Hey Steemit,
this is the journey of a 5 week backpacking tour through France, Spain and Portugal. I traveled with my best friend back in summer of 2010. We had such a great time that we will repeat the exact same tour again. Porto and Seville were my absolute favorite cities on this trip, so I will cover them in more detail.
Our first stop was Paris. Guess there is not that much to say. It is Paris, a beautiful city.
After three days we traveled to La Rochelle and its picturesque harbor. It is a little dreamy town that has beautifully maintained its past architecture, making it one of the most picturesque and historically rich cities on the Atlantic coast. At the time we were there, the Cliff Diving World Series took place.
Moving down south to the Spanish boarder, we spent some time in Arcachon, home of the Dune of Pilat. It is the tallest sand dune in Europe.
Right after the Spanish boarder, we headed to San Sebastian and Bilbao. San Sebastian is famous for its stunningly beautiful, shell shaped Concha bay. The shape of the bay explains the name “Concha” that has been given to it. On one side of the bay you will find the Urgull mountain, next to the harbor and the city hall, and on the other side of the shell you will find the Igueldo mountain. Bilbao is home of the Guggenheim museum.
We then moved across the Iberian peninsula to Porto. I was immediately captivated by the flair of the city. The Luís I Bridge is a double-deck metal arch bridge that spans the River Douro between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. The Ribeira (Portuguese for river bank) is the everyday term for the lower part of the historic old town of the Portuguese city of Porto that is close to the banks of the Douro. The district is part of the Freguesia São Nicolau (Porto) and thus belongs to the historical center of the city, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.
The center of Ribeira is the promenade Cais de Ribeira, which connects the access to the Dom Luís bridge with the Praça da Ribeira. There are numerous pubs, souvenir shops and restaurants.
The traditional port wine boats (barcos rabelos), the Douro and the sister city Vila Nova de Gaia can be observed from the shore. Native to the Douro region, it does not exist in any other place in the world. Its history is closely linked to the production and trade of port wine.
Next stop: Lisbon. The old town captivates with its tiled facades and medieval, narrow streets. The Elevador de Santa Justa is a 45 meter high passenger elevator that connects the Baixa district in the center of Lisbon with the higher Chiado district (from where the first image was taken). The 25 de Abril Bridge is pretty famous as well due to because of its similarity to the Golden Gate bridge.
If you ever visit Lisbon, you have to try Pastel de nata, a egg tart pastry dusted with cinnamon. Delicious! In 1837, the baking of the “Pastéis de Belém”began in the buildings attached to the refinery, following the ancient ‘secret recipe` from the monastery. Passed on and known exclusively to the master confectioners who hand-crafted the pastries in the ‘secret room’, this recipe remained unchanged to the present day.
Moving back to Spain, Seville's charm took me by storm. I honestly did not expect that. I don't know if the pictures transport the vibe that I feel just looking at them, but the city is full of small parks to chill.
Much like Lisbon, the old town is dominated by narrow streets. The Torre del Oro (Gold Tower) is a military tower separated from the rest of the city wall. Its name is derived from a non-preserved tile covering - possibly yellow and only running around above the window wreath - which showed golden glittering reflections in the sun. Giralda is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral right next to the Seville Cathedral.
The Plaza de España complex is a huge half-circle with buildings continually running around the edge accessible over the moat by numerous bridges representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain. In the center is the Vicente Traver fountain. By the walls of the Plaza are many tiled alcoves, each representing a different province of Spain.
The food in Seville also was extraordinary. Seville is considered the place of origin of tapas, small, cold or warm snacks that are always served with an alcoholic drink. Unfortunately for you, taking pictures of food wasn't a trend back then, so I don't have any meals to show.
From Seville, we traveled to Madrid. It was so hot during our stay that we mostly spend our time in parks.
After a quick stop in Valencia, we stayed several days in Barcelona before heading home. The 173 meter high Montjuïc is (together with the Tibidabo) one of the two local mountains in Barcelona. It can be reached by the Montjuïc funicular railway and the harbor cable railway. This is a must do when in Barcelona.
In summary, I would like to say that we have seen so many things and details that I can't show here. Before the trip I was aware that Paris, Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona are beautiful cities. But Porto and Seville were my favorites from all these cities. There is just a flair to both cities I can't hardly describe, but I can highly recommend visiting them.
Thank you for reading! I'll happily answer any questions in the comments.