Ola familia e amigos, welcome to Part I of our time in Portugal, which covers our absorbing the city of Porto and the Douro Valley:

 

After bidding our friends Mike and Karen a fond farewell in Argens-Minervois, we flew from Toulouse, France to the city of Porto on September 19, 2023, where we began our 10 days in Portugal. It was an exciting start, deplaning and catching a taxi driven by a madman, operating like a professional race-car driver, weaving in and out, leading us to look up an appropriate translation in Portuguese, to let him know we appreciated his driving skills. It turned out to be “boa conducao”. He responded to this reference, and the pat on his back, saying “obrigado” with a huge smile of gratitude. Dropping us off in Porto turned out to be tricky, given that the Douro Guest House’s location was in the Oporto district, in a high-density area along the Douro River’s waterfront. We had to walk a half block to our new home for 3 nights, after giving our driver a 25% tip for all his efforts and were greeted by our host, Kalif, receiving glasses of Port as a “hello”, proceeding to our 3rd floor unit. We had a magnificent view of the Douro River, filled with boat traffic of all types and crowds mingling on the promenade below our window. Directly below us was an outdoor restaurant bar serving libations. Near the river a busker caught our attention, attended by his soulful voice while playing a standup keyboard, singing Elton John’s “Your Song” and Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”, two of our romantic favorites. I hustled down to add 20 Euros ($20 US) to his piano box, telling him about my playing the piano and singing Sir Elton’s song at our son’s wedding in 2008. That led him to ask me if I wanted to do some music here on the waterfront, which caught me off guard. I was flattered (and terrified) at the offer, saying “no”, thanking him and scurried back up to our residence.

 

As it was late afternoon, we decided to walk along the river’s Cais da Riberia to espy a location for dinner. This was a Monday, and every place there was full! We then chose to walk all the way to the high bridge, D. Maria Pia, an arched railway bridge, 61 meters high and 353 meters long, which spans the Douro and has a pedestrian passage. This took us into Gaia, hub of the port wine industry. Guess what? No better for dining on the other side of the river!!! We searched up some alleyways perpendicular to the river some outdoors seats at Arco-Iris, a small establishment with a cozy atmosphere. We did not have anyone attending to us for some time, as some departing German tourists were haggling over the bill, challenging each other on what each owed. This went on for 20 minutes (at least we were seated at a table). We found it somewhat amusing and finally the owner came out and profusely apologized, giving us each a free glass of wine. We then enjoyed a wonderful meal of dried and salted Bacalhau Cod and found ourselves back at our domicile by 11 PM.

 

The first morning in Porto started with an amazing breakfast at our guest house downstairs in the small and cozy dining area. We dined on scrambled eggs, fruits (watermelon, kiwi, raspberries, mango, papaya, strawberries), fresh fruit juices, cappuccinos, cheeses, meats, and three kinds of homemade rolls. Our attendant was Luis, a young Venezuelan. In conversation we learned he was a former MMA athlete and multilingual. His amiability and graciousness were a great start to our first full day in Porto. We left in late morning to hit the path that Kalif had detailed on our map of the area, with attendant places to check out, which we followed religiously for the next 5.5 hours! The first stop was the Palacio des Artes, built in 1865. We chose to not enter the edifice, as we had so much to see and do in the 3 nights in Porto and trekked northeast along Rua das Flores from Meseu Igreja da Misericoridia (Meseu Church of Mercy) to Estacao Sao Bento and on to Rua 31 de Janeiro, reaching the Igreja Santo Ildefonso, a church completed in 1739 and located near Batalha Square. A short distance from there we attempted to have lunch at the oldest café in Porto, Majestic, a landmark which opened in 1921. Unfortunately, it was jammed with customers, with a long line of patrons waiting to be seated, so we moved on north to Capela das Almas along Rua Santa Catalina, then drifting south to the modern underground Mercado do Bolhao where we were overwhelmed with fresh produce and vendors, purchasing a beautiful handmade, wooden-handled carbon switchblade-like knife with a wooden handle as a souvenir.

