Torre dos Clérigos
Clérigos Tower is the foremost undisputed landmark of Porto and a reference in the city’s history. Clérigos Tower opened its doors in 1763, becoming the highest bell tower of Portugal, with over 75 metres. In 1753 the Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni was invited to design and build this magnificent Heritage, considered National Monument since 1910. The famous church was built in the eighteenth century, between 1732 and 1749 and this was the most emblematic work of the architect Nicolau Nasoni. Is one of the most beautiful temples of baroque feature, and a reference in the history of Porto. The Exhibitions allow to discover the history of the Brotherhood of Clérigos, admire pieces from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century, in painting, furniture, jewellery and vestment collections. Christus collection, on the 3 floor, is a trip through time and space where art and religion complement each other.
Castelo Santa Catarina dates back to 1887, the date of its first land registry. The private chapel in honor of Nossa Senhora da CanceiCao was first and the Tower was built later. The building was commissioned by internationally recognized Comendador Antonio Pimenta da Fonseca, a distinguished textile industrialist.
He ordered the Castle built as a private family house but also to have spaces for entertaining guests and to demonstrate his social and economic power.
It was opened to the public in 2008 by Joao Bras, after the troubled times of the revolution of April of 1974. It is a place of excellence in the center of a big city.
Portugal is known for its blue and white tiles and Castelo Santa Catarina was a prime example. We loved our room, the food, and the grounds. The front desk was very helpful as well.


Common linnet | |
---|---|
Male in breeding plumage | |
FemaleDuration: 9 seconds.0:09Song | |
Conservation status | |
![]() Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Fringillidae |
Subfamily: | Carduelinae |
Genus: | Linaria |
Species: | L. cannabina |
Binomial name | |
Linaria cannabina (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
Range of L. cannabina Breeding Resident Non-breeding | |
Synonyms | |
Fringilla cannabinaLinnaeus, 1758Carduelis cannabina(Linnaeus, 1758) |

The common linnet (Linaria cannabina) is a small passerine bird of the finch family, Fringillidae. It derives its common name and the scientific name, Linaria, from its fondness for hemp seeds and flax seeds—flax being the English name of the plant from which linenis made.
Taxonomy
In 1758, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus included the common linnet in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name, Acanthis cannabina.[2][3] The species was formerly placed in the genus Carduelis but based on the results of a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences published in 2012, it was moved to the genus Linaria that had been introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802.[4][5][6]
The genus name linaria is the Latin for a linen-weaver, from linum, “flax”. The species name cannabina comes from the Latin for hemp.[7] The English name has a similar root, being derived from Old French linette, from lin, “flax”.[8]
There are seven recognised subspecies:[4]
Description
The common linnet is a slim bird with a long tail. The upper parts are brown, the throat is sullied white and the bill is grey. The summer male has a grey nape, red head-patch and red breast. Females and young birds lack the red and have white underparts, the breast streaked buff.

Caldas do Moledo thermal park is a place that has thermal baths in years past. I tis completely abandoned. In the time of Dona Antonia Ferreirnha there were mansions, a hotel and a casino.


Morning glories remind me of my grandmother, Nanny or Corrie Ida. These were next to some ruins at the thermal baths. The geology there is the Central-Iberian Zone of Neoproterozoic-Cambrian metasedimentary rocks and has a tem of 44 degrees Celsius. We did not any thermal baths but I am sure the water is just under foot, ready to be of use again. The area was so beautiful. We were just driving back to Lisbon from Mesao Frio when we spotted the ruins alongside the road, turned around and stopped.


IGREJA E MUSEU DE SANTO ILDEFONSO
The Igreja de Santo Ildefonso is an eighteenth-century church in Porto, Portugal. The church is located near Batalha Square. Completed in 1739, the church was built in a proto-Baroque style and features a retable by the Italian artist Nicolau Nasoni and a façade of 1932 azulejo tilework.

Casa de Canilhas was the hotel was stayed for two nights in Mesao Frio. It overlooked old grapevines and the Douro River.
Below is a gallery of our trip to Portugal.



















































































