Local Flavors

Three of Portugal's four major largest are situated on major rivers. Lisbon sits near the mouth of the Tagus River, Porto at the mouth of the Douro, and Coimbra on the Mondego. Only Braga is more or less landlocked, lying between the Cávado and Este rivers. The landscape of Portugal's river cities rises rather steeply from the shoreline, with one or more major hills defining both the low town (baixa) and high town (alta). For the traveler, this means wonderful vistas and a LOT of uphill travel. There are, of course, elevators/funiculars to get to the top of most hills, but the views are much better from between the buildings and among the staircases.   In Coimbra there is one major hill that leads up to the area where the University is located. The hill is very steep, although the view over the river is beautiful. There is also a "shortcut" - a very old, very steep set of stairs up the hillside to the top of Coimbra Alta with no handrails, just stairs carved int

Quando nós fomos no Sesimbra, nós visitamos uma corretora de imóveis. Nós procuramos um apartamento barato. Nós queríamos um apartamento com três quartos, uma cozinha pequena com os moveis, um elevador, e um terraço mas não uma varanda. Sesimbra tem uma boa praia, nós queríamos de ver a praia de nosso terraço. Quando nós retornamos de Estados Unidos, nós  conversamos regularmente com essa corretora de imóveis. Nós temos esperança de um apartamento perfeito. When we went to Sesimbra, we visited a real estate agent. We're looking for a cheap apartment. We wanted a three bedroom apartment, a small kitchen with furniture, an elevator, and a terrace  - but not a veranda. Sesimbra has a beautiful beach, and we wanted to see the beach from our terrace. When we returned from the United States, we talked regularly with this real estate agent. We have hope to find the perfect apartment!