Well, we are home again after a long, but easy, series of flights.
Our wake-up call was for 3:00am and they actually called us twice....I guess that they wanted to make SURE that we were up.
The taxi arrived at 4:00 for our trip to the airport. We were totally surprised by the number of people on the street at 4:00am. The down-town area of Porto was absolutely crowded with young people who were out partying. The clubs close at 6:00 here so there was still 2 hours left to go!!!
When we got to the airport, it was completely dark and we wondered if it was even open yet. However, as we walked in, we could see people standing in line, IN THE DARK. We joined them, waiting our turn to talk to the ONE clerk that was working. The lights came on about 4:30 and 3 more clerks arrived so we were able to get our bags and tickets organized. We then had to stand in line for the security check because they didn't start working until 5:00!!!
We both slept most of the 35 minute flight to Lisbon. The flight to Newark was only about 2/3rds full, AND we had emergency exit rows, so we had room to spread out and relax on the 7-1/2 hour trip.
We made it thru customs with no trouble, made it onto our last flight and arrived safely (with luggage) at the Atlanta airport.
Looking back on this week, several things have struck me. The first is the friendliness of the Portuguese people. The professors went out of their way to see that we had a wonderful time and hotel personnel, waiters and shop keepers did as well!!! The second thing is the picturesque nature of the city of Porto. As I looked back at the photos, I realized that the city looks like a movie set with all of the wonderful colors and architectures.
We are thankful for this glimpse that we have been given into life in a Mediterranean country and are now looking forward to our next big trip.... 5 weeks in Italy (month in Rome and 1 week in Naples) which is scheduled for September of 2010.
Thanks for sharing this adventure with us!!!!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Day 7 - Saturday, May 6th
Today we were completely on our own, so we slept in a bit later and headed out into the city just after breakfast. Our first destination was the city of Calem (across the river from Porto), so we wound our way thru the streets and to the river. We crossed the river on the Ponte Luizi bridge which was built by Gustave Eiffel, the same person who built the Tower in Paris. If you look at the metal work, you can actually see many of the same influences.
When we arrived in Calem, we first tried to take a Port Cellar tour, but found out that the English tour wasn’t for 2-1/2 hours and we didn’t want to wait that long. Instead we just walked along the river and looked at shops and enjoyed the scenery.
We crossed back over into Porto and stopped for coffee, tea and a light cake. We slowly wound our way back to the hotel, intending to rest for a bit. Unfortunately, they were just getting ready to clean our room, so instead we left again and went back to the Lello Bookstore. Michael found a book in English about Portugese cooking and I found one (in Portugese) about Portugese textiles and rugs. The photos and diagrams are wonderful and I hope that they will inspire me to greater things with my quilts.
We returned to the hotel, stopping at our local café for a sandwich and chips, and then split up to go to two different places. Michael was looking for a Tobacoria where he could buy a cigar and I was looking for a shop that I had seen on Monday....there was a tee-shirt that I wanted to buy for Brian. I hiked up and down four different streets before I found the shop, but unfortunately they were out of the shirt that I wanted......sorry B!! Michael had equally bad luck as the shop that he went to had closed at 1:00, as had most of the small shops in the area.
As I was returning to the hotel, I passed a tobacco store that was open and called Michael to join me there. He bought a few Cuban cigars and then proceeded to enjoy one with a glass of port while we sat at one of the area cafes. We had a very attentive host who came running out to put up an umbrella when it started to rain (which it did quite a few times today)
Our hotel has a wonderful oval staircase that goes from Floor -2 up to the 6th floor. I took these photos from the bottom and then from the top.....wonderful designs!!!
We arrived back at the hotel and rested until dinner time (7:00). We had made reservations at the same restaurant again (Guarney) and were rewarded with a wonderful meal. The Fado singer from Thursday night was singing again and she came in wearing blue jeans and a tee shirt for her sound check. We know that she looks VERY different when she performs.
When we left the restaurant several of the waiters shook our hands and wished us a great trip.
Afterwards we returned to the hotel to pack and have showers and get ready for our VERY early start tomorrow morning (3:00am), and our long journey back to Athens!!!!
When we arrived in Calem, we first tried to take a Port Cellar tour, but found out that the English tour wasn’t for 2-1/2 hours and we didn’t want to wait that long. Instead we just walked along the river and looked at shops and enjoyed the scenery.
We crossed back over into Porto and stopped for coffee, tea and a light cake. We slowly wound our way back to the hotel, intending to rest for a bit. Unfortunately, they were just getting ready to clean our room, so instead we left again and went back to the Lello Bookstore. Michael found a book in English about Portugese cooking and I found one (in Portugese) about Portugese textiles and rugs. The photos and diagrams are wonderful and I hope that they will inspire me to greater things with my quilts.We returned to the hotel, stopping at our local café for a sandwich and chips, and then split up to go to two different places. Michael was looking for a Tobacoria where he could buy a cigar and I was looking for a shop that I had seen on Monday....there was a tee-shirt that I wanted to buy for Brian. I hiked up and down four different streets before I found the shop, but unfortunately they were out of the shirt that I wanted......sorry B!! Michael had equally bad luck as the shop that he went to had closed at 1:00, as had most of the small shops in the area.
As I was returning to the hotel, I passed a tobacco store that was open and called Michael to join me there. He bought a few Cuban cigars and then proceeded to enjoy one with a glass of port while we sat at one of the area cafes. We had a very attentive host who came running out to put up an umbrella when it started to rain (which it did quite a few times today)
Our hotel has a wonderful oval staircase that goes from Floor -2 up to the 6th floor. I took these photos from the bottom and then from the top.....wonderful designs!!!
We arrived back at the hotel and rested until dinner time (7:00). We had made reservations at the same restaurant again (Guarney) and were rewarded with a wonderful meal. The Fado singer from Thursday night was singing again and she came in wearing blue jeans and a tee shirt for her sound check. We know that she looks VERY different when she performs.When we left the restaurant several of the waiters shook our hands and wished us a great trip.
Afterwards we returned to the hotel to pack and have showers and get ready for our VERY early start tomorrow morning (3:00am), and our long journey back to Athens!!!!
Day 6 - Friday, June 5th
The morning began with Paulo picking us up and taking us to the University of Porto. He had access to underground parking. This is not unusual, however, the spaces that he had to drive through (and park in) were SO narrow that I would never have been able to get thru them. We toured the Biology building and spent a bit of time in the Herbarium. Michael was supposed to meet some researchers who were coming in from Lisbon, but we could never find them (this happens a lot here). We finally gave up and got back in the car and started driving Eastward to the Douro Valley. As we were driving thru the city, I saw many more examples of the “Oragami Art” that I mentioned in an earlier post.
