Day 1 - Aveiro

We had originally planned to spend our first day walking around Porto at our leisure and overcoming jet lag, but since we spent our first day in delayed transit, we got to jump straight into our itinerary, renting a car and driving south to see several cities on the coast.  We started with Aveiro, known as the Venice of Portugal.  

We didn't have too much trouble navigating and arrived without any problem.  We first stopped at the Aveiro Cathedral. 

Aveiro is a pretty small town and the cathedral was not large, but it was pretty. 

Relatively small and not too fancy.

This three dimensional display from the stations of the cross was large and dramatic. It was more than life sized and agonizing, which is the point, I'm sure. 

Then we strolled along a smaller side canal with bridges covered with ribbons.  This was prettier than the locks you often find on bridges.

We arrived relatively early and things were just opening up.  We were hoping to see the well known fish market which was supposed to open at 10:00, but at 10:30 they were still hosing it down and no fishing boats were in sight, so we moved on.  It was a lovely little town, but calling it Venice is a bit of an oversell. 

We had read that everyone should try the local sweet known as "ovos moles", so we stopped at a pastry shop and asked the owner what these treats were.  He pointed out some fish-shaped pastries, so we each bought one to try. 

It was filled with "egg cream" from sugar and egg yolks.  It was tasty, but not something I would go out of my way to acquire. 

We walked past a cemetery and decided to explore.  Around the exterior were family tombs with all sorts of styles (some modern, some classic).  The center had regular grave stones, but with the pictures of the deceased on the stone (I've seen this in other cemeteries in Italy).

Before hitting the road, we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant and everyone except me got (very) fresh fish.  We made one more stop in Aveiro at Costa Nova beach which is a sandy barrier island that reminded me a lot of Padre Island in Texas.  Lots of pretty condos and some lovely beaches.

You could go up in the lighthouse, but the next time available was 2 hours away, so we didn't get the chance.  It's the tallest light house in Portugal. 

For the afternoon, we were ready to hit the road to Nazare (about an hour and a half south).