Aveiro's Allure: Exploring Portugal's Coastal Gem

Aveiro, Portugal: Solo Travel, Tiles, Wine & the Best Food Finds (Our First Stop in Portugal)

Brittany and Josh recap their first stop in Portugal, Aveiro, discussing pronunciation, Brittany’s five-day solo stay, and what made the town so special, including its canals, cobblestone streets, and signature tiles used to help prevent mold and mildew. Brittany shares a guided boat and history tour, a wine tasting with a couple from Holland, and reflections on missing Josh while experiencing the city alone. They highlight favorite food and drink spots: Bastardo Coffee Roasters, Raiz, Asimami, Ovos Moles de Aveiro, Restaurante O Barro, Aligarius for francesinha, and Michelin-star Salpoente. Together they explore murals and monuments, attend during Freedom Day and a marathon weekend, take a wine tour, try local piglet at Leitao De Levira, and note Aveiro’s affordability and easy train access from Lisbon en route to Porto.

00:00 Welcome to Aveiro

01:06 Solo days in town

01:40 Tiles boats and tours

03:07 Missing your travel buddy

04:00 Moving to Europe talk

05:43 Coffee and foodie finds

09:03 Ovos moles and classics

12:03 Michelin treat at Salpoente

14:43 Reunited at the station

16:10 Venice of Portugal vibe

19:39 Walking tour and best meal

21:02 Mussels And Lemon Cake

22:20 Coffee And Morning Walk

22:51 Salt Soap And Murals

24:04 Justice Statue And Tiles

28:01 Francesinha And Wine Tour

30:19 Piglet With Orange

32:11 Ranking Aveiro And Return Plans

38:29 Travel Tips And Wrap Up

@WSMHtravels

Transcript

brit 0:11

Hello, and welcome to the We Should Move Here Travels podcast. My name is Brittany.

josh 0:16

I'm Josh.

brit 0:17

And we are your hosts. Today, we are gonna be talking about our first stop in Portugal, which was Aveiro. We were saying Aveiro. we weren't really corrected, but I had just noticed that people were saying Aveiro. So I don't know if it's wrong to say Aveiro, but we're gonna change it to Aveiro 'cause everybody else said that.

josh 0:43

I was gonna say, the locals were saying Aveiro, so I think we gotta go with how the locals were saying it. Yeah,

brit 0:48

absolutely. So Aveiro was so stunning. I actually spent the first six days... Right? Six days?

josh 0:58

I think you were probably five full days in Aveiro, six days of travel.

brit 1:02

Yeah. Five, so five days in Aveiro. Mm-hmm. Uh, I was by myself.

josh 1:07

Yeah. And we will be doing an episode later on about your whole solo travel adventures.

brit 1:15

Yeah. Mm-hmm. And your solo travel adventures that you had- previously. So we'll have a whole episode about solo traveling and- what that was like for both of us, having those experiences, Yeah. and I'm really glad that I did it, but we'll talk about it in another episode. For sure. So.

josh 1:33

But I would like to know, I'm sure everyone else would like to know, how you spent your first five days. What did you like about Aveiro?

brit 1:40

Aveiro was so beautiful. I loved the tiles. Mm-hmm. So tiles are a big thing in Portugal just in general. I didn't really know much about Portugal before going. so I didn't know that tiles were so big there, but the tiles on the houses in Aveiro, I had learned that, they were used for preventing, like, mold and mildew and things like that, and that it worked really well. so I had learned that on a tour that I took. So I did take a tour. that tour included the, boat. So there's, like, these very flat and long boats in Aveiro, and so I took one of those, uh, with a guide, and then I met a different guide afterwards, and we went to several different places to learn about the history of Aveiro and, just what different things mean, and that was really fun to do. And then after that, we went to a wine tasting, I was with another couple, and they were really fun to get to know. they were from Holland, so they had a lot of insight into, like, Europe and, they've traveled a whole lot, so it was fun to get to know them. But, overall, taking a tour without you was weird, man. It was weird. I, I really, at points throughout the tour, I really missed you because-

josh 3:23

Mm

brit 3:25

I was like, "Oh my gosh, I'm learning all of these new things. I'm, having these new experiences." And, I had just had therapy earlier today, and I actually told my therapist that I didn't anticipate to miss you in that way. Aw. Like, I knew I was gonna miss you, but- Mm-hmm it was, like, in the way of you not getting to experience these new things-

josh 3:49

Right

brit 3:50

that I missed.

