Wendy and Wayne Travelogue

Heading to Porto

Friday, August 11, 2023

It was an early morning goodbye to Lisbon as we all loaded onto the buses and headed for our ship in Porto.

About 2.5 hours in, we made a stop at Coimbra. This was the original capital of Portugal, and is primarily known for its University. The university (which was founded in 1290) was moved from here to Lisbon and back a few times, but finally settled here (and became yet another UNESCO site!). Our guide told us that the Spanish set up universities in different areas in South America in their territories, and each of these regions eventually became a different country in itself. The Portuguese, on the other hand, decided that all students from “Brazil” would come to Coimbra U. for their studies--hence, they say, Brazil is one country.

The highlight of the Coimbra tour was the magnificent Biblioteca Joanina, the Old Library. The Library was the inspiration for the library in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. It did not disappoint! Photos are not allowed in there, so these are from the internet.

It is truly amazing! Ornate carvings, several floors of books in two huge rooms.

The books themselves are not labelled or numbered like we are used to. They are catalogued by room number, bookcase number, shelf number, and order (left to right) on the shelf. If a book is “misfiled”, it will be very difficult to find later. So obviously, you have to request a book and it is brought to you (in a different building) by special staff. (And, yes, the Library is more or less the equivalent of our Library of Congress.)

In addition to the Library, another (relatively well-known) feature about the University is the students' uniforms. They are straight out of Harry Potter, capes and all! Here is Joe College:

...and Jane College

While we were there during summer break, there were still a handful of young women (in full university uniform regalia) roaming the campus selling souvenir pencils. Clearly, one of us couldn't resist!

Then a visit to the University's chapel, the Chapel of São Miguel. It is notable because the interior contains elaborate tile walls, made to look like tapestries in other churches. The irony is that they used the tiles because they couldn't afford the very expensive tapestries, but with just a few exceptions, these tiles have survived longer!

The other notable feature is a large pipe organ.

But look closely. This organ doesn't really fit here! And why is it on the side wall? And how do you play it? Well....it was taken from another church, and good old Manny I wanted it put here. So they retrofitted it into the wall and actually had to build an addition on the outside to house the rest of it and the actual keyboard! So the organist is basically playing from another room.

Then we were treated to a Fado performance. Fado is the national music art form of Portugal (think Flamenco in Spain). These are mostly sad songs, oftentimes only sung by men, and always accompanied by a traditional 6-string guitar and a special Fado 12-stringed guitar.

The musicians were great! Though we couldn’t understand the words, we could get the feeling of the music.

Then it was everyone on their own for lunch and/or shopping! The area we were in was the “old town”, so more small winding streets, but also the long wide shopping street. Oddly, there were a number of restaurants featuring Korean food! We did not find out why. But we found a place with traditional Portuguese food (and they did not speak English). We wanted to try something different, and the scampi looked good, but when we ordered they said they were all out! So we went to our new favorite: fried cod cakes!...this time with rice AND French fries! Really delicious.

Then, a stop at Doppo for amazing ice cream....

... then back on the bus for the ride to Porto.

We got to the marina at about 4 pm. There we were met on the ship by about 25 staff members. Very impressive! And our room is magnificent...bigger than ones we've had on other river cruises. After a short rest and time to unpack, we headed for the mandatory safety meeting and official welcome by the Captain. He told us that he had a special treat for us (awwww....I bet he says that to all the groups!), and that we would take a quick trip around the harbor before dinner was served.

The weather continued to be perfect as we all headed to the sundeck. What a fantastic sight! There are 6 bridges just in this part of the river (which is actually where it meets the Atlantic). Some are more ornate and artistic; others are pretty utilitarian. Some carry people and trains, other just cars.

On one side of the river is Porto. On the other is Gaia. They feature a mix of buildings both colorful and ho-hum, very old and very new. Here is an example:

After 15 minutes or so, we made a u-turn and headed back to the dock.

We then had a lovely and delicious dinner in the Panorama Room. Next to each dish on the menu was a series of numbers. These referred to the list of "allergy items" at the bottom....and there were 18 different ones! Wow....pretty thorough.

Wendy started with a delicate tuna mousse, smoked salmon and cucumber ribbons.