Our first stop was about 30 minutes (60kms) away and was in the town of Amarante. This is were Paulo’s wife, Paula lived and her Dad and Brother are still there. The first thing that I noticed about the town was that it was decorated with lights over all of the streets and there were vendor stalls set up along the side of the road. The reason for this is that tonight was the start of a three day festival called “Festas do Junho” which honors the patron Saint of the area, Sao Gonçalo.
The festival begins at 6:00pm tonight with drums and music and goes almost all night long. Sometime later in the evening there will be a competition of 5 bands to see who can play the best, loudest, etc. On Sunday there will be a procession thru the city, walking under all of the decorated and lighted streets. We visited the church where the Saint’s tomb is and were told that the people of the city will file into the church and walk into the small area where the tomb is located, walk around the tomb, each touching it as they go past
One of the most interesting things that we saw were the “floats” that will be in the parade. These were all religious icons that will be decorated with flowers and candles and carried on the shoulders of several men. One of the floats was very large and Paulo told us that it took 8 men to carry it. There were also some signs decorated with flowers that will be carried in the procession as well.
As we walked out of the Church/Monestary, I noticed that some of the stones on the ground were a different color and realized that they had made the “shadow” of the church outline on the ground. It was interesting to look at and I would have loved to be able to see it from above.
We stopped twice in Amarante to eat. The first was at a small café and Michael and I both had a pork sandwich (sort of). When I looked at it up close, I realized that there was a LOT of fat mixed in with the pork. I was afraid that I would not be able to eat it, but actually really enjoyed the flavor. The fat tasted more like a soft cheese than greasy fat.
The next stop was at a pastry shop that specialized in custard pastries. We ordered a sample plate and enjoyed trying the different items. One was shaped like a boat and was filled with custard and then iced with a sweet vanilla icing. One was a very thin crepe filled with custard and then fried and doused in raw sugar. Michael’s favorite was an dense almond flavored cookie.
After leaving Amarante, we continued driving into the Douro Valley. We had to drive on switchbacks which were interesting in the villages, because the houses were directly on the switchback. You would have to be VERY careful when walking out your door. We stopped at one pull-over to take photos and ended up buying a bag of cherries from a vendor there. They were not as large as the cherries we are used to and they were SO sweet. We bought a kilo (2.2 pounds) for 2 euros.
This area is not only know for its grape vineyards, but also for Olive Trees. We also saw lots of orange and lemon trees. It is a beautiful area with terraces cut into the hills and the grape vines planted along the terraces. We cant imagine what it would be like to harvest the grapes while climbing up and down the terraces.
We drove to the town of Regua and found our way to a winery, “Quinta do Tedo”. It was too late in the day for them to give us a tour, but they did give us a wine tasting of four of their Ports. As I said in an earlier post, I was surprised that I enjoyed them. We bought a few bottles to bring home and also a bottle of “First Press” Olive Oil. This oil is only used for salads as it is too delicate to cook with.
As we talked with Paulo, we decided to take a train back into Porto, so he took us to the train station at Regua and helped us to get our ticket. The train was supposed to leave in four minutes so said our goodbyes to Paulo (kiss on right cheek, kiss on left cheek) and hurried to get on board. Unfortunately, as we walked forward from the back on the train, it became clear that there were no seats, however, when we got to the front-most carriage there was a set of benches facing each other that would carry 3 people on each bench. There were two older couples already sitting there, but one of the men motioned for us to join them. They didn’t speak any English but we had fun pointing and laughing. They brought out 2 small boxes of dark cherries and offered us some, so we reciprocated and offered some of ours.
After all of our rushing to get on the train, we proceeded to sit for about 20 minutes. Once the train whistle sounded indicating that the train was about to start, everybody laughed and clapped. Obviously we were not the only ones who were ready to get moving.
About half-way thru the trip, we realized that we were sitting in a carriage that was reserved for people who had been on the Douro River tour.....oops.....I guess that they just made allowances for the stupid Americans.
The trip took about 1-1/2 hours and we arrived back in Porto about 7:15. As we were walking back to our hotel, we passed the restaurant that we ate at last night, so decided to go on in and eat dinner there. The meat special for Friday night was Sirloin steak and although it was VERY rare, it had a wonderful flavor. We started the meal with Caldo Verde which is a potato and cabbage soup (with a chunk of Chorizzo Sausage) We finished the meal with a crepe with chocolate sauce, whipped cream and walnuts......IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!
We dropped back by the hotel for a few minutes and then walked back to one of the tallest towers in the city to watch a Brazilian Aerial Ballet troupe. The three performers were suspended from wires out of one of the tower windows and did all sorts of acrobatic moves while hanging about half way down the tower. They had music and spotlights and it was great fun to watch. If you click on this photo to enlarge it you MAY be able to see the performers....
We weren’t ready to return home, even though it was 11:00pm so we walked around to the book stalls. I was amazed that they were open this late at night and that there were so many people looking at and buying books.
We got back to the hotel about 11:30 and fell thankfully into bed.....the end of another great day!!!
Our first stop was about 30 minutes (60kms) away and was in the town of Amarante. This is were Paulo’s wife, Paula lived and her Dad and Brother are still there. The first thing that I noticed about the town was that it was decorated with lights over all of the streets and there were vendor stalls set up along the side of the road. The reason for this is that tonight was the start of a three day festival called “Festas do Junho” which honors the patron Saint of the area, Sao Gonçalo.
The festival begins at 6:00pm tonight with drums and music and goes almost all night long. Sometime later in the evening there will be a competition of 5 bands to see who can play the best, loudest, etc. On Sunday there will be a procession thru the city, walking under all of the decorated and lighted streets. We visited the church where the Saint’s tomb is and were told that the people of the city will file into the church and walk into the small area where the tomb is located, walk around the tomb, each touching it as they go past
One of the most interesting things that we saw were the “floats” that will be in the parade. These were all religious icons that will be decorated with flowers and candles and carried on the shoulders of several men. One of the floats was very large and Paulo told us that it took 8 men to carry it. There were also some signs decorated with flowers that will be carried in the procession as well.
As we walked out of the Church/Monestary, I noticed that some of the stones on the ground were a different color and realized that they had made the “shadow” of the church outline on the ground. It was interesting to look at and I would have loved to be able to see it from above.We stopped twice in Amarante to eat. The first was at a small café and Michael and I both had a pork sandwich (sort of). When I looked at it up close, I realized that there was a LOT of fat mixed in with the pork. I was afraid that I would not be able to eat it, but actually really enjoyed the flavor. The fat tasted more like a soft cheese than greasy fat.
The next stop was at a pastry shop that specialized in custard pastries. We ordered a sample plate and enjoyed trying the different items. One was shaped like a boat and was filled with custard and then iced with a sweet vanilla icing. One was a very thin crepe filled with custard and then fried and doused in raw sugar. Michael’s favorite was an dense almond flavored cookie.