josh 3:51

Yeah.

brit 3:51

And I just didn't expect that, so.

josh 3:53

Mm-hmm.

brit 3:54

But I really missed you during that. I'm glad I did it, though. It was fun.

josh 3:58

Of course. You had mentioned before That the couple from Holland, that they had talked to you a little bit about moving to Europe.

brit 4:09

Yeah, yeah. They had said that it would be a very hard path-

josh 4:14

Mm-hmm

brit 4:14

and that starting out in the UK would be easier.

josh 4:18

Mm-hmm.

brit 4:18

So,

josh 4:20

Which is something that I think we have heard from others as well, that it'd be difficult to m- move to Europe, and maybe Portugal specifically because there are so many people moving over there right now. But also, we have heard from a few people in Europe that, "Oh," like, "You just gotta find a way. You gotta find the right way." Yeah. And then they ask us, like, "How would you..." and we talk about your job a little bit and talk about me going back to school, and they're like, "Yeah, those are fine ways." Like, you'd be able to find a way that way. So, uh, but we, we don't know. We've never tried, so maybe it's really difficult. Maybe it's really easy. If we ever get to that point, we'll share that. But yeah- Mm-hmm it's just always interesting when people kinda give their opinions in that way.

brit 5:05

Yeah, yeah. I think all throughout Portugal, and we'll talk about this, but I think the people on tours were just, like, different- Mm-hmm than what we have experienced in the past. Yeah. so we'll probably get into that a little bit more, but it was a different kind of experience. I mean, I s- I had a lot of fun, and like I said, I really enjoyed getting to know them. Mm-hmm. overall, in Aveiro, I, I had so much fun. Yeah. Even if it was without you. and I did that tour.

josh 5:42

Yeah.

brit 5:43

I also, I ate out at so many different restaurants, and I got to try different cuisines. Sure.

josh 5:52

Why don't you give us a little bit of a rundown?

brit 5:54

I'll give you my favorite places that I went to. So my favorite spot for coffee was Bastardo Coffee Roasters. This place was great. It was a small, little roastery. Mm-hmm. It had Colombian coffee beans, and the espresso was just so freaking good. Mm-hmm. So highly recommend checking out Bastardo Coffee Roasters. They also had some, uh, like pastries- Yeah and stuff that I tried there. So, uh, really, really good.

josh 6:28

And it was a place that you talked to me- Yeah over the phone about- When you were there and I was here at home saying, "Oh my gosh, I love this roastery. The coffee is so good." And so the first morning that I was there we were up going to that coffee place- Yeah that roastery, and it was really good.

brit 6:47

It was amazing. Mm-hmm. I'm really sad 'cause I want some now.

josh 6:51

Uh.

brit 6:52

But

josh 6:53

you are back to your espresso machine and making yours as well.

brit 6:56

Which is great. but as I kind of walked around Aveiro and got to know the city, I found different restaurants, and I really enjoyed being able to just explore and go wherever I want whenever I wanted. I've never done that before. I'll talk more about it in the solo travel episode. But I am a foodie at heart. Mm-hmm. So that's why we're kind of, like, starting off with the food because it was insane. It was so good there.

josh 7:33

Plus, this is a food podcast, so.

brit 7:37

This is a food podcast. Um, another place that I would wanna highlight, is Raiz. It is a plant-based restaurant, and I got a Buddha bowl here. At this point I was feeling some greens, and I wanted to try the vegetable scene in Portugal. Mm-hmm. So I got a Buddha bowl, and it was incredible. It was so good. I also got a green juice there. So if you're wanting some- something healthier while you're in Aveiro, that is an option. I also would highly recommend Asimami which is a Asian fusion restaurant. I got a shrimp bao and then kimchi dumplings that were so good. When you got there I really wanted to go back and have you try them, uh, but they were closed. Yeah. So- Yeah go try them if you are there when they're open. It's so good.

josh 8:39

I arrived on a, I think Sunday afternoon or Saturday afternoon. I think it was Sunday afternoon, and then the only full day I had there was on a Monday, so lots of places were closed and- Yeah Couldn't go to some of your favorites, but the places that we got to go to were great. But, uh, let's hear about your few other favorites as well.

brit 9:03

At Ovos Moles de Aveiro was the best ovos moles in the city. The tour guide took us there, and we got to try it there. I also took you there. Mm-hmm. You did not try any other one but that one, and I wanted you to. No. But we didn't, we didn't try any other one, because that was the best.

