After a friend and I parted company in Lisbon, he to London and I to Porto, I had some time to spend somewhere else on my way north. So I took out my map and rail guide, saw that a place called Aveiro was in between me and Porto. So I booked a rail ticket, found a small boutique hotel, and set off for the port of Aveiro. I saw colorfully striped houses, canals with boats intricately carved and adorned, and I learned how to eat tiny sea snails with a straight pin and wash them down with an ice cold Sagres or even a cold Albarinho.

Just outside of town there is this wonderful lighthouse.