Her next course was butter fish with broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and potatoes. Beautiful presentation.

Wayne enjoyed pork tenderloin with roasted potato slices and rosemary garni.

Enough food already--fresh fruit was fine.

There was after-diner entertainment, but that was a long day, so we opted to go to our room and call it a day. Tomorrow, Porto!

Love,

w&w

Porto

Saturday, August 12, 2023

It may be obvious, but we'll say it anyway. The name "Portugal" actually is derived from the city of Porto aka "Portus Cale", the name which the Romans gave to the city when they came in and took it from the Celts (yes! They were here!). And of course, this city (the second largest in the country) also gave its name to Port wine, which is produced all around the region.

Today's outing was a walking tour of the city. We had to cross over one of those 6 bridges to get there, as our marina is on the Gaia side.

When we disembarked from the bus, we discovered our starting point was the site of the Senior European Mini-Golf Championship!!! Seriously. Men were walking around with putters and little bags containing who knows what. But there were no windmills or clowns in sight...just your basic tee-to-hole green course.

Anyway, we walked a bit and found that the first part of our tour would be on a tram (trolley car). Specifically, it was a 1929 built car which is normally stored in the "Electric Trolley Museum", and is only brought out for special groups. Yay us!!!

It was a lovely ride along the shore, past much interesting architecture (narrow but tall residences from the 1800s) and then up into the town. Yes.....there are a lot of hills in Porto too!!!

Then, our guide took us on a walking tour, pointing out all of the churches, government buildings, the big railroad station. Of course, the streets and sidewalks are ALL cobbled. And it was jammed with tourists. Unfortunately, many possible photo ops were obscured because there was so much construction going on: the ubiquitous scaffolding to repair / restore old buildings, plus, right in the heart of town, a new subway line is being built! So between the pedestrians and the cars / buses it was bedlam.

Here is a sampling of what we saw:

One of the many, many statues of Henry the Navigator

A big building

A shopping street

Another building with tiles! Note the addresses....that's how narrow these residences were when they were first constructed

A confluence of shopping streets

Another important building with blue tiles!

Then our guide took us into a "grocery" store which has been in business for 3 generations. At the back of the store was an area where they had set up (just for us) plates containing a piece of sardine and a piece of mackerel (two of their specialties). They also served sparkling white wine. What a treat!!!

Note the special clip which holds the glass onto the plate. Ingenious!

Then back into the throngs, down another block and into another grocery store...

This time, the special treat was local cheese and sausages!

Eeeesh! Even if we were hungry after having the previous snack, cheese and sausage are not really our things.

At this point, the official tour for the day ended. We had the choice of staying on in Porto for another couple of hours or heading back to the ship. We opted for the latter.

It was another beautiful day, and they have ALL been perfect weather-wise so far; none of the excessive heat we had feared We thought that the fish snack would be enough to last us til dinner, but by the time the bus got us back to the ship we reconsidered. Since we never miss a meal, we grabbed some salad and mussels from the lunch buffet; we did not go for the 3 course extravaganza Then, we decided to skip the vineyard tour and Port tasting and instead enjoy the perfect weather up on the sun deck for a few hours (and catch up on blog postings!).

Before we knew it, it was time to eat again.

Tonight, Wendy started with the watermelon and kiwi tower--light and delicious.

....Wayne stuck with the usual suspect - a Caesar salad for first.

Then Wendy enjoyed the carrot ginger soup. It was very spicy and very memorable.

Then lasagna Bolognese for Wayne (not a Portuguese dish, but looked too good to pass up!)...

...and the Sea Bream with vegetables and sweet Portuguese rice for Wendy. Though others at the table did not like it, Wendy loved it. Yum.

Then we shared the chocolate lava cake with meringue and fruit. A delicious ending to a delicious day.

We are still docked in the marina! Hopefully, we will set off at some point. The Douro is a rather short river (572 km in total, but only 213 km in Portugal), so the actual "cruising" part of this trip is pretty minimal compared to the total time we are on the ship.