 

Continuing westward along the Rua da Fabrica, we stopped at Livraria Lello, built in 1906, allegedly one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. This captured our attention as we have some bookstores we love in Paris (Shakespeare & Company) and San Francisco (City Lights Booksellers). Lello is also touted as a place that inspired J.K. Rowling in her writing of the Harry Potter series novels. This claim has made Lello a destination point, with huge lines of Potter-ites waiting to gain entry! Coincidentally, our busker from the promenade in front of our hotel was there performing for the crowd, greeting us warmly…small world!! After our long day traipsing around Porto, we rested back at Guest House Douro without concern for dining out and when hunger pains arose, sought out Kalif for a recommendation, which ended with us dining at restaurant Traca Porto, behind the Police station, in a closed-in-square, all of us being serenaded by a saxophonist, his music filling the space in this cozy area.

 

The last full day in Porto started with Kalif making dinner reservations for us at a local eatery, A Grade, and outlining on our map a route to the beaches where we would end up dining at Foz do Douro Brasao. Due to my misreading of Kalif’s instructions (to take a tram and only walk for 15 minutes), we ended up walking steadily for 2.5 hours, which turned out to be much more fun…it was a sunny, beautiful day! We were told the ocean was cold, but for us Seattle folks, it felt refreshing, cooling us off on a warm day, where we removed our sandals and walked in the ocean up to our knees, noticing the many topless women. Reaching the Praia do Carnero Lighthouse and checking our map, was the moment we realized we had screwed up! The good news…we were in the general area where we would have our lunch at Foz do Douro Brasao located on Rue do Gondarem and on time for our 1:30 PM reservation Kalif had made. Reading our map to the restaurant turned out to be a real challenge but was worth the effort as the ambience there was superb, as was the food, dining on olives and bread, prawns, coquettes, goat cheese salad with honey and walnuts. Of course, we had to imbibe sangria along with this delicious menu!

 

Not wanting to walk back, we treated ourselves to a taxi to get to the World of Wines on the Gaia side of the Douro River, across from our lodgings. Unfortunately, it was not what we expected and took a small water taxi across to the docks near our hotel, as it was nearing our 7 PM reservation at A Grade. We commenced with a shot of Dewars whisky (in lieu of Captain Mike’s favorite, Jameson), toasting Mike in absentia as they had returned home to Seattle by now. We were sitting off the narrow alleyway, with a couple of barking dogs 2 floors above us on the balcony of their domicile. Our appetizers consisted of fried sardines and olives along with dry white Port, quickly followed by seafood spaghetti, salad mixte and lime pie. The next morning, we said our ‘good-byes’ to Kalif, ordering a taxi to take us to the local Avis office to pick up our rental vehicle for our next adventure…the lengthy Douro Valley (almost 400 miles).

 

We were upgraded from a manual transmission, small vehicle, to a white Peugeot wagon (which turned out to be a smashingly good move) with automatic transmission. They sent us off with 3 simple traffic directions to set us on the correct path to the interior of Portugal. We hugged the Douro River, passing by our hotel’s location, ascending to 2,000 feet elevation, near Mourelos, then along Ruta Romantico, oncoming cars and buses drifting over the line on this 2-way “highway”, me pulling over whenever I could to allow the bumper huggers behind us to whiz by. The panoramic view was magnificent, with tiered hills and orange-tiled roofs on dwellings. We eventually pulled over at a small roadside mart for coffee and almond cookies, sitting outside near some locals engaged in very intense conversation, emotional and almost argumentative, which turns out to be the norm for many villagers in Portugal.

 

Continuing our drive, we viewed numbers of wind turbines at an elevation of 4,200 feet and stopped at one point to get out of the car and take in this quiet scene with serene breezes and sounds from the small communities in the valley below wafting up within our earshot. Moving on, we became discouraged on where we were, remembering that the Avis folks had told us to not rely on our vehicle’s navigation system, and when we used our iPhone, we found out we were wildly moving away from our targeted endpoint…in the end, we would spend 5 hours driving when, it should have been 3! The upside was that we had experienced a lot of scenic moments! We finally arrived at our next accommodation, Casa Cimeira, after ascending a winding, 1.5 car width, 2-way, winding road from the base of the hill. Luckily, we were just in time for the communal dinner, composed of 14 of us, dining on lamb, which had been preceded by stout amounts of homemade Port, presented by our host, Miguel. The dinners here were of 4-star quality, as reflected by the 25 Euros per dinner added to our room bill. That first night we talked a bit with a couple from the Netherlands and later, some from Austria. Everybody spoke English which facilitated great conversations.