After leaving Amarante, we continued driving into the Douro Valley. We had to drive on switchbacks which were interesting in the villages, because the houses were directly on the switchback. You would have to be VERY careful when walking out your door. We stopped at one pull-over to take photos and ended up buying a bag of cherries from a vendor there. They were not as large as the cherries we are used to and they were SO sweet. We bought a kilo (2.2 pounds) for 2 euros.
This area is not only know for its grape vineyards, but also for Olive Trees. We also saw lots of orange and lemon trees. It is a beautiful area with terraces cut into the hills and the grape vines planted along the terraces. We cant imagine what it would be like to harvest the grapes while climbing up and down the terraces. 
We drove to the town of Regua and found our way to a winery, “Quinta do Tedo”. It was too late in the day for them to give us a tour, but they did give us a wine tasting of four of their Ports. As I said in an earlier post, I was surprised that I enjoyed them. We bought a few bottles to bring home and also a bottle of “First Press” Olive Oil. This oil is only used for salads as it is too delicate to cook with.As we talked with Paulo, we decided to take a train back into Porto, so he took us to the train station at Regua and helped us to get our ticket. The train was supposed to leave in four minutes so said our goodbyes to Paulo (kiss on right cheek, kiss on left cheek) and hurried to get on board. Unfortunately, as we walked forward from the back on the train, it became clear that there were no seats, however, when we got to the front-most carriage there was a set of benches facing each other that would carry 3 people on each bench. There were two older couples already sitting there, but one of the men motioned for us to join them. They didn’t speak any English but we had fun pointing and laughing. They brought out 2 small boxes of dark cherries and offered us some, so we reciprocated and offered some of ours.
After all of our rushing to get on the train, we proceeded to sit for about 20 minutes. Once the train whistle sounded indicating that the train was about to start, everybody laughed and clapped. Obviously we were not the only ones who were ready to get moving.
About half-way thru the trip, we realized that we were sitting in a carriage that was reserved for people who had been on the Douro River tour.....oops.....I guess that they just made allowances for the stupid Americans.
The trip took about 1-1/2 hours and we arrived back in Porto about 7:15. As we were walking back to our hotel, we passed the restaurant that we ate at last night, so decided to go on in and eat dinner there. The meat special for Friday night was Sirloin steak and although it was VERY rare, it had a wonderful flavor. We started the meal with Caldo Verde which is a potato and cabbage soup (with a chunk of Chorizzo Sausage) We finished the meal with a crepe with chocolate sauce, whipped cream and walnuts......IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!
We dropped back by the hotel for a few minutes and then walked back to one of the tallest towers in the city to watch a Brazilian Aerial Ballet troupe. The three performers were suspended from wires out of one of the tower windows and did all sorts of acrobatic moves while hanging about half way down the tower. They had music and spotlights and it was great fun to watch. If you click on this photo to enlarge it you MAY be able to see the performers....
We weren’t ready to return home, even though it was 11:00pm so we walked around to the book stalls. I was amazed that they were open this late at night and that there were so many people looking at and buying books.We got back to the hotel about 11:30 and fell thankfully into bed.....the end of another great day!!!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Day 5 - Thursday, June 4th
We had a slow start this morning as Michael wasn’t being picked up until after noon, so we enjoyed a relaxing time in the hotel room. I left out when he did and started winding my way back to the river again.
I have been trying to walk down different streets each time I go somewhere so that I can see the shops and sights along the way. I was surprised to find that most of the shops along this one small street were closed from 1:00 to 3:00. I hadn’t found this to be the case in other areas.
I have also noticed that all of the cafe’s seem to have the same food....I wonder if they buy it from the same places.
I was trying to make my way toward another church on the other side of the city, but ended up doing other stuff instead. On my way I walked thru a tunnel that had a walking path along with the lanes for cars. It was deafening inside as the cars were driving on cobblestones and the roaring was intensified by the tunnel. It was a relief to get to the other side.
As I came out of the tunnel, I decided to walk across the bridge to the other side of the Douro River. I had not realized it, but there is a completely different town on the other side of the river, called Galem. I particularly enjoyed taking photos of Porto....you could really see the hills this way.
As I walked back across the bridge, I noticed a long set of stairs that went up the hill to the area that I was trying to reach. I also saw a small tram that would take you up the mountain. As I was debating about which to use, I noticed that there was a fairly long line for the tram and that the ticket machine was not working well and there was a tram agent banging on it to try to get it to work. SO, I decided to climb instead.
After I had climbed the first 100 steps, I turned a corner and found that there was ANOTHER set of steps and terraces that ended up being 114 MORE steps. However, it was a very interesting walk as there were homes located along these terraces, with kids, dogs and small shops along the way. I watched as one woman walked out of her door and up about 90 steps to get to her car. I cant imagine how they manage to live there. Also, one of the train lines ran just above the houses so I would imagine that it is relatively noisy as well. But, the views were wonderful!!!
As I was stopped at one level and looking over a ledge at the street below I enjoyed watching 2 delivery trucks try to jockey their way around a dead-end street. One of the trucks was backing up and was only 6 inches away from the cars on eitherside!! It took about 10 minutes for them to get everything moved around.
I went into another church at the top of the stairway. This one was called Se Do Porto.
I particularly liked the water fountain there....
I remembered that I had wanted to go to the “Centro Portugues De Fografia”, a photography museum. The museum is in a building that was originally a jail and the heavy iron door and huge padlocks were still present. I climbed to the top floor to see a display of over 500 cameras. There were huge wooden ones and tiny ones that were used in espionage. I recognized a couple that my family had and even one that Michael and I owned when we were first married.
There were two displays of actual photographs. One was called “Contrapontos Visuais”, and contained a series of photos that were very stark and mostly with dark overtones. I did like the photos of one person, Pedro Sottomayor.
The other exhibit was from villages around Portugal and each display showed one large photo and then a series of 15 to 20 smaller photos. Some of the photos were wonderful.
There was one “art movie” being shown. It was a film of a bus ride, with the camera being held out of the window so that you felt as if you were riding on the bus. It was interesting.
One of the funny things that I saw was outside one of the Natural History Museums. There was a tractor-trailer rig that was opened up on one side and had a long white couch with fluffy red pillows on it. There were a couple of young nice-looking women sitting on the couches. As I am trying to figure out what this is all about, I see a sign that has the following.....”a disfuncao erectil”.......enough said.
As I was returning to the hotel, I passed an area that had lots of art and craft stores. There was an art supply store, a yarn shop and 2 fabric stores. The yarn shop held mostly acrylic yarns, but there was an entire wall covered with skeins of yarn. It was priced by the kilo and there were large scales that were used to weigh it out. I have found the fabric stores to be interesting as well. The fabrics are all stored on shelves and have counters in front of them so that it is impossible to touch the fabrics. Also, the shop keepers almost always seem to be men and they seem to be VERY protective of their fabrics!!! The only cotton fabrics that I found were made in Italy so I decided to wait and buy those in Rome next year!!! This also reminds me that yesterday I went into a bead shop. The walls were covered in beautiful beads and stones, many of which were very expensive.
