Review of Scenic Unforgettable Douro, Sep. 14–Oct. 5, 2023

[Host Jazzbeau]

At long last, here is the review of the Jazzbeaux trip to Portugal, including the 10-night Unforgettable Douro cruise on Scenic Azure, from Sep. 14 to Oct. 5, 2023.

 

Since this is being published on Cruise Critic, I will start with the cruise portion and then add the air and land bits at the end.  The day-by-day blog, with pictures, will follow in subsequent posts.

 

This was our second cruise on Scenic.  We enjoyed it, and everything was near perfect from our initial greeting, when crew members rushed to grab our bags as soon as we arrived at the pier, to our final departure when the Cruise Director actually accompanied us in the car to help unload our bags at the hotel [only 250m away, but Scenic gave us private car service anyway!]

 

Our cabin, 322, a Royal One-Bedroom Suite, was excellent – we had a full couch plus comfy chair in the sitting area at the large aft-facing window, plus a balcony with two chairs in the aft-port corner with views both ways, plus a huge bed with remote controls to raise and lower either/both sides, desk area, and lots of storage.  There were both privacy and room-darkening curtains on all the windows, with a bunch of buttons that were logically laid out.  And the AC was easy to adjust to our liking.

 

Our two complaints were that the bathroom is split in two with the shower, tub and sink in one room and the toilet and another sink in another.  We would gladly have given up the bathtub for a passthrough door to connect the two parts.  But for entertaining it would be fine as guests can use the toilet area (near the entrance) without even seeing into the [ok, cluttered] main area...  The other complaint is that the flat screen TV was built into a floor-to-ceiling mirror partition that made it hard to see no matter how you swiveled it [not a better idea...]

 

Food was really good – all meals in the main dining room, and also the extras at the two specialty dinners [Portobellos, which everybody gets invited to once, and Table d’Or, for suite guests]

 

Entertainment set a new standard for river cruises [above AMA, and even above our prior Scenic cruise]  The first night we had a Fado presentation with a female singer and two guitarists.  The second night was the Welcome Gala Dinner, which was its own entertainment.  The third night was our invitation to the Table d’Or dinner [that afternoon there had been an azulejo tile-painting workshop onboard].  The fourth night was a violin and piano duo.  The fifth night was a Flamenco dance performance.  The sixth night was Dancing Under the Douro Stars on the top deck.  The seventh night was our turn at the Portobellos special dinner, followed by a pair of Portuguese musicians [and that afternoon had a pasteis de nata demonstration onboard.  The eighth night we were invited to the Captain’s Table for dinner [this had never happened before in all our 32 prior cruises] followed by the Crew Surprise Show with singing and dancing.  The ninth night was a private concert at São Francisco Church in Porto.  The tenth and final night was packing [not very entertaining, but necessary even on an 11-day cruise!]  And every night after the above, Enrichment Manager Miguel played in the Lounge for listening, dancing and sing-alongs.  [I listed all this in excruciating detail because it is so much richer than the entertainment we have experienced on other river cruise lines.]

 

Itinerary – Another thing that distinguishes Scenic from most other river cruise lines is that they offer 10-night itineraries (in addition to the usual 7-night ones) on most routes; they cover the same distance on the river, but in a more leisurely fashion with more shore excursion options.  Both of our Scenic cruises have been for 10-nights, and we find that the extra time really pays off in giving an in-depth introduction to the area without being completely exhausting.

 

Excursions were top-notch, with lots of choice and often more than one a day.  [The difference isn’t so readily apparent from other river cruise lines, but the choice, the quality, and the variety were exceptional.]  I won’t list all the stops and options here, as you can find them on Scenic’s website:

https://www.scenicusa.com/tours/unforgettable-douro/14591

 

The one big question we had was whether to take the long bus ride to Salamanca, Spain or to visit a silk-making village near the ship in Portugal.  Thanks to advice on Cruise Critic we went to Salamanca, and recommend that option to anyone taking a Douro cruise.  It’s a fascinating city, and because of its remote location in Spain you are never likely to be any closer than on this cruise itinerary.

 

 

Flying – We again flew United business class non-stop from EWR to Lisbon.  The 787-10 Polaris service is excellent: comfy lie-flat beds, good food, excellent service.  The United Polaris Lounge at EWR is also really good.  Once again the return in Premium Select was a big step down – and once again they were already down to one portion of the only meat entrée by the time they got to our 3rd-row seats.  So for our future flights on United we are booked Polaris business both ways [do you suppose that was their plan all along?...]

 

Lisbon – On our stopover in the spring we visited the Gulbenkian Museum – which I recommend very highly.  This time we started with three nights in Lisbon, at the Hotel Avenida Palace (excellent hotel in an excellent location).  There is much to see in Lisbon, and we did everything on the Rick Steves Alfama Stroll, Baixa Stroll, and Bairro Alto and Chiado Stroll.  Also many of the sites in Belém, and the National Tile Museum [worth the taxi ride!]

 

A unique tour in Lisbon was Lisbon at Sunset: Petiscos, Food & Wine Tour by Devour Tours.  Highly recommended!

 

Between Lisbon and Porto – We took three days from Lisbon to Porto with drivers from MyDayTrip, visiting Alcobaça, Batalha and Convento de Cristo monasteries; Conímbriga Ruins and Coimbra; and Válega church.

 

The cruise – The 10-night Unforgettable Douro cruise on Scenic Azure has already been described above.

 

Porto – After the cruise we stayed one night at the 1872 River House hotel on the river in Porto, and did everything on Rick Steves Upper and Lower Porto Walks.  [We had already had a thorough walking tour with Scenic that took us to Vila Nova de Gaia and to several of the top sights in Porto.]

 

Back to Lisbon – Our MyDayTrip driver took us to Óbidos, and then on to Sintra where we spent 3 nights at the Sintra Boutique Hotel (another recommendation for location and quality).  We visited 5 palaces and several accompanying gardens.  You can do Sintra as a day visit from Lisbon, but there is really so much to see that you need at least one overnight.  Then our final driver took us to the Myriad by SANA hotel near the Lisbon airport (ok as a hotel, but great for location – near the aquarium and a trendy restaurant district).

 

Shout-outs to:

 

•  Hotel Avenida Palace, Lisbon

•  Restaurante Pinóquio, Lisbon

•  Lisbon at Sunset: Petiscos, Food & Wine Tour, Lisbon

•  A Baiuca restaurant with Fado, Lisbon

 

•  MyDayTrip for transfers [throughout Europe]

 

•  Hotel dos Templarios, Tomar

•  Sabores ao Rubro restaurant, Tomar

 

•  Sapientia Boutique Hotel, Coimbra

•  Fado Ao Centro fado show, Coimbra

 

•  1872 River House hotel, Porto

•  Restaurante A Grade, Porto

 

•  Sintra Boutique Hotel, Sintra

•  Restaurante Regional de Sintra 

•  InComum restaurant, Sintra

•  Apeadeiro Restaurante, Sintra

 

•  D'Bacalhau Restaurante, Lisbon

 

 

If you have any questions, please reply to this thread – or email me at jazzbeauster@gmail.com

 

And if you found this blog helpful, here’s a link to all our other travel blogs: jazzbeauxblogs.wordpress.com

[Host Jazzbeau]

Introduction

 

This is a blog of the Jazzbeaux trip to Portugal, including the 10-night Unforgettable Douro cruise on Scenic Azure, from Sep. 14 to Oct. 5, 2023.

 

We flew from EWR to LIS on United; stayed 3 nights at the Hotel Avenida Palace in Lisbon; then had transfers through MyDayTrip to Tomar, Coimbra, and Porto; where we boarded Scenic Azure for 10 nights sailing up the Douro to the Spanish border (with a day trip to Salamanca) and back to Porto; one night at the 1872 River House in Porto; then another MyDayTrip transfer to Sintra for three nights at the Sintra Boutique Hotel; and a final MyDayTrip transfer to the Myriad Hotel near the Lisbon airport for one night before flying back to EWR on United.

 

During the trip, Jazzbelle kept detailed notes and I [Jazzbeau] took lots of pictures.  After returning home, I revised the notes to remove names [to protect the guilty, as we say…] and put it in my voice to avoid confusion.  Jazzbelle became ‘DW’ in internet parlance [‘Dear Wife’].

 

Planning for this trip was relatively easy because Scenic took care of everything on the 10-night river cruise and Rick Steves provided excellent advice for planning the pre- and post-cruise DIY segments (and for choosing among Scenic’s itinerary options during the cruise).  I used Rick Steves Snapshot Lisbon (2023), Rick Steves Portugal (2023), and Rick Steves Spain (2023) [for Salamanca]

 

The next blog entries are a day-by-day account of the trip, with a selection of pictures.

 

In response to feedback that the daily entries were too long with a big chunk of text followed by lots of pictures, I’m trying an experiment with this blog by breaking up each day by major site.  Please let me know if this helped.

 

Enjoy!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thursday September 14, 2023 – On the Road Again

 

The limo arrived at 4:30 pm to drive us to Newark Airport for our United flight UA64 to Lisbon.  We pulled out around 4:40 and due to very heavy traffic on the highways , especially the ramp leading from the Deegan up to I-95 South and then the NJ Turnpike.  We pulled up to the Departures door at almost 6:30 and used express Bag Drop to check our big suitcases.

 

After a quick run through security (we have TSA PreCheck), we went to United’s Polaris Lounge.  What a great place to relax, regroup and enjoy a glass of wine, some hot or cold food before boarding your flight!

 

This flight we were in Polaris Business Class and it is certainly a treat.  Passengers receive lots of attention from a large crew of flight attendants.  Food is plentiful and tasty.  I opted for Seared beef short rib and DW had Lemongrass chicken.  We both chose an Harvest apple tart for dessert.  (Mind you we’d already had small portions of Garlic chicken, Ratatouille and Chocolate chip cookies at Polaris.)

 

We were somewhat delayed taking off but our cowboy pilot got us to Lisbon in under six hours.

 

There was quite a lot of turbulence delaying the meal service by forcing the crew to take their seats and buckle up.  (At one point, someone’s eyeglasses went flying down the aisle.)

 

We both got some sleep but not much before it was time for breakfast:  scrambled eggs, sausage, greens, potatoes, croissant with butter and jam, yogurt and fresh fruit salad.  And a beverage, of course.  However, it was literally the most painful descent and bumpiest landing we’ve ever experienced.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Friday September 15, 2023 – Lisbon

 

We arrived in Lisbon (Lisboa) just around 8 am.  Passport checkpoint is all automated and bags came fairly quickly.  I loaded our bags on one of the free luggage carts and we headed in search of the pickup point so I could arrange a ride with Uber.

 

We had an efficient and chatty Pakistani driver who had emigrated solo to Lisbon eight years ago.  He dropped us off at the Hotel Avenida Palace and we checked in.  Unfortunately, our room was not ready so the desk clerk took us up to the dining room to have (another) breakfast.  We weren’t hungry, so I just had a pot of English breakfast tea.  DW declined.

 

We then returned to the lobby to regroup a bit and get what we thought we’d need to set forth on our first day of exploration.  We got an Uber (a young Brazilian woman with a Volvo) who drove us fairly close to (but a bit farther than we’d have liked) leaving us an uphill climb in the sun.  (It was a beautiful day in the high 70s but we were wiped!)

