Portugal - Costa Nova

Today I visited Costa Nova. That's like a part of Aveiro, but it's the beach area. The weather was pretty cold, and the sand felt like ice on my feet. I climbed out onto some rocks. It must be very nice in warm weather.

An interesting thing about the Costa Nova is that there is a small seaside village, but it's being built up. Still you can see some of the characteristic stripped houses. There are also a lot of fish restaurants. 

I did two videos:

At the beach, the weather didn't get any better, so I couldn't get any sun. Climbing out to the edge wasn't easy, but worth the pictures. Then I went down to the sandy beach, as I wanted to get my toes wet. I nearly got all of me wet as a big wave almost engulfed me on camera. Good thing it didn't get into my bag. Of course, I didn't have any towels with me, so I had to walk barefoot to the car, and try to dry my feet enough there to be able to put on my shoes again. Note to self, take towels.

Afterwards I had dinner at the mall again, at a Brazilian place called A Gula Do Prego, which is in the mall. It's actually a very good place. There are often long queues, and it's worth the wait. The prices are low, and the food is great and very filling. They also have very nice drinks. If you're getting dessert, get it to go. 

Portugal - Aveiro

After spending the morning in Fatima, I went North to Aveiro by car. Aveiro is one of those places that you don't hear much about. It's South of Porto, but still more in the Northern part of Portugal. I made a small video of the city itself, and the little information I could gather.

However, once you've been there, it does quickly become your favourite little city in Portugal. The houses are often covered by tiles, because the air is very moist. Even far away from the sea you can feel the breeze and taste the salt. I actually think it's a great way to cover your house on the outside in a durable and washable way. It looks good too.

A couple of places that I really liked there were a kind of square, which is really the widening of a street, and a park. So the street is R. Domingos Carrancho, which comes from the main canal. There is a Fado record shop (R. do Ten. Rezende 3), with a great window. It really has a very nice atmosphere, though the café doesn't have great reviews.

Another place is Parque Dom Pedro Infante. Only went there in the evening, but it's still very nice. Lots of ducks.

Dinner was in the Forum Aveiro mall, which has a couple of nice, and inexpensive eateries. There is a Vitaminas, which has salads and pasta salads. There's one with pineapple and shrimp, that sort of always makes me think of Aveiro now. It's a chain, so can be found all over Portugal.

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Portugal - Aveiro - Melia Ría

I got a 5th floor room in this hotel. It's very nice, at the end of a canal, right next to a lake. If you're staying here, try to get a room overlooking the lake. It's also not far from the centre, just a few minutes walk. There are also some food shops around, though not really big ones. 

I love my corner room. It's a bit bigger than the other rooms, and also has a tea set. The view is great. The TV works with Miracast too. The bed is great. There is a spa, but it's 10 EUR extra a day. I took a video of my room: