Pieces of Portugal – Part 24 – Palm Sunday in Braga

Our day in Braga was another very full day of adventures. Unfortunately, Larry couldn’t fully appreciate the day because he was sick with a bad head cold. But he was a trooper, and off we went.

We got into Braga early. We were originally planning on attending the church service since it was palm Sunday, but decided against it.

This piece of art greeted us at the metro station as we got off the train.

We decided not to go to the Palm Sunday service, but we toured around inside the cathedral before the service. As with all the other churches and cathedrals we visited, in was very ornate and beautiful inside.

I got a couple of good pictures of the bells ringing too.

I thought this picture was just iconic. An elderly woman peering out her window, waiting to catch a glimpse of the bishop as he walked by.

We did not attend the Palm Sunday service, but we did get to see the Bishop’s procession. That was pretty cool. The streets were lined with so many people too see and follow the Bishop.

The bishop is knocking on the door three times. A bishop knocking on the door of a cathedral three times with their crosier (staff) is a symbolic ritual, often marking the start of their installation ceremony. It represents the bishop formally asking to be welcomed, showing they come as a shepherd to lead the diocese and not as a tyrant, while also taking canonical possession of their church.

After leaving the church procession behind, we strolled around Braga and took in the sights. This is the entrance to the main market area.

Most of the shops and stores were closed, because not only was it Sunday, but it was Palm Sunday. Window shopping can be fun too.

After we made the decision not to attend the Palm Sunday service, we were trying to catch the bus to Bom Jesus. The busses were not running up to Bom Jesus, however, until later, because there was a marathon taking place. There was a bit of a communication breakdown though, and at first we thought there were no busses going up at all, but we figured it out later, that we could go after 2:00 PM. So we needed to come up with a new plan. While we were rearranging our schedule, we decided to stop for a little treat. Everything looked scrumptious, but we only had 1 each. We had some tough decisions to make. 🙂

I chose the raspberry cake and and a latte, while Larry decided on an apple strudel.

After our little sweet treat, we walked through Braga some more, and went to the gardens.

What do you know, there was another castle behind us. 🙂

A garden gnome?

We were planning on another walking tour of Braga, but the tour guide contacted us, and told us no one else was coming. With Larry not feeling well, we decided to cancel that tour, and make yet another attempt at going up to Bom Jesus instead of taking the walking tour. Our 3rd attempt was successful. Bom Jesus will be it’s own post though. So I will stop our Braga city tour here.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. it’s not he destination hat matters, but the journey. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.