 

We approached the grounds of São Jorge (St. George) Castle and queued up behind at least 100 tourists.  After creeping along without making much progress toward the ticket booth we gave up and walked back down to the Miradouro (viewpoint) Santa Luzia for a good overview of the city and the Tagus River.  The church behind the viewpoint has two 18th-century tile murals:  one shows the Praça do Comercio as it was before the 1755 earthquake; the other depicts the reconquest of Lisbon from the Moors.

 

1 Miradouro Santa Luzia

 

2 mural of old Praça do Comercio

 

3 mural of Reconquista

 

We walked around Castle Town and the Alfama neighborhood where houses date from the Middle Ages.  People still hang their wet wash on racks outside their window.  Or a soccer flag might be spotted flying.  There were too many untalented street musicians trying to collect some coins.  They were in competition with the panhandlers.

 

At the Miradouro das Portas do Sol catwalk we got even better views of the city, including a view of the Monastery of São Vicente perched on the hill opposite.  Across the street from us was a larger than life statue of St. Vincent (São Vicente).

 

4 Miradouro das Portas do Sol

 

5 Statue of São Vicente

 

We turned around and entered the Museo de Artes Decorativas Portuguesas.  We took a one-hour guided tour of every public room of this a richly decorated, aristocratic household of the 15th–18th centuries.

 

6 Museo de Artes Decorativas Portuguesas

 

From the museum it was mostly downhill (over 200 steps).  We passed cartoon murals and the 8th-century fortified wall.  We began seeing signs announcing Fado performances in restaurants and soon saw the big pink Fado Museum.  [We were starting to flag, so we didn’t go in.]

 

7 Fado Museum

 

In front of the museum were colorful tuk-tuks that scooted tourists around in glorified 3-wheeled motorcycles or golf carts giving them tours of the neighborhood.  One negotiates with the driver for a rate.

 

8 tuk-tuk

 

We continued walking till we got to the Sé de Lisboa (Lisbon Cathedral) where we were able to sit and pray a bit before ending our walk at the Metro stop at Terreiro do Paço.  We rode the metro two stops to Restauradores and took the elevator up to ground level only to have the elevator doors refuse to open.  After several tries, they opened and we were free.  [I’m good with computers, especially when they need a good kick...]

 

9 Sé de Lisboa

 

10 Sé de Lisboa

 

We spotted our hotel and popped into a small pharmacy to buy me a comb because I had forgotten to pack mine [thanks to her recent cranioplasty DW didn’t need any on this trip, haha – she’s all healed now and her hair is growing back nicely...]

 

Back at the Avenida Palace, the clerk escorted us to our suite and pointed out various features to make our stay more comfortable.

 

We finally were able to lie down for a nap and discovered that the Metro line we’d just used rumbles under the hotel.  We got used to it and finally dozed off.

 

For dinner, we barely had to cross the street to go to the very popular restaurant Pinóquio.  We ate indoors, which tends to cater to neighborhood regulars who come with their families.  The waiters have been there forever.  Service is good, friendly.  Food is abundant and tasty.  We shared a double portion of curried seafood (lobster and shrimp) and rice and a single order of sauteed vegetables which turned out to be all green beans cooked in oil and garlic.  [You’d better like garlic!] Unusually, DW ate the most.  The meal, the ambience – all enjoyable!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Saturday September 16, 2023 – Lisbon

 

We both slept well.  Subways, voices, nothing bothered us.  We had late breakfast at 10:30 in the 2nd floor dining room [which is quite a luxurious space].  A wonderful buffet replete with pancakes, crepes, poached and scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, grilled tomatoes, mixed fresh vegetables, all kinds of cold cuts, cheese, fresh and dried fruit, bread, pastries, cereal, yogurt, fruit juices, hot beverages…. We didn’t sample everything but we made a dent.

 

After early morning rain, the remainder of the day brought sun and low to mid 70s.

 

We then headed out and took the Metro down to Terreiro do Paço to do the Rick Steves Baixa Stroll in the downtown neighborhood.  We started out on the pier near the ferry terminal and the sightseeing boats to view Lisbon’s Riverfront.  The tide was out.

 

To the right, an inviting balustrade and a pair of pillars mark a little pier, the Cais das Colunas.  Farther to the right are the 25th of April Bridge and the Cristo Rei statue.

 

1 Cais das Colunas

 

2 view of 25th of April Bridge

 

3 view of Cristo Rei

 

We crossed over to the large public square, Praça do Comércio, in the center of which is the statue of Dom José I.  The whole area suffered major damage in the 1755 earthquake and was rebuilt on a grid street plan with utilitarian looking buildings giving it a militaristic look.

 

4 Praça do Comércio

 

5 Dom José I

 

The Baixa has three squares:  Comércio, Rossio and Figueira.  And three main streets:  Prata (silver), Aurea (gold) and Augusta.  The pedestrian streets, inviting cafés, bustling shops, and elegant old storefronts give the district a certain charm.  We sauntered along these narrow thoroughfares watching the other pedestrians, looking up at so much scaffolding, looking in shop windows.  Some of these shops were devoted to unique food products, e. g., salt cod, ham…  We also got a good view of the Elevador de Santa Justa from the bottom.

 

6 Elevador de Santa Justa

 

We made our way along Rua Augusta past the Igreja de São Nicolau, and then up Rua da Prata to Praça da Figueira (Fig Tree Square – but no trees anymore...) and the statue of Dom João I on horseback.

 

7 Praça da Figueira

 

A couple of blocks away is the Igreja de São Domingos (St. Dominic).  Hit by the earthquake of 1755; then lost its roof and much of the interior in 1959 in a raging fire that kept it closed it for decades.  It finally reopened to the public in 1990s with all its scars visible.  When one enters for the first time, it is almost frightening.  The interior is covered with black soot.  Charred and damaged stonework is everywhere.  The roof has been rebuilt and painted a terracotta as have some of the wall side panels.  Despite the soot and damaged stonework, there is a new altar, ambo, tabernacle in the sanctuary.  There is also a pile of debris on the same floor.  Yet people visit, worship there.  It is one of the busiest churches in Lisbon.  There is a sense of the presence of God in the ruins.

 

8 Igreja de São Domingos

 

9 Igreja de São Domingos

 

We moved on to Praça do Rossio (aka Praça Dom Pedro IV) with its fine stone patterns in the pavement evoking waves encountered by the great explorers.  Just don’t look down if you suffer from motion sickness.  The column in the center honors Dom Pedro IV.  And at one end is the Teatro Nacional Dona Maria II.

 

10 Praça do Rossio

 

11 Dom Pedro IV

 

12 Teatro Nacional

 

We also visited O Mundo Fantástico da Sardinha Portuguesa, a store that features canned sardines with a variety of themes including birth years – yours, not the sardines’ 😉  [We have tried canned sardines, and don’t see the fascination...]

 

13 O Mundo Fantástico da Sardinha Portuguesa

 

14 canned sardines

 

Just to the northwest is the Neo-Manueline Rossio Train Station (Estáçio Central) with a statue of Dom Sebastian.

 

15 Rossio Train Station

 

16 Dom Sebastian

 

A couple of blocks away, we passed our hotel and came to Praça dos Restauradores.

 

At the lower left corner of the square is the Homenagem aos Calçeteiros, a tribute to the generations of laborers  who made the city’s characteristic black and white calçada sidewalks.

 

17 Praça dos Restauradores

 

18 Homenagem aos Calçeteiros

 

Then the art deco Éden Teatro (later a hotel, now closed).

 

19  Éden Teatro

 

In the center of the square is the Restauradores Obelisk celebrating – not the many restaurants lining the square but – the restoration of Portuguese independence from Spain in 1640.

 

20 Restauradores Obelisk

 

The Avenida da Liberdade is a tree-lined street running north of here with apartments and pricey boutiques.  But we were too tired to continue our walk (and we had passed along this route in our drive from the airport), so we returned to the Hotel Avenida Palace to regroup and take a breather.

 

21 Avenida da Liberdade

 

22 Hotel Avenida Palace

 

                                                      

 

Refreshed, we walked up the Praça to the Elevador da Glória, a five-minute funicular ride up to Bairro Alto (High Town) for the Rick Steves Bairro Alto and Chiado Stroll.

 

23 Elevador da Glória

 

The Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara offers a fabulous view of the far side of the valley with a clear look at the castle, monastery, cathedral, and the ‘new city’.  The park contains a statue honoring Eduardo Coelho, the founder of the Diário de Notícias newspaper, and a barefoot newsboy.

 

24 Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara

 

25 Castelo de São Jorge from Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara

 

26 Eduardo Coelho and newsboy

 

We walked the narrow streets and eventually came to the Igreja de São Roque (St. Roc Church), one of the first Jesuit churches in Portugal.  Well-kept and extremely ornate with so much gold, it is so different from São Domingos.  Its unusual ceiling (painted wood, false dome, perfectly flat) has topnotch acoustics.  There are many side altars and two museums.  We visited the part housing a temporary exhibit of relics where admission was free.  And there are free rest rooms!

 

27 Igreja de São Roque

 

28 Igreja de São Roque

 

29 Igreja de São Roque

 

Outside was a (lucky) statue of a friendly lottery-ticket seller.

 

30 Statue of Lottery Seller

 

Along our walk we saw many buildings decorated with tiles in pastel hues.

 

31 interesting buildings

 

32 interesting buildings

 

We left and walked downhill to Largo do Carmo and the Convento do Carmo, then to the Elevador de Santa Justa for another view of the valley and beyond.  [The Alcantara was better.]

 

                                                      

 

We took an Uber uphill to the Quiosque Principe Real to meet our guide Goncalvo and fellow food groupies (Frank and Lori from NJ, and Sue and Mike from Kenosha) for a 3-hour eating/drinking Lisbon at Sunset: Petiscos, Food & Wine walking tour from Devour Tours.

 

For our first stop we went to a tiny restaurant named Faz Frio for two small plates that were both trompe l’oeil recipes: Tempura green beans [called ‘Fish from the Garden’ because they look a little like fried fish – they were eaten by peasants who couldn’t afford fish during Lent] and make-believe pork balls [really chicken, breading, garlic, spices – to help the conversos pass as Christian while maintaining their Jewish identity] plus a mango juice/gin cocktail [so smooth it could fool a teetotaler].

 

The restaurant name is also a trompe l’oeil relic in its way: it was a hangout for radicals during the Salazar repression; the interior is cut up into many private areas, and the back door was always kept open – when the police appeared at the front door someone would call out the code phrase “It’s cold!” ["!faz frio¡"] and the radicals would run out the back.

 

33 Faz Frio

 

Next we revisited the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara (still beautiful)

 

34 Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara

 

then went to a wine bar called Grapes & Bites for two wines (red and white) and six different cheeses with chutney and dipping sauce, chorizo, bread.

 

We had farther to go to a traditional Portuguese tasca [didn’t get the name, sorry] for fish soup, and duck rice [a local specialty] with red wine and water.

