hour, sifting through the off cuts. D wandered….. he is chasing a very particular souvenir sardine (maybe it needs to be bespoke).

Braga is an elegant, beautiful Baroque town, with some very elegant, beautiful shops along wide pedestrian streets. A former palace is now the Hotel Vila Gale Collection Braga.

T fantasied about just sitting on one of the pedestrian streets or parks listening to the ABC Classic (FM 102.3) Weekend Baroque program.

It is regarded as THE town to be in at Semana Santa in Portugal, as it has established a whole Passion Week story moving from church to church. We didn’t plan to visit any churches, but it is hard to avoid them: we ended up in three. The Igreja da Santa Cruz was absolutely luscious, dripping painted gold decoration.

We also visited the less ornate, 500 year old Capela de Cambrais and the Igreja da Misercordia, although only walking through the quadrangle of the latter, as it seemed there was a Mass on.

The bells at the cathedral rang in a curious pattern between 1700 and 1800: 25 tolls, getting faster, then a pause followed by four.

Back at the car, we found we’d earned a parking ticket. We had checked: no signs and no obvious ticket machine, although we did pass one some 200 metres away on our return walk. The return road was busy and wet in early evening traffic, with T hanging onto her seat as cars, trucks, buses and motorbikes weaved across lanes (rarely indicating). D indicates 100% which probably confuses the Portuguese drivers.