Aveiro was a day trip from Porto. It was not quite as romantic as Venice, but it was cool seeing all the little gondolas circling around the canals of the city.

These gondolas are actually called moliceiros and they are definitely visible everywhere. It looks like they have become a major tourist attraction in the historic centre of the city so there is no shortage of tour operators willing to oblige you with a tour.

We arrived in Aveiro by mid-morning. The city is located south of Porto and it takes about 70 minutes to get there by train. The train stops directly in the city and its just a short walk to its historic centre.

Ovos Moles-

We had read before coming to Aveiro that they make a special “sweet” here that is unique to this area. They are called Ovos Moles, which in English translates to “soft eggs.”  The owner of the café where we ate these explained that to make them, they separate the egg yolks from the whites. Then the yolks are combined with sugar to make the filling. The filling is then placed inside two wafers. This wafer reminded us of the wafers they use to make the Catholic host. At first glance we were not at all sure we would like these little treats, but I must say they were actually quite good and could become addictive.

Watch your step!

When we began wandering through the quaint and colourful streets of Aveiro each building we saw was different from the next, and you can admire a wide range of tile- work who’s colour combinations varies throughout the tiny streets. Excuse my little feet!😊

Art Nouveau –

Aveiro has a unique personality. It is very colourful and the facades of the buildings have a distinct architecture from what we have seen so far in Portugal.

We ran into these guys throughout the city. We think they may be local detectives.😊 

A peaceful place-

I find cemeteries quite peaceful to walk through.  We just happened to stumble on this Cemitério (cemetery) in Aveiro. We decided to walk inside the gates and visit the grounds. I was completely surprised by what we saw. I had actually not seen this before. Some families have built above ground “crypts” which contains the coffins of loved ones. All of these were beautiful, like little chapels and most are big enough to go and pray in them.

Costa Nova –

By mid-afternoon, we decided to visit the fishing village and beach area of Costa Nova. It’s a 40-minute bus ride from Aveiro.

Here’s what we found there – Candy cane houses!

We were quite intrigued by this? What could all this mean?

To get the gossip of the village you need to find the local fisherman and since I’m the daughter of one I knew exactly where to find them – at the wharf of course!

These jolly Portuguese men we met at the wharf were our very own local historians! They were quite entertaining. 😊 We got lucky as the one on the left could also speak French so he did the translation for the other. We were on a roll! They solved the mystery of the coloured candy cane houses for us. They told us that years ago fishermen had much smaller houses. They did not have a lot of money so when they painted their boats they would often use the leftover paint for the house.  It was these fishermen as well who started this style of decor with the paint. They simply found a way to make good use of the leftover paint. This tradition has continued even though most of the fishermen here now do not own any of these bigger house/cottages. They told us where to see some of the original ones which we found later that afternoon. (see below). These are much smaller versions and some have been upgraded.

Sand Dunes –

We ended this beautiful day by going for a walk on the beach which is surrounded by beautiful white sand dunes. Similar to what we would find back home.

The familiar sound of the ocean. 🌊. Can’t get homesick now. Too many other places and things to see.