josh 9:23

And it was delicious. Yeah. Fantastic.

brit 9:26

Ovos moles is a pastry of sort. Mm-hmm. it's basically a sweet egg yolk kind of inside filling, the outside is a wafer. Hmm. it's really, really good. It's really good. You have to try it when you're in Aveiro. Aveiro is actually the only place that can make them- Hmm and sell them, it is legally protected. at Restaurante O Barro. Oh my gosh, the risotto. I got a mushroom risotto. It was so good. I also wanted you to go there, but they were closed.

josh 10:11

Classic.

brit 10:12

And then, uh, Aligarius is a place that we did get to go when you came- Yes to try Francesinha.

josh 10:21

Yeah.

brit 10:22

So Francesinha was a dish from Porto. and we were kind of scolded a little bit for trying- it in Aveiro. But we did have it in Porto as well. We'll get to that in the Porto episode. uh, I tried the vegetarian Francesinha, and this freaking dish was so, so, so delicious. I loved it. I loved every bite. I think they did it really, really well.

josh 10:53

Mm-hmm.

brit 10:53

and then the meat one was also really good.

josh 10:57

Very good. Very heavy dish. They of- Yeah. Oh, we

brit 11:00

split it.

josh 11:01

Yeah. They, and they often give you that option that we've seen at the couple places that we had it. Mm-hmm. Is you can get one split or get one apiece, so. it, we split it and it was definitely enough food, but very good, especially with the fries and, like, the gravy sauce. Ugh.

brit 11:19

Yeah. It's a tomato gravy. Mm-hmm. And it's smothering this sandwich that has, I think, different kinds of, like, pork and beef inside- Mm and then, uh, there's cheese and there's a egg on top.

josh 11:36

Lots of great things. Have to try it

brit 11:39

when you're in Porto, though. Yes. Um, but I would recommend if you're, if you're not going to Porto and you're going to Aveiro- Mm which I don't know how that trip would work- Mm 'cause Porto is so close. But anyways, um, if you are only in Aveiro, Aligarius is a great place to try

josh 12:00

it. An absolutely great place, yes.

brit 12:02

Mm-hmm. And then for my last day there without you, I wanted to treat myself a little bit, so- Or was

josh 12:13

it a funeral for it being the last day without me?

brit 12:15

No.

josh 12:16

I was,

brit 12:18

I was celebrating the fact that I did solo travel-

josh 12:22

Yes, yeah

brit 12:23

for five days. Mm-hmm. I know it's not, like, the longest time in the world, but it-

josh 12:28

Was a big accomplishment

brit 12:29

it was. Absolutely. It felt really, really good. So I wanted to treat myself and celebrate a little bit, so I went to Salpoente. Oh my gosh. This place, it had Michelin stars. For Michelin stars it wasn't that expensive. I think it was like 80 euro for everything I got.

josh 12:53

Mm-hmm.

brit 12:54

which is pretty expensive for one person, but-

josh 12:57

It's still expensive, but for a Michelin star high quality restaurant-

brit 13:02

Yeah

josh 13:03

you know, that, that equates to what? 100 US dollars maybe. It-

brit 13:08

Yeah

josh 13:08

good deal.

brit 13:09

Yeah. I agree. And it was a great experience. I was sitting there kind of like reflecting and just feeling really proud that I was able to sit at this Michelin star restaurant by myself- Mm-hmm and eat a meal by myself.

josh 13:27

Right.

brit 13:27

Like, who does that?

josh 13:29

Yeah.

brit 13:30

I guess I

josh 13:31

do.

brit 13:32

Um, but there I got prawns in curry. Yeah. Great appetizer, great starter. Amazing. And then prawn and sea bass- Mm for my main.

josh 13:44

Yeah.

brit 13:45

That was also amazing. The sea bass, incredible. Chef's kiss. Mm. And then they had a take on an ovos moles that was like a ovos moles cake kinda thing. All right. And it was so delicious as well. Highly recommend if you're wanting a nice dinner in Aveiro, go there.

josh 14:08

Mm-hmm. Yes. You sent me these pictures, and I was so jealous. I was so happy for you, but so jealous. I was like, "Oh, man." That looked so good.

brit 14:18

Um- It was really good, and it was a great experience. It was truly just a great experience. I really enjoyed my time there.

josh 14:26

Mm-hmm.

brit 14:27

Mm-hmm. And I had like two glasses of wine.

josh 14:31

Yeah.