Here are some fun facts we have learned:

> 60% of the country's energy needs are met by renewables; a combination of wind, solar, and hydro. They hope to get to 80% in the next few years. Portugal is 3rd in the EU in terms of energy efficiency (Denmark and Germany are first and second, respectively.)

> The unofficial motto of the country is "The 3 Effs". They stand for Fado (discussed earlier), Fatima (for the religious figure, but relating to religion in general), and Futbol!! Music, religion, and sport pretty much covers the gamut.

That's all for Saturday. Stay tuned.

Love,

w&w

Guimarães, Vinho Verde Region and Cruising

Sunday, August 13, 2023

The ship finally left the marina today!!!! But we were not on it. No...don't worry....we didn't "miss the boat". It actually set sail (set motor?) while we were off touring. Then we re-boarded in the afternoon at the new dock in Peso da Régua.

Here are the details of today's adventure:

We took about an hour bus ride to Guimarães (and if you guessed it; it s a UNESCO World Heritage site, you win!!). The city was settled in the 9th century, at which time it was called Vimaranes (over time, the "v" turned to a "g", the "n" was lost, and the pronunciation changed). It is best known as being the birthplace of the first king of Portugal, Alfonso Enriques. Though recent research has shown that this is probably not true, the legend lives on. Here is the (apocryphal) castle of his birth:

And here is a statue of the king. Notice anything strange about it?

Give up? Short-sleeved chain mail was definitely never in fashion! The story (per our guide) is that the town commissioned the statue at an agreed upon price with the sculptor. At some point, the town elders told the sculptor they could only afford to pay half. So the sculptor deviously made the sleeves shorter, and no one noticed until the statue was already in place.

We learned about more churches, the 17th century city hall and other fun facts. This town is not a major spot for tourists. That, plus the fact that it was a Sunday and many were in church, meant that the streets were practically empty.

We found another pastry shop, and this one had a new kind of treat.

Can you guess what is in it? We’re waiting…….

Spaghetti squash! Yeah….it tasted pretty much like you’d expect. But at least you get your vegetables and sweets at the same time!

The most beautiful sight in this town is the Igreja da São Gualter Church, built in the 17th century, and the beautiful garden (which stretches over 3 blocks) leading to it.

Here are photos looking toward the church, and then back the other way.

Then it was back on the bus for another hour and to the Aveleda Vineyard in the Vinho Verde region. "Vinho verde" (green wine) refers to the age of the grapes (young) , not necessarily their color. This vineyard has been in the same family for 6 generations, though the house was built in 1671! The property consists of a 25 acre garden surrounded by 500 acres of vines.

The garden was first developed in the late 1800s, and populated with trees and plants from all over the world, such as redwoods from the US, eucalyptus from Australia, and camellias from China. Of course it also has many native plants, such as cork trees (which they harvest).

There are chickens and roosters, peacocks and peahens wandering around, a man-made lake, statues, and fantastic overlooks.

An altar, where many family members have been married

Then it was inside to one of the usual over-the-top local lunches. First, a plate with cheese and sausage.

This was pared with a light white sparkling wine. Along the way, the wines became darker and had much more alcohol.

Next was kale and potato soup....with (of course) a sausage slice (but we forgot to take a picture...use your imagination).

Then, the main.....pork slices, roasted potatoes, and a cabbage slaw.

Pretty tasty (for those who enjoy pork, that is).

Then, a pear poached in port wine. Actually delicious!

To top it off (as if that wasn't enough), pasteis!! These were quite good.

After lunch, we headed to the boat, which was now docked in Peso da Régua. Once we were all on board, we set off again and a few minutes later we neared the Carrapatelo lock and dam. A note here: they build these river ships specifically so that they are as big (wide, high, and draft) as can be and still fit through the locks. As the boat nears, computers took over the steering to guide us in. There was about a 2" clearance on the sides, but we never bumped the walls.

This is the deepest lock in Europe - 115 feet. Once we were in, the rear door closed and we started to rise. You could barely feel it, and there was no sound from the thousands of gallons of water pouring in. It took about 15 minutes to get to the top. These boats are also designed so that the top deck structures can be hydraulically lowered...because many of the locks have a bridge across at the top! Those of us on the sundeck had to sit to avoid injury. here's how it all went: