If Italy has a romantic beauty, mixed with a bit of surrealism with many ancient landscapes, Spain exudes luxury with the image of the majestic royal palace in Madrid, then Portugal makes me fascinated by the overlapping gun towers built on winding mountain roads.
Interweaving tradition and modernity
My journey has two destinations: Lisbon - the capital of Portugal and the port city of Porto. Lisbon contains a long glorious history, a symbol of Portugal's prosperity. Although the arts and technology are strongly developed, the power of modernization does not overwhelm the ancient features inherent in Lisbon.
I was fascinated by the Castelo de São Jorge - a medieval fortress on a hilltop that has existed for more than a thousand years; its large garden and many maze-like paths. Next to it was the Belem fortress, solidly built in the 16th century with the main material being stone, by the Lisbon harbor, a testament to Portugal's golden age - once a great power famous for its great voyages to explore new lands. I also could not miss the Santa Justa elevator, located at the end of Rua de Santa Justa, which opened to the public in 1902, connecting the streets of Lower Pombal with the higher Largo do Carmo.
An unforgettable experience in Porto is climbing the long stairs to turn into the mountain roads. Then, I crossed the Ponte Luis I bridge with its unique two-story architecture - one for the metro, the other for other means of transport. The bridge is a great rendezvous to see the whole city. There are also endless stairs, colorful graffiti and countless cafes on the hilly roads.
The ancient architecture in Portugal is a fascinating place to visit.
Cuisine that combines the best of Asia and Europe
From now on, when mentioning Portugal, the mind of a Gen Z tourist like me will not only have the image of the national football team with Cristiano Ronaldo but also many beautiful landscapes and unique delicacies.
At night, it is so warm after walking around the streets listening to the sound of the tram, we stop somewhere to enjoy some typical wine with a piece of Portuguese Egg Tart - the legendary egg tart of Portugal. The cakes just baked out of the oven exude the characteristic aroma of milk, caramel, soft melted egg cream, crispy crust, sometimes with passion fruit or strawberry sauce.
In addition, Alheira sausage - made from poultry, bread crumbs, olive oil and pepper; Bacalhau à brás - a combination of onions, fried potatoes, olives, parsley, eggs and cod; Cataplana - a seafood stew cooked in a copper pan; Pata Negra - salted and smoked black pork... will also satisfy diners.
With the advantage of being located on the Atlantic coast, where the freshest fish in the world are found, Portugal has thousands of unique seafood recipes. They have a long history of producing olive oil; wine and cheese. Saffron, paprika, cinnamon, black pepper... are never lacking in the kitchen.
Despite its small size – about 91,470 km² of land and 620 km² of water – Portugal’s culinary map is rich thanks to the introduction of new spices and flavours by sailors after each voyage. Not only did this country absorb, it also influenced the cuisine of its former colonies.
To go to Portugal, visitors need to apply for a Schengen visa, which is valid for 26 European countries. After researching, if you fly directly from Vietnam to Portugal, the ticket price may be higher than flying through Italy, Germany and Hungary. Therefore, I decided to go from Vietnam to Hungary, fly through Italy and Lisbon, then take the train to Porto. It sounds difficult at first, but I saved quite a bit and had the opportunity to travel around other European cities because the Schengen visa makes traveling very free and easy.
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