brit 14:32

It was great. So, Salpoente was my last, kind of meal- Mm-hmm before you got there. Yeah. And when you got there, I was so excited to see you. Mm. I was elated. I was, like, waiting for you at the train station.

josh 14:53

You were.

brit 14:53

Just very excited to show you the city that I had fallen in love with.

josh 15:00

Yeah. I

brit 15:01

love Aveiro so much. Mm-hmm. And I was like, "I need to share this with the person I love more than anything." Yeah. So...

josh 15:10

I was so excited too when I came on the train, 'cause we took trains throughout this trip. When I came to the train and I got to the station, I saw you standing there waiting, for my car, 'cause I told you which one I was in. And I got off, and you were waiting by the other door on the other side. So I was like, waved you down- and then you, you ran towards me, and it was a cute moment where we embraced each other and-

brit 15:37

I missed you so much. I missed

josh 15:38

you so much too. we had the short walk to the apartment that we rented, which it was a nice apartment.

brit 15:45

It was. It was very nice. Mm-hmm. Um, if you watched any of my solo travel, like, short clips- Mm-hmm on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, I did talk about the stairs- and they really scared me. Mm-hmm. When I was alone, I thought I was gonna fall down the stairs and nobody would find me.

josh 16:06

But you didn't. It was fine.

brit 16:07

I didn't. I was fine.

josh 16:10

man, that, that first day when we were there, you walked me around. You showed me a bit of Aveiro, like you said, what you fell in love with. It's a small town, a historic small town, with the river and waterways running through it. Uh, I don't know. How would, how would you describe it? 'Cause I mean, you got to spend more time there than I did.

brit 16:32

Yeah. I mean, it is called the Venice of Portugal, and I can understand why. It has the canals. It has, kind of small streets surrounding the canals. It has, cobblestone. it has all of those things that Venice also has. And if anybody knows what I love in a trip, I love a Venice trip. Love Venice.

josh 17:01

So it's kind of easy to see why you would fall in love with this place.

brit 17:04

I really fell in love with this place. Like-

josh 17:07

It's, it's definitely a smaller Venice, though. Like, Venice is- It is,

brit 17:11

yeah

josh 17:12

massive.

brit 17:13

No, but it is very small, and I loved that. Mm-hmm. I loved it. I mean, I was there, during one of their holiday celebrations. I think their Freedom Day- Mm-hmm is w- what it- it's called from when they became free from... their dictator. So they celebrate that every year- Mm-hmm and there's carnations to symbolize that. And people came into town for that. Not only that, but there was also a marathon, the European marathon that weekend. Yeah. So that came through Aveiro. And, it was a lot of people by the time you got there. Mm-hmm. I swear the week before it was, there was not a lot of people. It was- a small town kinda feel. Like, there were some tourists or travelers here and there, but it really felt homey. Yeah. And I loved that about it.

josh 18:13

I'm sure tourism picks up there into later spring and then summer, because we were there at the end of April. Mm. So kids are still in school. People are still working their, like, regular full-season jobs, so. Yeah. but yeah, it still didn't seem like a place that would get massively overcrowded. We could be wrong about it, that, but-

brit 18:39

No, I, I think that with the amount of tourism that Venice has, this is nothing compared to that. Oh,

josh 18:47

no. Uh, no. I mean, Venice- is working on restricting tourism. I don't know if Aveiro has that problem.

brit 18:54

No, I don't think so. And it was really fun. I think, in s- tourist cities, that offers a, a different kind of experience to be able to do tours, to be able to learn more about the city. Mm-hmm. And it wasn't, uh, tours that you could find on TripAdvisor, so it's not, like, a huge tourist city.

josh 19:16

Yeah.

brit 19:17

But you can find tours on GetYourGuide. Mm-hmm. So that tells me that it's kind of, like, in between. Like, it's not so small that there's no tours-

josh 19:27

Right

brit 19:27

but it's not so big that it's all over TripAdvisor.

josh 19:31

Right.

brit 19:31

So- Yeah if that tells you anything. Yeah.

josh 19:35

But- No, I, I think, I think it says a lot.

brit 19:37

Yeah. I agree. so when you got there- Mm-hmm I took you to Bastardo Coffee Roasters- Mm-hmm to start the day.

josh 19:46

Mm-hmm.

brit 19:46

After you kinda showered and washed the train and airplane off of you.

