Lindy Hop Portugal Saga - Part 4 (Braga)

There's a saying in Portugal that goes like this: "Lisbon parties, Coimbra studies, Porto works, Braga prays." Lisbon people do party hard, Coimbra is known for its universities, Porto works hard, and Braga has many churches.

Braga

Guedes, Monica and I drove up to Braga together in early April. Braga is filled with old historical churches. Most were covered in purple anticipating the Lenten season. Sidenote: don't give directions based on which church has bells ringing - they are all ringing. We wandered into one that had interesting statuary, designs, architecture and a guard. Eventually, our wandering led us to one room containing five plaques which listed the bishops since A.D. 45. I was eager to capture this image, but the guard was watching. Guedes, being the gregarious friendly type, pulled the guard outside out of earshot and engaged him in conversation. I noisily shot a dark panoramic. What you see is what you Guedes.

That same day, we met with Helena. One of her contacts mentioned an abandoned hotel near Braga. She does restaurant photography and gets access to or learns of the most intriguing places. This was no exception.

This hotel resides on a large property. It's an immense four story structure which peers behind these trees. Exploration revealed dirt, ruined walls, broken glass, slight garbage and more.

Exploring this place was so fun. And the awesome part... many access points to the roof.

There were also steps alongside the roof.

It's easy to get excited when you're up here.

Overall, this Braga adventure rates two thumbs up.