 

The last stop was dessert and port wine: custard tarts from Manteigaria – the best pastéis de nata in Lisbon [according to our guide, who unfortunately likes his with cinnamon generously sprinkled on top – which IMHO overwhelmed the custard flavor...]

 

We made our farewells and found our way back to the hotel on foot, trying to wear off all that food – or at least help it settle...

[Host Jazzbeau]

Sunday September 17, 2023 – Lisbon

 

Rain, rain, go away...

 

After breakfast, we headed out to walk to 11:15 Mass (in English) at the Igreja da Madalena (St. Mary Magdalene).  As we exited the hotel we discovered that it was pouring so we returned to the lobby and called Uber, which appeared in minutes and dropped us off at the corner of the church.  We sat up front and joined in with the choir of African immigrants from former Portuguese colonies [lively hymns, new to us to easy to follow with the lyrics posted on a video screen].  The priest spoke very good English and the Mass was well attended by many Africans, Filipinos and whites – a wonderful example of the Catholic church: “here comes everybody!”

 

Leaving Mass the rain had let up, so we walked down to Praça do Comércio and the TI to ask how to get to Belém.  We had a long walk to get to the bus or tram and rain began again just before we got to the bus stop (which was thankfully covered).  We waited about ten minutes and caught the 15E bus and got two of the last seats in the very back row.  DW chatted with a young man who got off before us.  We and another couple were shocked a few stops later when the bus driver showed us the door: last stop!  [We had planned to take the trolley, which goes on a bit further.]

 

Not a bad turn of events!  We were in Belém.  The sun was shining and we got to see the outside of the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos.  A huge, white, ornate monastery.  We opted not to stand on the hour-long line to get in to the monastery, and the church temporarily closed because of a special ceremony taking place – so we moved on.

 

1 Mosteiro dos Jeronimos

 

We headed south to the riverfront, passing a park with a pair of sphinx-like sculptures.  We finally found the underpass that would take us to the water’s edge and the monuments there.  However, the wind was so fierce, we feared we would blow away.

 

We surfaced right on the plaza of the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries).  In 1960 the city honored the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator by rebuilding this giant riverside monument, which had originally been constructed for a 1940 World’s Fair.  It takes the shape of a huge caravel ship, in full sail, with Henry at the helm and the great navigators, sailors, and explorers on board behind him.  Truly impressive!

 

2 Padrão dos Descobrimentos

 

3 Padrão dos Descobrimentos

 

4 Prince Henry the Navigator

 

Heading north we passed a marina, and a floatplane commemorating the first flight across the South Atlantic (Portugal to Brazil), which beat Lindbergh’s flight across the North Atlantic by five years.

 

5 Floatplane monument

 

We walked on to see the Torre de Belém (Belém Tower).  It is perhaps the purest Manueline building (an ornamental style of architecture from the time of King Manuel I) in Portugal (1515-1520).  This squat white tower once protected Lisbon’s harbor.  Today it celebrates the voyages that made Lisbon powerful.  It was the last sight sailors saw as they left their homeland, and the first as they returned, loaded with gold, spices, and social diseases.

 

6 Torre de Belém

 

                                                      

 

We then took a long Uber ride to the Museu Nacional du Azulejo (National Tile Museum).  The building is the former Convento da Madre de Deus.  We toured every room and every corridor, looking at beautiful decorative tiles.  The tiles were not only for décor, but also protected the walls from the pervasive humidity.

 

The use of tiles came to the Iberian Peninsula due to Moorish influence.  The Moors (Muslims) made tiles with only geometric designs as they believed only Allah could create anything with life.  Christians used the tiles not only to decorate but also to instruct, by making murals illustrating Bible stories or scenes of pious men and women.  And aristocrats used them as room décor instead of paint on an inside wall or building façade [including tile portraits of Himself...]  Some tiles were truly 3D with flowers protruding from the plane of the tile.  

 

[DW isn't as enamored with Azulejos as I am, but even she was impressed by the masterpieces in this museum.  In a way it's like Chihuly art glass: one piece isn't that impressive, but a huge installation takes your breath away...]

 

7 Museu Nacional du Azulejo

 

8 Museu Nacional du Azulejo

 

9 Museu Nacional du Azulejo

 

10 Museu Nacional du Azulejo

 

11 Museu Nacional du Azulejo

 

12 Museu Nacional du Azulejo

 

13 Museu Nacional du Azulejo

 

14 Museu Nacional du Azulejo

 

15 Museu Nacional du Azulejo

 

Upon exiting, I got another Uber for the long ride back to the hotel.  Up and down the hills of Lisbon, in and out of the narrow streets, our driver was creative [I said he was driving the way DW would drive, taking every backstreet short cut] but he got us back.  We enjoyed some down time with a nap and/or shower.

 

                                                      

 

Then we headed out on the Metro and then by foot to the Alfama neighborhood for dinner and Fado singing.  [stripped down for the walk: no camera]

 

We walked and walked and climbed stairs and narrow, twisting streets finally to arrive at A Baiuca, a tiny restaurant that seats barely 30 customers.  Two very slim young women worked behind the counter and as waitresses and wine stewards, and one of them joined in a duet with the female fado performer.

 

Dinner was unpretentious but excellent.  The bread and butter was good as was the local cheese (a blend of cow and sheep milk).  [You have to pay for bread and butter in Portuguese restaurants and we usually demurred, but this was worth it.]  The salad was abundant; more than the two of us could eat [even after removing the raw onions  –we forgot to tell her we didn’t want any – which filled a small drinking glass]  We shared a plate of octopus and potatoes.  It was the best octopus we have ever eaten.  Even better than what we had on the Camino in Galicia.  I finished it off with a caramel custard.  Yum!