josh 19:51

Loved the coffee right away. Saw why you loved it. Yeah. and then you showed me around, like, all the kind of little spots and nuances of Aveiro, or at least the parts that we visited, 'cause it, it's bigger than what we saw. Mm-hmm. But we kinda saw the, the nucleus, the center of Old Town, I would say. And so you showed me the Ribbon Bridge, and you kinda showed me some statues, and- We put on a ribbon some small streets. Yeah, we put on a ribbon- the next day. and we had some great weather. It was, beautiful, sunny days. And then that night we went to... Well, actually, for lunch we went to Plaza Grill and had some hake.

brit 20:37

Mm-hmm.

josh 20:38

Yeah.

brit 20:39

Yeah, that was pretty good.

josh 20:40

Yeah. It was g- it wasn't-

brit 20:42

I don't think it was, like-

josh 20:44

I Out of this world. No, no, no.

brit 20:46

But what was out of this world was our dinner that night. Yes. We went to Wine Wings Bar. Oh,

josh 20:53

amazing.

brit 20:53

Incredible. Mm-hmm. We had the mussels and the scallops- Mm-hmm along with the lemon cake for dessert.

josh 20:59

Yeah.

brit 21:00

It was so good. I'm thinking about these mussels. That was my favorite dish. One of... I can't say my favorite. Mm-hmm. That, that was one of my favorite dishes of the entire trip. It was so good.

josh 21:13

again, we'll talk about the different nuances to each city, but pricing was really affordable in Aveiro. Like, we had, at Wine Wings Bar, mussels, the scallops, and the lemon cake, and it was not that expensive with some drinks.

brit 21:30

Yeah.

josh 21:31

And I f-

brit 21:32

I think it was under 50 euro for all- Yeah of it. Yeah. Yeah.

josh 21:35

I'm fairly certain with the drinks and everything, which is crazy. But like you said, these mussels and scallops dripping in sauce and, uh, I forget which one. Did the scallops have cheese on them?

brit 21:48

No, the

josh 21:49

mussels. The mussels? Oh, gosh.

brit 21:51

They had, like, a cream-based sauce and- Mm-hmm a cheese top, and I think they were grilled.

josh 21:57

Oh, my

brit 21:58

gosh. Oh, my gosh. It was so good.

josh 22:01

It was amazing. Loved it. We'll, we'll definitely have pictures of it and videos on the video record version. Um, but and, and the lemon cake as well was just so fresh-tasting. Yeah. Ugh.

brit 22:13

There were, like, pieces or bits of, uh, candied lemon on top.

josh 22:18

Mm-hmm.

brit 22:18

So delicious.

josh 22:20

Yeah. So we had that for dinner, and then the next morning, of course, went back to Bastardo. Of

brit 22:25

course. When you find a good coffee spot and you're only there for a couple days, you gotta go back.

josh 22:31

You got, you gotta go back.

brit 22:32

I am, I am definitely one for exploring and trying different coffees, but if you find one that's this good, you go back.

josh 22:41

Mm-hmm.

brit 22:42

Yeah.

josh 22:43

And it was that good.

brit 22:44

Yeah.

josh 22:45

So we had the coffee there. I think we had a little pastry there as well. Again, walked around Aveiro. We went to a shop. We actually didn't go to the shop, 'cause it wasn't open at the time, but, Beleza do Sal. I was looking for, soap and shampoo for myself during the trip just 'cause- Ah I didn't, I didn't wanna bring the extra liquids and the space. And so found this little boutique store. They weren't open, but a store just down the way had their products in it. And I kept this bar soap and the shampoo the whole time. It was- amazing. It smells awesome, like a lavendery smell, and it's sea salt, like, scrub in it.

brit 23:32

Yeah. Aveiro is actually known for their salt production- Mm-hmm uh, because it's, like, right off of the ocean. Yeah. And yeah, so they produce a lot of salt. So the salt came from Aveiro.

josh 23:45

Yeah. Yeah. And just great stuff. And you showed me some really cool, salt harvesting murals that were- Mm-hmm kind of on the side of walls and streets, and, uh, definitely painted into some of the tiles as well. Yeah. You showed me a lot of those really cool spots. what was the... We also walked along, uh, in this one kinda courtyard area.

brit 24:12

Oh, yeah.

josh 24:13

And there was a statue of a woman without her- Yeah eyes covered.

brit 24:21

So throughout Portugal she is known as the Lady of Justice. Mm-hmm. And I think f- I think I'm correct with this. My, uh, my tour guide told me this story- Mm-hmm and hopefully I'm saying it right. but she is known as the Lady of Justice, and there are only two in Portugal that don't have their eyes covered- Mm-hmm to symbolize that they were blind to see the dictatorship. Mm-hmm. This one, her eyes were not covered.

