One week into our trip I am finally starting to switch off and feel a bit more relaxed. I was glad I booked us into an airport hotel before our early morning flight out of gatwick so we had a good nights rest. Our beds at the first hostel were horrendous. Springs jamming into any piece of body in contact with the bed. It made for a rough couple of nights sleeps. I think we actually would have been better lying on our camping mats on the floor! The first few days in Porto we were all go go go. Exploring back alleys hidden amongst the hilly streets, finding hidden cafes for mid morning coffees at old convents, catching the rickety old trams when our feet got sore and the sun became overbearing, finally dipping our feet in the cool Atlantic Ocean watching kids squeal in the icey waves. |
My favorite part of Porto was crossing the Douro over beautifully designed bridge Dom Luis 1 to Vila Nova De Gaia for a spot of Port tasting.
This side of the river is lined with boats and touts wanting to whisk you away for a 50 minute ride under the 7 Bridges crossing the Douro. It is also lined with cellars full of Port. I am not a huge Port drinker as find it too sweet generally but we couldn't come to Oporto and not try it. I also love going to wineries and cellars and listening to the history of where each wine comes from and of course the tastings at the end.
The day before we had been looking out from a mirador to Vila Nova de Gaia at all the large block letters advertising the various Port cellars. I wasn't fussed on which one as long as it included a tour. We headed into Taylor's first a port brand I have tasted before. The next English tour wasn't for another few hours so we decided to check out a few of the others. The next one didn't have a tour but had a small museum with various videos to watch. The images made me wish we were spending time up the Douro where the grapes are planted on the steep hillsides hugging the curves of the river.
Following a short stroll around an old convent and a picnic lunch along the river front we decided to give another Port house a try to see if they had an English tour soon. Just our luck they did although we seemed to be the only native English speakers on the tour with a few Russians and Germans. Adriana Ramos set up his company Ramos Pinto when he was only 21 and was well known for portraying a lot of his character into the company. He had talented artists of the day draw clever and seductive posters advertising his Port. One showing Adam and Eve trying to resist the temptation of not an apple but a glass of Adriana's Port. The tour included a short stroll through a collection of Adriana's things such as these posters. His study had magnificent wood detail with bunches of grapes carve into the edges. As he became quite wealthy he built a bathroom next to his office so he could look at his toilet. In this day it doesn't seem like a big deal but back then it was uncommon for bathrooms to be indoors let alone a separate study bathroom. |
Finally it was time for the best part-the tasting. We were offered two large glasses, one each of a white and a tawny. Jake really liked the white where as I preferred the later less sweet tawny option.
The company sells about 1.5million bottles of Port a year or 1% of Port sales a year and still maintains it's characteristic detailed labels. It was a great way to spend the afternoon out of the burning sun.
Our first attempt at ride sharing using an app called blabla car was unsuccessful. We woke up in the morning expecting to meet the lady we had messaged the previous day but in the middle of the night she cancelled. Must have had a big night. We trundled down the hill to the bus stop instead. A few hours down a pretty boring motorway we arrived into Lisbon with wallet in tact (for those of you that may have not read about our last adventure in Portugal, I may have left my wallet on a bus somewhere between Seville and Lagos).
The campsite was surrounded by a large city park on one side and the motorway on the other. Luckily there were plenty of trees to provide shade from the hot Portugese sun and drown out some noise from the motorway. They didn't help block out the concert though and when we would come back to bed you could still hear the thumping of the bass from down the waterfront where the festival was staged. We also definitely felt like we were a lot older then the general festival camping crowd. Some of the kids camping looked no older then 16 but maybe that's just showing my poor judgement of age ... Or how old I am feeling.
We weren't so worried about getting out and about in Lisbon as we had booked a few nights there later to explore. We did spend one day walking along the waterfront from Belem to where the festival was being played. Belem has a lot of iconic buildings and museums reflecting Portugal's golden age as well as a patisserie famous for their pasteis de Belem. We bought a few of pastries for breakfast and sat down in the park to enjoy. Crunchy tasty pastry filled with creamy sweet custard and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Heaven ! I think I may have to go back when we come back to Lisbon. |
For now it's time to detox and stretch out our legs on the lush Azores archipelago for the next week.