 

There were two Fado performances—the first set was by a woman and the second by a man, both accompanied by two guitarists.  Both were very well done.  [This was our first experience of this art form, but many more were to come!]  Fado songs reflect Portugal’s bittersweet relationship with the sea.  Fado means fate—how fate deals with Portugal’s adventurers…and the women they leave behind.  The lyrics are generally sad – Portugal’s version of the blues!

 

We left after the second set.  [This could go on till midnight.]  The leftover food and half-bottle of water came with us and was given to the first homeless chap we encountered.

 

DW led the way back to the train station with her great sense of direction, and we lucked out catching a subway train very quickly so we were back to the hotel in minutes.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Monday September 18, 2023 – Alcobaça, Batalha & Tomar

 

After breakfast, we got our bags ready as we were leaving Lisbon at 11 am.  Nuno, our MyDayTrip driver, picked us up and got us out of Lisbon despite the heavy traffic and closed lanes.

 

You’ve heard of the A-B-C islands in the Caribbean?  Well, today was our A-B-C monasteries day:  Alcobaça, Batalha, and the Convento de Cristo in Tomar!

 

As we headed north through the countryside, we saw plenty of eucalyptus, pine, cork and olive trees.  There were vineyards and the occasional quince bush (quince jam is delicious paired with hard cheeses).  There were goats, sheep, horses, chickens in the fields.  Wind turbines dotted some of the hilltops but were barely moving.  A very few solar panels were visible.

 

We arrived at the Alcobaça Monastery about 1:30 pm.  Nuno parked right across the street and we got out to explore this Cistercian abbey church which represents the finest Gothic building in Portugal.  It’s the country’s largest church, and a clean and bright break from the heavier Iberian norm.

 

1 Alcobaça Monastery

 

2 Alcobaça Monastery

 

The first monks arrived in 1228 and proceeded to make this one of the most powerful abbeys of the Cistercian Order (who branched off from the Benedictines) and a cultural center of 13th-century Portugal.  This simple abbey was designed to be filled with hard work, prayer and total silence.  (Monks only spoke if called in by the head abbot who had something to discuss with them.)  The population of monks averaged about 450.

 

We visited the well preserved refectory, kitchen, scriptorium, dormitory, Hall of Kings, and the church.  In the refectory, 450 monks plus local peasants who worked at the monastery were fed daily.  The adjacent kitchen’s giant three-part oven could roast seven oxen simultaneously.

 

3 Alcobaça Monastery - Refectory

 

4 Alcobaça Monastery - Kitchen

 

5 Alcobaça Monastery - Scriptorium

 

6 Alcobaça Monastery - view of church

 

7 Alcobaça Monastery - Cloister

 

8 Alcobaça Monastery - Cloister

 

9 Alcobaça Monastery - Church

 

10 Alcobaça Monastery - Church

 

11 Alcobaça Monastery - Tomb of Inês (resting on her enemies)

 

12 Alcobaça Monastery - Tomb of Dom Pedro

 

We spent an hour in the buildings and met up with Nuno for the next leg of today’s drive.  But not before I went to the Pastelaria Alcoa (pastry shop) to sample their version of pastel de nata.  [Rick Steves says it is the best in all of Portugal, and I agree!]

 

The second stop was the Batalha Monastery, the symbol of Portugal’s national pride built by King Joao I after winning the Battle of Aljubarrota.  Construction stretched over two centuries (1388-1533), but the result was an original take on Gothic style and Manueline decoration.

 

13 Batalha Monastery - Church

 

The church has tall pillars leading your eye up to the “praying hands” of pointed arches, the warm light from stained glass windows, the air of sober simplicity—this is classic Gothic, from Europe’s Age of Faith.  There is a lack of ornamentation but the stained glass colors the floors and columns.

 

14 Batalha Monastery - Church

 

As one enters the church from the rear, the first chapel on the right is the Founders’ Chapel, a square room with an octagonal dome.  The ceiling is an eight-pointed star of crisscrossing pointed arches that glow with light from stained glass.

 

15 Batalha Monastery - Founders' Chapel ceiling

 

In the center is the double sarcophagus of Dom João I and his English Queen Philippa.  The tomb statues lie together on their backs, holding hands for eternity.  This husband-and-wife team ushered in Portugal’s two centuries of greatness.  Philippa was an intelligent, educated (by Geoffrey Chaucer and John Wycliffe) and moral woman who won João’s admiration by overseeing domestic policy, boosting trade with England, reconciling Christians and Jews, and spearheading the invasion of Ceuta in 1415 that launched the Age of Discovery.

 

16 Batalha Monastery - Founders' Chapel sarcophagus

 

We visited the Royal Cloister, the Chapter Room with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sitting under the mutilated crucifix called Christ of the Trenches, which accompanied Portuguese soldiers into battle on the western front of WWI.  The refectory (a fraction of the size of that in Alcobaça) is now the gift shop.  

 

17 Batalha Monastery - Royal Cloister

 

18 Batalha Monastery - Royal Cloister

 

19 Batalha Monastery - Royal Cloister

 

20 Batalha Monastery - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 

21 Batalha Monastery - Christ of the Trenches

 

Last up were the Unfinished Chapels.

 

22 Batalha Monastery - Unfinished Chapels

 

23 Batalha Monastery - Unfinished Chapels

 

24 Batalha Monastery - Manueline Doorway

 

It was time to continue on our way to our final destination of the day, Tomar.  Nuno drove us to Hotel dos Templarios.  We checked in and he helped us bring our luggage to our room and he then drove us to see the Aqueduct before dropping us off for the day at the Castelo dos Templários e Convento de Cristo (Castle of the Knights Templar and Convent of Christ).