josh 24:57

Mm-hmm.

brit 24:57

And the way the tour guide had kinda talked about it was it was to symbolize that you were following the dictator. Mm-hmm. That your eyes were watching him- Mm-hmm and you were following him. However, she had kind of talked about it that it is now looked at as a symbol of where they can't go back to.

josh 25:24

Yeah.

brit 25:25

It is a reminder- Yeah in a sense of what had happened. Mm-hmm. And so they cannot return back there. Yeah. So it's an interesting perspective, and it, it was kinda cool to be able to learn about that- Yeah and see that. Um,

josh 25:43

yeah. There was an installation while we were there, I think, that was put up in the United States, I believe. I could be wrong. It was put up somewhere, but it was very similar to that. It was To show blind patriotism, I think, for the United States. Mm. A person carrying a flag, and the flag was waving, and then it covered their face. Mm. And, like, they were walking forward with this flag just covering their face, unable to see. And so it was the dangers- of blind patriotism. So- Wow it, it was interesting that we were on this trip and then this installation was put up by, I think, a pretty famous artist, so- Wow 'cause it, it was on the news and stuff. So, um, so that was interesting that you showed me that and then that happened. But in this courtyard also, the tiles had, the zodiac signs, didn't they?

brit 26:44

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So on the ground, um, there was an artist that did zodiac signs in the tiles. Mm-hmm. It was pretty cool.

josh 26:52

Yeah. Yeah. A- and again, all of the tiles on houses and on buildings, some of the churches, gorgeous. Mm-hmm. Looked really cool.

brit 27:01

You didn't get to go into any of the cathedrals. However- No the cathedrals there that I went into during the tour- Mm-hmm they were covered in gold. Yeah. It was actually pretty cool- Mm-hmm you know, my atheist ass- in a fucking cathedral-

josh 27:18

Yeah

brit 27:18

looking around at all this gold. Mm-hmm. It was pretty cool.

josh 27:21

Yeah. Very sad that, uh, it was there to show the separation of the, the wealthy- Mm-hmm the bourgeoisie, and then the, the poorer people, so.

brit 27:35

Yeah. Well, it, there was a pretty clear distinction-

josh 27:39

Mm-hmm

brit 27:39

in Aveiro back in the day- Yeah um, between the wealthy and the poor. Yeah.

josh 27:45

Right. But still cool for you to see. It was fine. I, again, I just came on the wrong days of the week where everything was closed up, but, really cool that you got to show me around that. Again, very beautiful. where were we? Oh, we were talking about soap, and then we kinda went off on this. Went and then we went and we had that francesinha for lunch. Really good. That was my first one. Stay tuned for Porto episode-

brit 28:12

Mm

josh 28:12

uh, 'cause we'll tell you one that was out of this world.

brit 28:16

It was the best. For sure. It was the best. It's, it was so fucking good. Yeah. It was actually recommended to us by the, one of the guides- Mm-hmm of our wine tour- Yeah,

josh 28:29

which we did next. after lunch, we went right away and did this wine tour- Mm-hmm um, that you had booked for us, and They were an amazing, duo. one was just there kind of as a translator, and also was fairly knowledgeable. She went to university around there and- Yeah was really fun to talk to. Gave us this recommendation along with others I think going into this trip we knew Portugal had really good wine, but Portugal has some really fantastic wine.

brit 29:02

really great wine.

josh 29:04

Mm-hmm.

brit 29:04

Yeah. I, I knew that I've had some Portugal wine that's really good. Mm-hmm. And, um, I just don't think it's everywhere in the US.

josh 29:16

No.

brit 29:17

So I don't think I've had a lot of it. Mm. And in Portugal, I swear we almost drank a glass of wine every day. Every day. And our tour guides kept saying, like, "Don't feel bad." Like, "Locals do that here." Mm-hmm. Like, it's just, it's the way of life here.

josh 29:36

Yeah. You're not... They say you're not true Portuguese if you're not having- a glass of red a day.

brit 29:42

Yeah. So- Which, I mean- you can definitely be Portuguese and not have a glass

josh 29:47

of- For sure

brit 29:48

wine a day. Just

josh 29:49

some people's opinions. And I mean, they told us too that there's definitely a feud between the north and south- Yeah that everything north of basically Aveiro or Lisbon, somewhere in there, everything in the northern half is true Portugal. But then everyone in the south is like, "No, this is true Portugal," and there's a lot of history there as well.

