{"id":10117,"date":"2019-02-05T15:40:29","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T23:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/?p=10117"},"modified":"2019-03-22T18:11:07","modified_gmt":"2019-03-23T01:11:07","slug":"portugal-perfect-place-vacation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/portugal-perfect-place-vacation\/","title":{"rendered":"Portugal \u2013 A Perfect Place for Vacation Perfection\u2026 for YOU!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can you imagine enjoying a foreign destination not only for its scenery and inherent natural beauty, but also for stunning, eye catching \u201cArtworks\u201d that are painted and installed on, so it seems, almost everything you can see? It is one of the many joys of a vacation in Portugal where you\u2019ll discover a profusion of Azulejos. What, you might say, are Azulejos?<\/p>\n

Azulejo<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(Portuguese)\u00a0is a form of ceramic tile work and can be discovered on the interior and exterior of\u00a0churches<\/a>,\u00a0palaces<\/a>, ordinary houses, schools, and even\u00a0railways<\/a> stations. They were not only used as an\u00a0ornamental art<\/a>\u00a0form, but also had a specific functional capacity like\u00a0temperature control\u00a0in homes. Azulejos<\/em>\u00a0still constitute a major aspect of\u00a0Portuguese architecture<\/a>\u00a0with many Azulejos chronicling the major historical and cultural aspects of\u00a0Portuguese history<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"artwork
Photo credit: John Clayton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a travel media press trip to Portugal I was captivated and, indeed mesmerized, by this beauty that seemed to frequently surround us. Sitting outside the main line railroad station in Porto with its peaceful and totally restful environment, I felt more relaxed than I ever thought possible. This was my first visit to this spellbinding country, and it validated (at least to me) why I was so thrilled to accept an invite to this sometimes overlooked European destination. Quite simply, Portugal is a gorgeous country.<\/p>\n

One of the many delights of sampling Northern Portugal is seeing the local scenery virtually as it was many, many years ago. As but one example: On one of our \u201cLocal bus tours,\u201d we came across a classically evocative, almost from a centuries old fable, this wonderful looking lady (see photo) who was show casing her freshly picked grapes, and telling us \u2013 in Portuguese! \u2013 how special HER<\/strong> port wine was. Sadly, we did not have time to sample any of it!<\/p>\n

\"lady
Photo credit: John Clayton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If there is one sight that constantly also stuns the visual senses in Portugal, it\u2019s the profusion of what I call \u201chumming hillsides\u201d with row upon row of grapes. Their symmetry is a joy to behold, and it looks as if some giant hand had very carefully laid out a perfect quilt of latticed greenery. That, plus the aroma that wafts lazily towards you, is wonderfully intoxicating and yes, another genuinely breathtaking sight.<\/p>\n

\"rows
Photo credit: John Clayton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Azulejos
Photo credit: John Clayton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Douro River<\/a> is one more eye-catching and indeed spectacular tourist attraction, and for a unique \u201ctourist perspective\u201d of Portugal, let me also recommend you take one of the many short cruises along this alluring river. After a few days in this scintillating country, I knew that Azulejos were all over the place, but it still surprised me to see they were in the local train station of Pinhao. Gazing upon what would normally be just a plain old railway station, the Pinhao station had been transformed into an Azulejos masterpiece. As I sat on a nearby station bench reviewing all the local scenery, I realized this would remain one of the most elegant railroad stations I\u2019d ever seen, and where I\u2019d be happy to wait for a train regardless of how long the wait.<\/p>\n

The Azulejos tiles were introduced by the Moors in the 16th<\/sup> century onwards, and the Pinhao station should be a must see attraction on YOUR trip to Portugal. It features 24 alluring Azulejos that colorfully depict the local region\u2019s scenery and culture.<\/p>\n

Read more about this dazzling destination<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Connect with John by emailing him<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can you imagine enjoying a foreign destination not only for its scenery and inherent natural beauty, but also for stunning, eye catching \u201cArtworks\u201d that are painted and installed on, so it seems, almost everything you can see? It is one of the many joys of a vacation in Portugal where you\u2019ll discover a profusion of Azulejos. What, you might say, are Azulejos?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":10114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[442,2050,1339,2051,1344,1342,258],"class_list":["post-10117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-travel","tag-architecture","tag-azulejos","tag-douro-river","tag-pinhao","tag-port-wine","tag-porto","tag-portugal"],"yoast_head":"\nPortugal: A Perfect Place for Vacation - Traveling Boy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Portugal is known not only for its scenery and inherent natural beauty, but also for eye catching artworks that are installed on almost everything.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/portugal-perfect-place-vacation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Portugal: A Perfect Place for Vacation - 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Based on journeys to 51 countries, John's written and broadcast over five thousand travel features for his radio show \\\"John Clayton's Travel With A Difference.\\\" He says his segments take his audience on \\\"offbeat trips to places around the world, where I give people vacation ideas most have never thought about, because they've never heard of them - and they're written and presented in an entertaining and fun way - hence the title Travel With A Difference.\\\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/author\/john\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Portugal: A Perfect Place for Vacation - Traveling Boy","description":"Portugal is known not only for its scenery and inherent natural beauty, but also for eye catching artworks that are installed on almost everything.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/portugal-perfect-place-vacation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Portugal: A Perfect Place for Vacation - 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