 

[This was not part of the itinerary I had booked, but when he saw the steep climb to the castle Nuno through this extra part in out of the goodness of his heart.  He was just one example of how friendly and accommodating we found the Portuguese throughout this trip and the earlier one to the Azores and Madeira!]

 

25 Tomar Aqueduct

 

26 Castelo dos Templários

 

The Castelo dos Templários, built 800 years ago by the Knights Templar, towers above Tomar and includes a circular Oratory that was modeled after the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, where knights would go to be blessed before battle.  They could actually ride on their horses into the oratory.

 

27 Castelo dos Templários - Oratory

 

  

28 Castelo dos Templários - Oratory

 

The Convent of Christ complex built around the oratory is mostly 16th-century construction.  There were various cloisters, circular marble staircases, a grand dormitory with 40 cells and a separate room used for heating these cells, the refectory and a couple of Manueline windows sporting jaw dropping dressing on the older architecture.

 

29 Convento de Cristo- Manueline exterior

 

The back window has a cross of the Order of Christ (aka the Knights Templar) surrounded by representations of armillary spheres (navigational devices), barnacles, ropes and coral.  That area is kept is pristine looking condition, but that can’t be said for much of the other parts of the convent.  It would require a lot of money and time for restoration.  The castle itself is unsafe for visitation.

 

30 Convento de Cristo - Manueline Window

 

We walked down the hill over a cobblestone path to our hotel in about ten minutes.  We had minimal time to freshen up before finding our way through the nearby streets to our dinner reservation at Sabores ao Rubro.  We were the first customers to arrive but the place filled up.

 

We passed on the bread, cheese, olives [these are always additional charges in Portuguese restaurants, but you can decline] and ordered our entrees.  I had tournedoes with ‘greps’ [spinach, and apparently a kilo of it!] and fries.  DW had picanha (grilled rump steak) with battered banana, grilled pineapple, orange, fries, (rice) and beans.  Plenty of food.  Very tasty.  The meal, including half bottle of wine and a bottle of water, came to under 50 Euros.

 

We walked around the neighborhood a bit and found an ATM before returning to the hotel by 9 pm.

 

We missed the Museo dos Fósforos [matchbox museum] – which as a big fan of the mystery series Bryant & May, I should have given a look.  [British readers may understand the link...]

[Host Jazzbeau]

Tuesday September 19, 2023 – Coimbra

 

Gorgeous day!  After a sad breakfast buffet [we’d been spoiled at the Hotel Avenida Palace in Lisbon], we got our bags ready and down to the lobby.  Our driver, Xavier, was waiting for us in a black Mercedes van.  He drove quickly to the Conimbriga Ruins and waited for an hour while we visited the museum and explored the grounds of the Roman ruins.  We could easily have stayed longer but we had a timed admission in Coimbra in the afternoon.

 

Conímbriga Ruinas is Portugal’s best Roman sight and is truly impressive.  What remains of this Roman city is divided in two, in part because its inhabitants tore down buildings to erect a quick defensive wall (4,900’ long) against an expected barbarian attack.  There one finds what’s left of homes, shops, baths and thermal spas, a forum, a paleo-Christian basilica, aqueducts from the 2nd- and 3rd-centuries AD (some remnants are even older), amazingly detailed mosaic floors and peaceful gardens.

 

1 Conímbriga Ruinas

 

2 Conímbriga Ruinas

 

3 Conímbriga Ruinas

 

4 Conímbriga Ruinas

 

5 Conímbriga Ruinas - 'cheap' column

 

6 Conímbriga Ruinas - Wall

 

7 Conímbriga Ruinas

 

The second part is the House of the Fountains, which is the best-preserved part.  It's amazing to see intact pottery and intricately-designed mosaic floors.  We are always in awe of the Romans and their construction knowledge and execution!  Consider how modern day bridges and buildings fail after mere decades with the destruction of lives and property – yet Roman roads, buildings, and artifacts remain intact after 18 centuries!

 

8 Conímbriga Ruinas - House of the Fountains

 

9 Conímbriga Ruinas - House of the Fountains

 

10 Conímbriga Ruinas - House of the Fountains

 

11 Conímbriga Ruinas - House of the Fountains

 

12 Conímbriga Ruinas - House of the Fountains

 

13 Conímbriga Ruinas - House of the Fountains

 

Xavier drove us to the Sapientia Boutique Hotel in Coimbra.  While they were checking us in, we were offered an orange juice drink and a couple of pastéis de nata.  Our bags were brought up to our spare but bright room.

 

14 Sapientia Boutique Hotel

 

15 Sapientia Boutique Hotel - pastel de nata

 

We were barely there when it was time to head across the street to the University of Coimbra for our timed entry to the library.

 

16 Biblioteca Joanina

 

In this elegant building, one of Europe’s best surviving Baroque libraries displays 40,000 books in 18th-century splendor.  Named after its founder Dom Joao V, Biblioteca Joanina’s reading tables, inlaid with exotic South American woods, are a reminder that Portugal’s wealth was great and imported.  Visits here are timed.  Ten minutes in a room.  [Photos were permitted only in the least-interesting anteroom – but google is your friend!]  So we were out on the pavement a half hour after we entered.

 

17 Biblioteca Joanina

 

18 Biblioteca Joanina

 

Our ticket also gave us entrée to many other buildings of interest on campus.  

 

19 University of Coimbra

 

We were next admitted to St. Michael’s Chapel.  The architecture of the church interior is Manueline.  Walls are tiled, ceilings are painted white with bold, pastel designs.  It is a bright church where students and alums enjoy the privilege of having their weddings.