brit 30:09

Yeah. Um,

josh 30:11

but, uh- Yeah, that was

brit 30:11

kind of fun to learn about. Yeah. And then we got to see, like, the differences.

josh 30:15

Mm-hmm.

brit 30:16

So yeah, that was fun. we also ate at Leitao De Levira. I don't know if I said that correctly. But we were also recommended by the wine tour- Mm-hmm um, to- go try piglet- Yeah in Aveiro.

josh 30:38

Mm-hmm.

brit 30:39

Because apparently they're known for it. So we had piglet.

josh 30:43

Yeah. I think it also translates to suckling pig. Oh. I'm pretty sure some other people said when we told them piglet, they're like, "Oh, suckling pig," which doesn't sound any better. No. But we had it, and it was actually pretty good.

brit 30:58

It was very good. Mm-hmm. It was, it was very good. I actually really liked the salad that we had. Mm-hmm. So we had a salad, and then we had just the piglet with, um, orange. And so you have to eat it with the orange- Mm-hmm because it just, it tastes so much better with it. and we were also told that. So-

josh 31:20

Yeah. It, it was good, like you said, with the orange, and then it also had the crispy skin, which I don't think you liked.

brit 31:26

I-

josh 31:27

But it- I couldn't get past

brit 31:28

the- the piglet piece of it. Right. Like, I think it was good, but I just couldn't get past what I was eating.

josh 31:34

Yeah.

brit 31:34

And it made me very sad- Mm-hmm to eat the skin. Not that it's any better to eat the meat, but-

josh 31:41

Right But when in Rome, we, we always try to do our best with local dishes. We do. And this was a local dish that throughout the trip when we told people, they were like, "Oh yeah, you go to Aveiro. That's what I did as a kid when we traveled between- Lisbon and Porto. We stopped off in Aveiro, and we had this dish." So, yeah, really good, really interesting. Would recommend if you're in Aveiro, I think.

brit 32:06

Yeah, definitely. Mm. You have to try it while you're there.

josh 32:09

Yeah. Yeah. and I think that pretty much was it for our stay in Aveiro.

brit 32:17

It was, yeah. We had a lot of fun. Mm-hmm. I think also just, like, walking around and, like you talked about, like, me showing you what I learned about the city. Yeah. I think that you didn't have enough time to fully appreciate it. Mm-hmm. And you also came during the weekend that's, like, the busiest weekend. Yeah.

josh 32:42

Yeah, the first day when I was there you said was much busier than the entire time you were there, basically. Much

brit 32:49

busier. Yeah. Much busier, yeah. So I don't know if Aveiro is gonna make my top three, but- Mm.

josh 32:59

After, you were pushing for a top five. You're like, "Can we do a top five?"

brit 33:03

I loved it here. Mm-hmm. I really loved it. So I just need to let it digest a little bit, and maybe it'll make my top three.

josh 33:11

Yeah.

brit 33:12

Um, I don't, I really don't think you've had enough time here to appreciate it.

josh 33:17

I don't think so either, and the fact that it was, like, a busy weekend.

brit 33:21

Yeah.

josh 33:21

But also it just, the, the little nucleus of the old town of Aveiro that we were in was super cool. Mm-hmm. And then we walked from there to the train station of Aveiro and we got to see kind of more of the local living area. Mm-hmm. Which was nice as well, but we didn't spend any time there because we were staying in in the nucleus of old town, um, which is a great place to stay and visit if you're a tourist. So I think if we would've stayed there together the whole time, maybe I would feel different.

brit 33:54

Yeah.

josh 33:55

But I definitely feel like if it would be in consideration, like if you were like, "Oh, this is my number one, we have to go back and spend time so you get a full feeling," we would definitely have to do that.

brit 34:07

Yeah. I mean, it might be my number three.

josh 34:09

Hmm.

brit 34:10

I don't... It might be my number two. I don't know.

josh 34:14

Oh,

brit 34:14

wow. I don't know. It might take over Ghent.

josh 34:16

Oh, no.

brit 34:18

It might.

josh 34:19

Those are fighting words. I don't like that at all.

brit 34:23

Well, I, I, I think we do have to go back for one. And, and for two, I met the city differently- Right. Mm-hmm than you met it.

josh 34:36

Yeah.

brit 34:36

So.