There was one store that was devoted entirely to door knobs and locks and another firearms store whose salesmen all wore 3 piece suits!!!!
We were picked up for dinner about 9:00pm by Paulo, his wife Paula and their two kids. We walked a few blocks to a restaurant that is know for their live performers. Tonight the group was singing “Fado” style music. This is a Portugese style of folk music that either has 3 or 5 group members. In this case, there were two guitarists (one acoustic and one Portugese Guitar which is sort of like a big Mandolin) and a female singer. She had a wonderful, deep voice and her songs were gorgeous. The word “fado” means destiny or fate and the songs were sung with deep emotion. Paulo said that typically the Fado singer sings with her eyes closed and with all of the emotion coming from her heart.
We ended the night at about 11:30, full of wonderful food and our ears ringing with Portugese folk music!!!
I have been trying to walk down different streets each time I go somewhere so that I can see the shops and sights along the way. I was surprised to find that most of the shops along this one small street were closed from 1:00 to 3:00. I hadn’t found this to be the case in other areas.
I have also noticed that all of the cafe’s seem to have the same food....I wonder if they buy it from the same places.
I was trying to make my way toward another church on the other side of the city, but ended up doing other stuff instead. On my way I walked thru a tunnel that had a walking path along with the lanes for cars. It was deafening inside as the cars were driving on cobblestones and the roaring was intensified by the tunnel. It was a relief to get to the other side.
As I came out of the tunnel, I decided to walk across the bridge to the other side of the Douro River. I had not realized it, but there is a completely different town on the other side of the river, called Galem. I particularly enjoyed taking photos of Porto....you could really see the hills this way.
As I walked back across the bridge, I noticed a long set of stairs that went up the hill to the area that I was trying to reach. I also saw a small tram that would take you up the mountain. As I was debating about which to use, I noticed that there was a fairly long line for the tram and that the ticket machine was not working well and there was a tram agent banging on it to try to get it to work. SO, I decided to climb instead.
After I had climbed the first 100 steps, I turned a corner and found that there was ANOTHER set of steps and terraces that ended up being 114 MORE steps. However, it was a very interesting walk as there were homes located along these terraces, with kids, dogs and small shops along the way. I watched as one woman walked out of her door and up about 90 steps to get to her car. I cant imagine how they manage to live there. Also, one of the train lines ran just above the houses so I would imagine that it is relatively noisy as well. But, the views were wonderful!!!
As I was stopped at one level and looking over a ledge at the street below I enjoyed watching 2 delivery trucks try to jockey their way around a dead-end street. One of the trucks was backing up and was only 6 inches away from the cars on eitherside!! It took about 10 minutes for them to get everything moved around.
I went into another church at the top of the stairway. This one was called Se Do Porto.
I particularly liked the water fountain there....
I remembered that I had wanted to go to the “Centro Portugues De Fografia”, a photography museum. The museum is in a building that was originally a jail and the heavy iron door and huge padlocks were still present. I climbed to the top floor to see a display of over 500 cameras. There were huge wooden ones and tiny ones that were used in espionage. I recognized a couple that my family had and even one that Michael and I owned when we were first married.
There were two displays of actual photographs. One was called “Contrapontos Visuais”, and contained a series of photos that were very stark and mostly with dark overtones. I did like the photos of one person, Pedro Sottomayor.
The other exhibit was from villages around Portugal and each display showed one large photo and then a series of 15 to 20 smaller photos. Some of the photos were wonderful.
There was one “art movie” being shown. It was a film of a bus ride, with the camera being held out of the window so that you felt as if you were riding on the bus. It was interesting.
One of the funny things that I saw was outside one of the Natural History Museums. There was a tractor-trailer rig that was opened up on one side and had a long white couch with fluffy red pillows on it. There were a couple of young nice-looking women sitting on the couches. As I am trying to figure out what this is all about, I see a sign that has the following.....”a disfuncao erectil”.......enough said.
As I was returning to the hotel, I passed an area that had lots of art and craft stores. There was an art supply store, a yarn shop and 2 fabric stores. The yarn shop held mostly acrylic yarns, but there was an entire wall covered with skeins of yarn. It was priced by the kilo and there were large scales that were used to weigh it out. I have found the fabric stores to be interesting as well. The fabrics are all stored on shelves and have counters in front of them so that it is impossible to touch the fabrics. Also, the shop keepers almost always seem to be men and they seem to be VERY protective of their fabrics!!! The only cotton fabrics that I found were made in Italy so I decided to wait and buy those in Rome next year!!! This also reminds me that yesterday I went into a bead shop. The walls were covered in beautiful beads and stones, many of which were very expensive.
There was one store that was devoted entirely to door knobs and locks and another firearms store whose salesmen all wore 3 piece suits!!!!
We were picked up for dinner about 9:00pm by Paulo, his wife Paula and their two kids. We walked a few blocks to a restaurant that is know for their live performers. Tonight the group was singing “Fado” style music. This is a Portugese style of folk music that either has 3 or 5 group members. In this case, there were two guitarists (one acoustic and one Portugese Guitar which is sort of like a big Mandolin) and a female singer. She had a wonderful, deep voice and her songs were gorgeous. The word “fado” means destiny or fate and the songs were sung with deep emotion. Paulo said that typically the Fado singer sings with her eyes closed and with all of the emotion coming from her heart.
We ended the night at about 11:30, full of wonderful food and our ears ringing with Portugese folk music!!!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Day 4 - Wednesday, June 3rd
Today was one of those days where poor Michael had to spend the day in meetings and talking to people and I got to spend it wandering around the city of Porto. Paolo picked him up at 10:00am and I spent another hour working on the blog and then headed out into the town.
My first goal was to find my way to the river. I had a map, but the streets here go every direction possible, and seem to change names every block or so and it is VERY easy to get lost. However, I knew that if I kept heading downward, then I would eventually arrive at the river. I had a wonderful time wandering the streets and stopping in little shops as I went. Unfortunately everything that I bought was heavy so my bag ended up weighing 10+ pounds. After winding my way downward for a bit over an hour, I caught my first glimpse of the river.
The area is a mixture of apartment houses, small shops and restaurants. As it was nearing lunchtime, there was a lot of activity at the restaurants as they were setting up all of their tables outside so that you could view the river. The apartments were interesting as many of them had washing hanging outside the balconies so that some of the apartments were almost covered in clothes. I also realized that almost every apartment had a small satellite dish stuck onto the side of the building, making a very incongruous look between the age of the apartment and the newness of the technology.
I spent an hour or so just walking along the river, stopping in various shops and taking photos everywhere. There were several buskers set up along the walk, one individual with a set of Bagpipes and a Bass Drum, and another group with 2 guitars and an Accordion.
Everything in this area of the city is on several levels. Streets seem to go up and down at random...I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that one street can go up at an acute angle while the street next to it goes at an angle in the other direction. I also discovered, that the things that I wanted to see were always on the level that I was NOT on. I spent much time climbing up and down stairs and streets.