 

Our first full day began there with a communal breakfast, after which Maggie and I ventured out onto the very narrow and dicey road back down the hill we were atop, and into the local village of Pinhao, nestled alongside the Douro River, where we wandered around, purchasing some cork products and gifts for friends and family. We considered taking a tour boat on the river, but it was “siesta” time, so we moved on, driving up the valley and eventually stumbled on a winery, “Wine & Soul”, expecting a tasting, which was not happening that day. However, the only employee there, “Nunu” consented to host us, setting us up on a balcony overlooking all the vineyards in the area, pouring us a couple of glasses of wine, explaining the impact the very hot weather has had on the industry, with only the oldest vines surviving. The following day would be the last day of picking he added. We made his hour of efforts worthwhile, purchasing a bottle of Character 2019 Red Douro and one of Altar Douro Doc Reserve before hitting the road to return to our domicile for our last supper with the group of international travelers.

 

We continued south in the Douro Valley to our next destination, the walled city of Évora, which is east of our final stay in Portugal, Lisbon. On our way, we stopped to check our map, opening the window, picking grapes by the side of the road at our elevation of 2,600 feet. Moving on from there, we drove through villages of cobble-stoned streets, artesian wells, fruit trees, huge rocks embedded in the landscape, pine trees with evidence of recent fires, stopping at a gas station to grab a couple of espressos and a sandwich (3 Euros), sitting outside with ashtrays, locals smoking and aggressive flies! We stopped in Fundao for 27 liters of petrol (50 Euros) to take us the 145 miles to Évora, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a population of 55,000, arriving at our destination, the Hotel Albergaria Calvario, around 4 PM. We met Dimitri (“Dimas”) at the front desk, giving us tips on drinks, and the Bar O Tunnel where his “god son” works. Our parking situation was quite comical. It was underground, with the entrance/exit being in the middle of the courtyard and the outside dining, requiring a very sharp right turn, after passing the entrance to this walled city, and down below to the parking area. There we were met with a limited number of tight spaces, requiring backing-in skills, Maggie guiding me delicately, the both of us laughing hysterically.

 

After settling in, it was dinner time and we walked the 15 minutes from our walled city to Marisqueira Torralva, where Dimas had set us up for 7:30 PM al fresco dining on their rooftop, our waitperson, Georgie, taking our orders for Caipirinhas, a Brazilian national cocktail comparable to a Mojito (8 Euros each). Georgie hung out with us, practicing his English. We learned he was 20 years old and intending to visit Norway, all the while ignoring the cold and windy weather around us, pointing to a nearby access to a bathroom, which looked like it was built for Hobbits, needing to duck down to gain entry. Our meal consisted of olives, bread, a “cup” of white wine, asparagus risotto, prawn/garlic appetizer, with a cheesecake & almonds dessert. After dining, we went back into the walled city and started wandering aimlessly around, going down into the seedier parts and stumbled on Bar O Tunnel which had been referred to us. We met Bernardo and told him about being steered here to see Dimas’ “god son”. He immediately knew who we were talking about and informed us of the “god son” business, which is when incoming collegiate freshman are assigned a godfather (Padrinho) or a godmother (Madrinha) during a weeklong initiation, called Praxe. We took some food in the alley by “Tunnel” and espied the “Fig” man, purchasing dried figs from him. Of importance to me was also learning the Portuguese word for wandering which is “Vaguiando”, since I use the Spanish word Deambulando meaning “wandering”, when I categorize the essence of our travels for the last 18 years or so!!! Part II commences with our 1st full day in Évora.

 

Cheers, Stan & Maggie