josh 34:37

Maybe I have to go back by myself for a couple

brit 34:39

days. Maybe. You

josh 34:41

wouldn't like that if it's your number two. No,

brit 34:43

I would love that for you. Hmm. I would love that for you, and then I would come and I would, I would wanna spend a longer amount of time there- For sure than what you spent there.

josh 34:54

Yeah.

brit 34:54

So.

josh 34:55

Mm-hmm.

brit 34:56

I'd be like, "No, we're staying there another week."

josh 34:58

Yeah. And- We gotta balance this out. Yeah.

brit 35:02

Yeah, I'm getting that ovos moles, and the mussels. Mm. Oh my God, those mussels.

josh 35:08

Yeah. Throughout this trip, really good seafood, really good pork. Mm-hmm. Really good wine. We will continue to talk about those throughout the episodes- Yeah of our Portugal trip, uh, because those were definite themes.

brit 35:23

They were definite themes- Mm-hmm throughout Portuguese cuisine.

josh 35:27

Yeah.

brit 35:27

When we were eating true Portuguese meals- Mm-hmm it was typ- very typical to have pork-

josh 35:35

Yep

brit 35:35

and seafood. Pork or fish. Yeah. Yeah.

josh 35:39

Yeah. Or seafood, excuse me. Yep.

brit 35:40

Yeah.

josh 35:41

Mm-hmm. And definitely wine.

brit 35:43

And definitely wine.

josh 35:47

Oh, man. I mean, is there anything more that... I mean, there's so much more about every place we go to, and we can't cram it into You know, a palatable episode every time for everyone. But is there anything more that you wanna talk about Aveiro?

brit 36:04

I just really loved it here. Mm-hmm. I would recommend people to give it a shot. I think people typically hit up, like, Lisbon, Porto, Lagos- Mm-hmm which we also did. I would... Yeah, yeah. But I think that Aveiro is such a special town. Mm-hmm. Now, don't everyone go, because you'll ruin it if everybody goes.

josh 36:28

I don't think you can have it both ways. Take

brit 36:30

turns.

josh 36:31

Have a sign-up list. It's kind of like Green Bay Packer tickets. You gotta get, get in the queue.

brit 36:37

Exactly, yes. Mm-hmm. Um, and I'm sure locals, like, wouldn't like me praising it so much because people might go. Right. But I, it is such a special, special town. Like, I- Really fantastic I loved it.

josh 36:53

Yeah. A lot of locals that we talked to... Well, not a lot of locals. We didn't talk to everyone or a ton of people, but the ones we talked to, lots of born and raised there. definitely some younger students and younger adults saying that they were looking to leave, and looking to leave Portugal for different reasons- Mm-hmm including being able to find jobs, find housing, affordability changing, those kinds of things. I mean, even the short time that I was there, which was a day and a half, really beautiful place. I would not be upset if we went back there.

brit 37:29

Yeah

josh 37:29

I, I was really great that it was the first place you got to do your first solo, and I can't wait until that episode where we can dive a little deeper into your solo experience and mine, and maybe, share some moments that happened for each of us.

brit 37:46

Yeah. Mm. I'm excited for that too. Yeah.

josh 37:48

But

brit 37:50

I think that's, that's the gist of Aveiro.

josh 37:54

Needed more time. I think that's kind of the gist. Needed more time, at least for me. Yeah. Well, i- if you loved it so much, you probably feel like you needed more time.

brit 38:02

Oh, my gosh. I could've stayed there for so long.

josh 38:07

I love that. It would've been so bad if it was your first solo trip and it was a place you just hated after, like, a day or two.

brit 38:14

I think if we would've stayed in Lisbon. Yeah. I liked Lisbon, don't get me wrong, but it's a huge city. Yeah. Huge city, so. N-

josh 38:29

and re- I guess very last thing before we call this one, because we did take trains, it was very easy to get to Aveiro from Lisbon, where just about everyone flies into. But coming from Lisbon, very easy to get to Aveiro by train. Yeah. Especially if your next stop is Porto. Just take a day or two like I did and stop off.

brit 38:55

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. All right. Well, next episode we will be talking about Porto.

josh 39:04

Yeah.

brit 39:05

stay tuned for that. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube @wsmhtravels.

josh 39:13

You can listen to our podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. YouTube is where we have our video record version, including pictures and videos from our trip. Please continue to leave your comments and send us messages on what you liked from our trips and suggestions for our future trips. We really appreciate it.

brit 39:31

Thank you so much for listening. Until next time.