As I was walking, I kept seeing paintings of oragami swans......it looks like someone has painted 1000 of these across the city and is numbering them as he goes.....these were numbers 280 thru 282.
I ended up at Igreja De Sao Francisco (Church of St. Francis), which is where the first Franciscan monastery was founded by St. Francis in 1214. I went in to see a gorgeous chapel with a wonderful example of Gothic architecture. According to the guide book, “the interior is done in a Baroque style, with the altars, walls, vaulting and pillars disappearing beneath a forest of carved and gilded wood, representing vines, cherubim and birds”. The carvings were very intricate and I was interested to see cracks running along the carvings. I finally realized that the cracks were marking the place that the wood pieces ended and a new piece began. There were also open areas of stonework and they seem incongruous with the intricate carvings thru the rest of the church. There were several areas where the wood had been painted in a faux marble look and there were also some Fresco inlays that added to the dimension of the carvings. One of my favorite altars was the Jesse Tree. The tree grows from the form of Jesse and has twelve figures representing the 12 tribes supporting themselves on the branches of the tree. At the top of the tree is a sculpture of Mary and Jesus. You couldn't take pictures inside the church, so here is one from the internet.....
As I was sitting and walking around the church, I spent much of my time wondering who had walked or sat there before me!!! It makes you feel very small in comparison to the rest of history.
After looking at the Church, I went into the Museum next door and first went to the cemetery there. There were no public cemeteries and people were buried in the church and on the church grounds. This particular vault was built in the late 1700's. In 1866, a law was passed that burials could not take place in private areas so no new bodies have been added since that time. The vault is a series of underground chambers that contained stacked vaults. They were each surrounded by black frames with white wooden inserts that displayed the name of the person. There were crude carvings of skulls over each of the crypts. There was a hole cut into the floor so that you could see onto the lower level. I was surprised to see piles and piles of bones and skulls, so I guess that others were “buried” there without individual crypts.
The other part of the museum was the “House of Dispatch”. I am not sure what that means, but considered that it could mean the house where souls were dispatched....who knows. The main room I this building was the Session Room that was used as a meeting place for the Franciscan Monks. There was a huge “conference” table in the middle of the room and I found it interesting that the sides of the table came almost to the floor so it would be impossible to sit up to the table with your legs under it.
By this stage, I was starting to poop out so I headed back to the hotel. Along the way I stopped at a bunch of shops and enjoyed seeing the different styles of art there. One of the big products that I saw were porcelain dishes. These are made from red clay and are painted with bright, shiny colors, mostly blues and whites.
I am also enjoying the tile work in the city and in the shops. Many of the houses are completely covered in patterned tiles. Several of the stores displayed sets of hand painted tiles that you could put in your homes. One store had tons of Nativity scenes and I was amused at one that was a beach scene......Mary and Joseph were laying on beach towels with the baby playing in the sand.
One store that I saw sold nothing but wheels.....everything from car tires to rolling wheels for chairs and cabinets.
Several stores contained cork products as Portugal is one of the largest exporters of cork in the world. Amazingly the cork can be sliced very thinly and attached to a fabric backing. This “fabric” can be used to make all sorts of products, from umbrellas, purses, shoes and even men’s ties!! It is very flexible and is waterproof as well.
As I approached the hotel, I stopped at a local café to get a sandwich. I have found that the best way to buy food is to point and hold up fingers....ie....1 ham and cheese sandwich. This, in fact, is what I had.
After a brief rest in the hotel, I struck out again, this time walking in a different direction and ending up at “Igreja Dos Carmelitas”, which was yet another church with Gilded wood carvings!! One thing that I laughed at was that, if you want to “light a prayer candle”, you don’t buy a candle, you simply put money into a slot and an electric candle flickers on. The last time we did this was in Paris and you actually bought a candle and then lit it yourself.
As I was walking back to the hotel, I came across a section of shops that specialized in religious iconography. I was surprised to see so many of them right together.
Michael called me about 7:00 and asked me to meet he and the Paulo and Nunno (another of the Professors) at the “Blue Church”....the one that I had just come from!! So, I walked back over there and we proceeded to walk down to the river for dinner. Paulo directed us down a small path and we ended up at a lookout point that gave some beautiful views of Porto. You can really see how hilly the area is.
We enjoyed our dinner at an outdoor restaurant, with Michael having a steak and me having Vegetable Canneloni. They were both nice dishes. I had fun watching a very fat cat stroll leisurely into the dining area and pick out one couple to beg from. He chose well, because the couple fed him bits of fish through out the meal. At one point the man was holding up a boned fish trying to get the last bits of meat off of it, and you could just see the cat drooling as it looked up at him.
After dinner, we walked back to our hotel. I noticed that the city of Porto is almost prettier at nighttime than during the day. They have done a great job of lighting the beautiful architecture.
My first goal was to find my way to the river. I had a map, but the streets here go every direction possible, and seem to change names every block or so and it is VERY easy to get lost. However, I knew that if I kept heading downward, then I would eventually arrive at the river. I had a wonderful time wandering the streets and stopping in little shops as I went. Unfortunately everything that I bought was heavy so my bag ended up weighing 10+ pounds. After winding my way downward for a bit over an hour, I caught my first glimpse of the river.
The area is a mixture of apartment houses, small shops and restaurants. As it was nearing lunchtime, there was a lot of activity at the restaurants as they were setting up all of their tables outside so that you could view the river. The apartments were interesting as many of them had washing hanging outside the balconies so that some of the apartments were almost covered in clothes. I also realized that almost every apartment had a small satellite dish stuck onto the side of the building, making a very incongruous look between the age of the apartment and the newness of the technology.
I spent an hour or so just walking along the river, stopping in various shops and taking photos everywhere. There were several buskers set up along the walk, one individual with a set of Bagpipes and a Bass Drum, and another group with 2 guitars and an Accordion.Everything in this area of the city is on several levels. Streets seem to go up and down at random...I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that one street can go up at an acute angle while the street next to it goes at an angle in the other direction. I also discovered, that the things that I wanted to see were always on the level that I was NOT on. I spent much time climbing up and down stairs and streets.
As I was walking, I kept seeing paintings of oragami swans......it looks like someone has painted 1000 of these across the city and is numbering them as he goes.....these were numbers 280 thru 282.
I ended up at Igreja De Sao Francisco (Church of St. Francis), which is where the first Franciscan monastery was founded by St. Francis in 1214. I went in to see a gorgeous chapel with a wonderful example of Gothic architecture. According to the guide book, “the interior is done in a Baroque style, with the altars, walls, vaulting and pillars disappearing beneath a forest of carved and gilded wood, representing vines, cherubim and birds”. The carvings were very intricate and I was interested to see cracks running along the carvings. I finally realized that the cracks were marking the place that the wood pieces ended and a new piece began. There were also open areas of stonework and they seem incongruous with the intricate carvings thru the rest of the church. There were several areas where the wood had been painted in a faux marble look and there were also some Fresco inlays that added to the dimension of the carvings. One of my favorite altars was the Jesse Tree. The tree grows from the form of Jesse and has twelve figures representing the 12 tribes supporting themselves on the branches of the tree. At the top of the tree is a sculpture of Mary and Jesus. You couldn't take pictures inside the church, so here is one from the internet.....
As I was sitting and walking around the church, I spent much of my time wondering who had walked or sat there before me!!! It makes you feel very small in comparison to the rest of history.
After looking at the Church, I went into the Museum next door and first went to the cemetery there. There were no public cemeteries and people were buried in the church and on the church grounds. This particular vault was built in the late 1700's. In 1866, a law was passed that burials could not take place in private areas so no new bodies have been added since that time. The vault is a series of underground chambers that contained stacked vaults. They were each surrounded by black frames with white wooden inserts that displayed the name of the person. There were crude carvings of skulls over each of the crypts. There was a hole cut into the floor so that you could see onto the lower level. I was surprised to see piles and piles of bones and skulls, so I guess that others were “buried” there without individual crypts.
The other part of the museum was the “House of Dispatch”. I am not sure what that means, but considered that it could mean the house where souls were dispatched....who knows. The main room I this building was the Session Room that was used as a meeting place for the Franciscan Monks. There was a huge “conference” table in the middle of the room and I found it interesting that the sides of the table came almost to the floor so it would be impossible to sit up to the table with your legs under it.
By this stage, I was starting to poop out so I headed back to the hotel. Along the way I stopped at a bunch of shops and enjoyed seeing the different styles of art there. One of the big products that I saw were porcelain dishes. These are made from red clay and are painted with bright, shiny colors, mostly blues and whites.
I am also enjoying the tile work in the city and in the shops. Many of the houses are completely covered in patterned tiles. Several of the stores displayed sets of hand painted tiles that you could put in your homes. One store had tons of Nativity scenes and I was amused at one that was a beach scene......Mary and Joseph were laying on beach towels with the baby playing in the sand.
One store that I saw sold nothing but wheels.....everything from car tires to rolling wheels for chairs and cabinets.
Several stores contained cork products as Portugal is one of the largest exporters of cork in the world. Amazingly the cork can be sliced very thinly and attached to a fabric backing. This “fabric” can be used to make all sorts of products, from umbrellas, purses, shoes and even men’s ties!! It is very flexible and is waterproof as well.
As I approached the hotel, I stopped at a local café to get a sandwich. I have found that the best way to buy food is to point and hold up fingers....ie....1 ham and cheese sandwich. This, in fact, is what I had.
After a brief rest in the hotel, I struck out again, this time walking in a different direction and ending up at “Igreja Dos Carmelitas”, which was yet another church with Gilded wood carvings!! One thing that I laughed at was that, if you want to “light a prayer candle”, you don’t buy a candle, you simply put money into a slot and an electric candle flickers on. The last time we did this was in Paris and you actually bought a candle and then lit it yourself.
As I was walking back to the hotel, I came across a section of shops that specialized in religious iconography. I was surprised to see so many of them right together.
Michael called me about 7:00 and asked me to meet he and the Paulo and Nunno (another of the Professors) at the “Blue Church”....the one that I had just come from!! So, I walked back over there and we proceeded to walk down to the river for dinner. Paulo directed us down a small path and we ended up at a lookout point that gave some beautiful views of Porto. You can really see how hilly the area is.
We enjoyed our dinner at an outdoor restaurant, with Michael having a steak and me having Vegetable Canneloni. They were both nice dishes. I had fun watching a very fat cat stroll leisurely into the dining area and pick out one couple to beg from. He chose well, because the couple fed him bits of fish through out the meal. At one point the man was holding up a boned fish trying to get the last bits of meat off of it, and you could just see the cat drooling as it looked up at him.After dinner, we walked back to our hotel. I noticed that the city of Porto is almost prettier at nighttime than during the day. They have done a great job of lighting the beautiful architecture.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Day 3 - Tuesday, June 2nd
We started this morning with breakfast on the top floor of our hotel. It was typical European fare, made up of wonderful bread and butter, sliced ham, sliced cheese and fruit. AND, as always, lots of strong coffee.
We were being picked up at 10:00am and ended up with about 1-1/2 hours free so we walked a few blocks to a local market (Mercado do Bolhao). We had a hard time finding it, but finally followed a man who was carrying two pig halves and found that it was in an open court, between some buildings, and on a lower level.
The market was a maze of shops containing everything that you could imagine. There were florists stalls with gorgeous colored flowers and arrangements, vegetable stalls with tons of greens and melons. One stall had one of the larger melons cut open so that you could see it and it looked a lot like Pumpkin. The fish stalls had everything from Eel to tiny fish that they bread, fry and serve whole. One stall had birds....live ones.... that you could buy to cook with. The butcher shops contained mostly pork, however there was some beef as well. Almost all of these shops had sausages of some sort, with one shop selling long strings of casings so that you could make your own.
The bread shop windows were filled with fresh rolls and long buns and each one had several loaves that were decorated with dough designs. There were several stalls that sold nothing but garlic and dry beans. The beans were held in containers that were wrapped in fabrics which gave them a festive appearance. The purple garlic bunches were hanging from the ceilings or side of the stalls making a gorgeous pattern. There were a couple of stalls that sold hard candies and others that had nothing but pickled items....mostly beans and olives. Finally there were a few stalls that sold a mixture of things such as shoes, nick-knacks, cooking supplies, etc.
I was especially enthralled with the women who were working in the vegetable stalls. Most of them were older (probably 60+) and they were all wearing basically the same thing.....a simple dress with a full apron over the top, dark ankle socks and comfortable shoes.
As we walked back to the hotel, we stopped at a small café and Michael had another cup of coffee. It was fun sitting outside and watching the people in the street. At one point, a truck parked in the middle of the street while a man got out and unloaded a cart full of potatoes and walked them to a local restaurant. (It reminded me of the beer trucks parking the middle of the streets in downtown Athens). There were others walking past with carts full of vegetables and meats. We also enjoyed looking at what people were wearing and there was the usual mixture of dressy, casual and down right weird!!
We were met at the hotel by Harry and his wife, Christina and they proceeded to spend the entire day showing us around Porto and the surrounding area. It was fun to just get a flavor of the area. Our first stop was to the local coffee shop for yet MORE coffee and tea. We laughed about the fact that Christina (a Spaniard) and Harry (a German) were showing Americans around Portugal!!!
We drove to their neighborhood and stopped by their house for a few minutes. They live in a semi-detached house that has a small garage and small out-building for the laundry room. My favorite part of it was a garden area just off of the living room. They were renting and hadn’t done any work in it, but I could see how nice it would be to have a beautiful flower garden there.
They needed to buy a few groceries so we visited one of the local stores. It was much the same as our grocery stores, containing everything from personal hygiene items to Salted Cod (called Bacalhau). The store had an overall fishy smell from this. The prices seemed to be similar to the US, but without the huge variety of items to choose from....except where wine was concerned. There was one LONG isle filled with nothing but wine bottles and the prices were very low.
After the groceries were bought, we drove thru several of the smaller towns that are located along the coast. They reminded me of the small coastal towns that we visited along the Southeast Australian coast. Even the ocean reminded us of this area.....the beach was white sand, dotted with black boulders. There were only a few people on the beach as the temperature had dropped and it was fairly chilly.
We had lunch (about 2:00) in one of these towns and had the “Pork special” for the day. It started with a wonderful pumpkin (or maybe it was potato) soup and was followed with a pork chop with mushroom sauce and french fries and salad. MORE coffee followed!!!
We drove around longer, planning to visit the Botanical Garden, but arrived just as they closed, so instead, we the went to “Solar Vino do Porto” an establishment that serves many of the ports from the region. We sat in a rose garden and enjoyed the views over the Douro River. I was impressed with the different types of Port that were available. I had only known Port as a dark red wine but was surprised to find that there were Sweet white Ports as well. I had a glass of one of these and really enjoyed the flavor of the drink. Harry drank an Extra Dry White Port, and Christina and Michael had the traditional Tawny Port.
It was now dinner time, so we headed back toward our hotel and stopped at a very nice restaurant. We bought two large pork dishes and shared them between the four of us. My favorite was thin pork that had been breaded and fried (much like a schnitzel). For desert Michael had a flan and I had chocolate mousse that was SO rich and wonderful.
In all, it was a fantastic day spent with wonderful new friends!!!!
We were being picked up at 10:00am and ended up with about 1-1/2 hours free so we walked a few blocks to a local market (Mercado do Bolhao). We had a hard time finding it, but finally followed a man who was carrying two pig halves and found that it was in an open court, between some buildings, and on a lower level.
The market was a maze of shops containing everything that you could imagine. There were florists stalls with gorgeous colored flowers and arrangements, vegetable stalls with tons of greens and melons. One stall had one of the larger melons cut open so that you could see it and it looked a lot like Pumpkin. The fish stalls had everything from Eel to tiny fish that they bread, fry and serve whole. One stall had birds....live ones.... that you could buy to cook with. The butcher shops contained mostly pork, however there was some beef as well. Almost all of these shops had sausages of some sort, with one shop selling long strings of casings so that you could make your own.
The bread shop windows were filled with fresh rolls and long buns and each one had several loaves that were decorated with dough designs. There were several stalls that sold nothing but garlic and dry beans. The beans were held in containers that were wrapped in fabrics which gave them a festive appearance. The purple garlic bunches were hanging from the ceilings or side of the stalls making a gorgeous pattern. There were a couple of stalls that sold hard candies and others that had nothing but pickled items....mostly beans and olives. Finally there were a few stalls that sold a mixture of things such as shoes, nick-knacks, cooking supplies, etc.
I was especially enthralled with the women who were working in the vegetable stalls. Most of them were older (probably 60+) and they were all wearing basically the same thing.....a simple dress with a full apron over the top, dark ankle socks and comfortable shoes.
As we walked back to the hotel, we stopped at a small café and Michael had another cup of coffee. It was fun sitting outside and watching the people in the street. At one point, a truck parked in the middle of the street while a man got out and unloaded a cart full of potatoes and walked them to a local restaurant. (It reminded me of the beer trucks parking the middle of the streets in downtown Athens). There were others walking past with carts full of vegetables and meats. We also enjoyed looking at what people were wearing and there was the usual mixture of dressy, casual and down right weird!!
We were met at the hotel by Harry and his wife, Christina and they proceeded to spend the entire day showing us around Porto and the surrounding area. It was fun to just get a flavor of the area. Our first stop was to the local coffee shop for yet MORE coffee and tea. We laughed about the fact that Christina (a Spaniard) and Harry (a German) were showing Americans around Portugal!!!
We drove to their neighborhood and stopped by their house for a few minutes. They live in a semi-detached house that has a small garage and small out-building for the laundry room. My favorite part of it was a garden area just off of the living room. They were renting and hadn’t done any work in it, but I could see how nice it would be to have a beautiful flower garden there.
They needed to buy a few groceries so we visited one of the local stores. It was much the same as our grocery stores, containing everything from personal hygiene items to Salted Cod (called Bacalhau). The store had an overall fishy smell from this. The prices seemed to be similar to the US, but without the huge variety of items to choose from....except where wine was concerned. There was one LONG isle filled with nothing but wine bottles and the prices were very low.
After the groceries were bought, we drove thru several of the smaller towns that are located along the coast. They reminded me of the small coastal towns that we visited along the Southeast Australian coast. Even the ocean reminded us of this area.....the beach was white sand, dotted with black boulders. There were only a few people on the beach as the temperature had dropped and it was fairly chilly.
We had lunch (about 2:00) in one of these towns and had the “Pork special” for the day. It started with a wonderful pumpkin (or maybe it was potato) soup and was followed with a pork chop with mushroom sauce and french fries and salad. MORE coffee followed!!!
We drove around longer, planning to visit the Botanical Garden, but arrived just as they closed, so instead, we the went to “Solar Vino do Porto” an establishment that serves many of the ports from the region. We sat in a rose garden and enjoyed the views over the Douro River. I was impressed with the different types of Port that were available. I had only known Port as a dark red wine but was surprised to find that there were Sweet white Ports as well. I had a glass of one of these and really enjoyed the flavor of the drink. Harry drank an Extra Dry White Port, and Christina and Michael had the traditional Tawny Port.
It was now dinner time, so we headed back toward our hotel and stopped at a very nice restaurant. We bought two large pork dishes and shared them between the four of us. My favorite was thin pork that had been breaded and fried (much like a schnitzel). For desert Michael had a flan and I had chocolate mousse that was SO rich and wonderful.
In all, it was a fantastic day spent with wonderful new friends!!!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Day 2 - Monday, June 1
We arrived in Lisbon about 8:30 on Monday morning (3:30am according to our body time. We were told that our last flight was out of Terminal 2 and that we had to take a bus to get there, but we had a hard time finding the right place to go. So, after asking 6 or 7 different airport workers, we successfully boarded the bus. The area was in a complete traffic jam, with taxis, buses and personal cars lined up 4 and 5 deep. But, amazingly, the bus driver managed to slowly work his way thru the mess and get us to our terminal.
Once inside, we had a doughnut and coffee/tea and rested a bit before our last flight to Porto. This was a fairly small airplane and they loaded us into a bus to take us to the aircraft.....a trip of about 100 yards!!!!!
The flight was only about 35 minutes long, but I think that Michael and I slept for at least 25 of those. It was fun to see the changing countryside as we moved from Southern to Northern Portugal.
We were met at the Porto airport by Paulo, a Professor at University of Porto. He drove us to our hotel and made sure that we were all set. The hotel is in the Old Town of Porto and there are many historic buildings all around us. Many of the streets are made from Granite cobblestones and are beautiful to look at and hard to walk on.
After he left, we set out for a walk around the town, mostly to help us keep our eyes open until bedtime. Our first stop was at a small café just around the corner from our hotel and we enjoyed a couple of pastries and more coffee/tea.
We started walking “down the hill”, planning to end up at the Douro River that runs thru the middle of the town. We didn’t make it that far......
The first couple of stops were to look in shop windows and run into a few of them to see what they had for sale. The area just around our hotel are filled with shops relating to hardware and home building supplies such as lighting, plumbing fixtures, etc. There are also a number of shops selling tablecloths, towels, and other fabric articles.
I went into one fabric store, but didn’t find any fabric appropriate for quilting. However, the store just kept going back and back and I ended up buying some Portugal made Dish Towels and enjoyed looking at lots of other goods. Several stores are built like that....they initially look to be really small, but hold an amazing amount of stuff around the corner.
Most of the buildings along these streets have 4 or 5 stories, but many are only using the first or second floors with the top windows staring blankly onto the street.
We stopped at one smallish looking bookshop, called Livraria Lello. Michael had been here on a previous trip and had told me of this beautiful bookstore.
From the outside, I couldn’t believe that it was this one, but boy did my attitude change when we walked in. It was built in 1906 and is considered to be one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. Apparently there were some scenes from Harry Potter filmed here.....we are thinking that they are the bookstore scenes from the second movie......cant wait to watch it again and see.
One of the fun things to see was this series of tracks that ran around the bookstore. We followed it to the back of the store and found a small cart that is used to transport the books around the shop.....what a great idea.
We continued walking around and enjoying the ambiance of a new and different country, stopping briefly at a beautiful church, a natural history museum, and an outdoor book fair, complete with a children’s reading time. One of our favorite stores was a butcher shop. We were enthralled by the window which contained skinned rabbits (Coelho) and whole Pig heads that were completely de-boned.
We were starting to fade, so returned to the hotel and rested until Paulo picked us up for dinner about 7:15.
We walked to a small restaurant about ½ mile away and Paulo asked the typical question....”Fish or Meat”? I am not a big fish eater, but decided “what the heck” so I said “Fish” as did Michael. Boy, did we ever have fish!!!!
The “Starters” were...
“Octopus that was cooked in olive oil, garlic and herbs” - very mild fish flavor and very tasty
“Tuna Pate” served with toast squares - was spicy and wonderful.
Black Olives - these were different from home and were very nice
For the main course, we had two fish dishes that we split between us. I don’t know the types of fish, but the first one was split open and grilled with a spicy rub and the second was a thick piece that was lightly broiled. They were both served with boiled potatoes and braised cabbage and were wonderful.
For desert, we had a chocolate something that was a mixture of Mousse, Whipped Cream and Cake-like substance. It was “to die for!!!”.
We rolled ourselves back to our hotel and fell thankfully into bed about 10:30. So much for our first day in Portugal. Tomorrow we are being picked up at 10:00am and we will see what kind of things we can get into then!!!
Once inside, we had a doughnut and coffee/tea and rested a bit before our last flight to Porto. This was a fairly small airplane and they loaded us into a bus to take us to the aircraft.....a trip of about 100 yards!!!!!
The flight was only about 35 minutes long, but I think that Michael and I slept for at least 25 of those. It was fun to see the changing countryside as we moved from Southern to Northern Portugal.
We were met at the Porto airport by Paulo, a Professor at University of Porto. He drove us to our hotel and made sure that we were all set. The hotel is in the Old Town of Porto and there are many historic buildings all around us. Many of the streets are made from Granite cobblestones and are beautiful to look at and hard to walk on.
After he left, we set out for a walk around the town, mostly to help us keep our eyes open until bedtime. Our first stop was at a small café just around the corner from our hotel and we enjoyed a couple of pastries and more coffee/tea.
We started walking “down the hill”, planning to end up at the Douro River that runs thru the middle of the town. We didn’t make it that far......
The first couple of stops were to look in shop windows and run into a few of them to see what they had for sale. The area just around our hotel are filled with shops relating to hardware and home building supplies such as lighting, plumbing fixtures, etc. There are also a number of shops selling tablecloths, towels, and other fabric articles.
I went into one fabric store, but didn’t find any fabric appropriate for quilting. However, the store just kept going back and back and I ended up buying some Portugal made Dish Towels and enjoyed looking at lots of other goods. Several stores are built like that....they initially look to be really small, but hold an amazing amount of stuff around the corner.
Most of the buildings along these streets have 4 or 5 stories, but many are only using the first or second floors with the top windows staring blankly onto the street.
We stopped at one smallish looking bookshop, called Livraria Lello. Michael had been here on a previous trip and had told me of this beautiful bookstore.
From the outside, I couldn’t believe that it was this one, but boy did my attitude change when we walked in. It was built in 1906 and is considered to be one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. Apparently there were some scenes from Harry Potter filmed here.....we are thinking that they are the bookstore scenes from the second movie......cant wait to watch it again and see.
One of the fun things to see was this series of tracks that ran around the bookstore. We followed it to the back of the store and found a small cart that is used to transport the books around the shop.....what a great idea.
We continued walking around and enjoying the ambiance of a new and different country, stopping briefly at a beautiful church, a natural history museum, and an outdoor book fair, complete with a children’s reading time. One of our favorite stores was a butcher shop. We were enthralled by the window which contained skinned rabbits (Coelho) and whole Pig heads that were completely de-boned.
We were starting to fade, so returned to the hotel and rested until Paulo picked us up for dinner about 7:15.
We walked to a small restaurant about ½ mile away and Paulo asked the typical question....”Fish or Meat”? I am not a big fish eater, but decided “what the heck” so I said “Fish” as did Michael. Boy, did we ever have fish!!!!
The “Starters” were...
“Octopus that was cooked in olive oil, garlic and herbs” - very mild fish flavor and very tasty
“Tuna Pate” served with toast squares - was spicy and wonderful.
Black Olives - these were different from home and were very nice
For the main course, we had two fish dishes that we split between us. I don’t know the types of fish, but the first one was split open and grilled with a spicy rub and the second was a thick piece that was lightly broiled. They were both served with boiled potatoes and braised cabbage and were wonderful.
For desert, we had a chocolate something that was a mixture of Mousse, Whipped Cream and Cake-like substance. It was “to die for!!!”.
We rolled ourselves back to our hotel and fell thankfully into bed about 10:30. So much for our first day in Portugal. Tomorrow we are being picked up at 10:00am and we will see what kind of things we can get into then!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