 

20 University of Coimbra - St. Michael's Chapel

 

21 University of Coimbra - St. Michael's Chapel

 

22 University of Coimbra - St. Michael's Chapel

 

23 University of Coimbra - St. Michael's Chapel azulejos

 

Next on the visitation list was the Grand Hall, the site of the university’s major academic ceremonies, such as oral exams and graduations.  This regally red room was originally the throne room of the royal palace.  Students defend their Ph.D. theses here.  During ceremonies, students in their formal attire fill the benches, and teachers sit along the perimeter.  [It was the inspiration for the inquisition scene in Harry Potter.]  The law school is in this building, as well.

 

24 University of Coimbra - Grand Hall

 

25 University of Coimbra - Grand Hall

 

26 University of Coimbra - Grand Hall

 

We also saw the former Royal Stateroom, with a model of the university.  And the Veranda [view catwalk] with great views of Coimbra.

 

27 University of Coimbra - Royal Stateroom

 

28 University of Coimbra - view from veranda

 

29 University of Coimbra - view from veranda

 

We exited the quad via the Iron Gate and headed downhill to pop into the New Cathedral (Sé Nova).  Built by Jesuits in 1598, it replaced the old cathedral which is still in use today.  In the 1700s, the Se Nova (the New See) was given a new baroque interior, which remains unchanged to this day.  Only a Manueline font and the choir stalls were brought from the Old Cathedral.  The gold-covered altarpieces date from the 18th-century alterations.

 

30 University of Coimbra - Iron Gate

 

31 Coimbra - New Cathedral

 

32 Coimbra - New Cathedral

 

Next on our visitation list was the Science Museum.  We received a peek into an Old World lecture hall and old science gear.

 

33 Coimbra - Science Museum

 

We passed some frat houses and took the Elevador do Mercado (funicular plus elevator) down the steep hill to the big market which was closing for the day.  The smell of fish filled the air.  [Rick Steves loves these food markets, and also gets out early;  thankfully we don’t care for them because by the time we arrive the goods are past their sell-by date!]

 

We exited down another flight and found the Jardim da Manga.  This garden had seen better days.  We continued around construction and found our way to the Church of Santa Cruz.  The interior is lavishly decorated with 18th-century tiles that tell the stories of the discovery of the Holy Cross by St. Helena and the life of St. Augustine.

 

34 Coimbra - Church of Santa Cruz

 

35 Coimbra - Church of Santa Cruz

 

36 Coimbra - Church of Santa Cruz

 

37 Coimbra - Church of Santa Cruz

 

Leaving the church, we ascended some steps to a shopping street.  It seemed that every fifth store was an optical shop.  We walked a short distance before turning left up a steep lane.  We found Rua do Quebra Costas.  On the corner, was a shop where we could buy gelato.  I chose salted caramel and DW coconut [she prefers coffee, but it was mixed with cardamom here]

 

38 Gelato menu

 

A treat and a sugar boost, it gave us the energy we needed to climb farther uphill to visit the Old Cathedral (Sé Velha) which was consecrated in 1184.  Like Lisbon’s cathedral, this was essentially a church-fortress.  Looking at the west portal (= main entrance, on the right in the photo), there are no Christian motifs.  There are three altars at the front of the church.  The main altar is in late Flamboyant Gothic style while the one to the right is a masterpiece of Renaissance art.  The third altar is the Chapel of St. Peter.  We had a few minutes to visit the peaceful cloister.

 

39 Coimbra - Old Cathedral (north and west portals)

 

40 Coimbra - Old Cathedral - main altar

 

41 Coimbra - Old Cathedral - Renaissance altar

 

42 Coimbra - Old Cathedral - Chapel of St. Peter

 

43 Coimbra - Old Cathedral

 

We returned to the area where we’d had our gelato as we had tickets for the 6 pm show at Fado Ao Centro.  The small theatre holds 50 attendees and you need to buy tickets ahead online.  It was a well done show with two guitarists and two singers.  All male, because this is an outgrowth of a University of Coimbra student group.  Guests were offered a free glass of port out back in the courtyard after the performance [which was also a good way to clear the hall quickly, in preparation for the 7 pm show...]

 

44 Fado ao Centro

 

45 Fado ao Centro

 

We started walking downhill to find a recommended restaurant that takes no reservations, Restaurante Ze Manel dos Ossos.  It is so well hidden, we walked right past the lane and overshot it by several blocks.  By the time we found it, there were 17 people ahead of us in line.  We all waited till they opened at 7:00 only to discover they could barely seat a dozen [well, unlucky 13] people.  We abandoned the line as we had no intention of waiting an hour or more for a table to open up.

 

We ate next door at Tartufo Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria.  I had pork saltimbocca with fries and cabbage with garlic slices and DW had an eggplant dish served on a mound of paccheri (very large tube pasta) with tomato sauce and grated Parmesan.  She also had a lettuce salad [and that’s exactly all it was: shredded lettuce].

 

[The food was ok, the ambience was also only ok – and when I checked my bill on the credit card website I realized that they had pre-selected the conversion to dollars which cost me an extra 25¢.  The amount is small, but I still feel that this is dirty pool worth calling them out over.]

 

We then walked uphill [about a zillion steps] to our hotel.  Only a third of a mile, but it was the steepness that got us!  But we made it!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Wednesday September 20, 2023 – Válega & Porto

 

The Sapientia Boutique Hotel offered a nice little breakfast buffet.  We ate, got our things together (we hate living out of a suitcase and moving so often and that is a big reason we love cruising) and were out with our luggage (having dragged our bags up a Lombard Street-type ramp) on the sidewalk waiting for Xavier (pronounced Chev-year) at 10:45 am.  He came after five minutes or so [these narrow streets are hard to navigate] and off we drove towards Porto.

 

We made one stop on the way at the Igreja de Válega.  The wood ceiling was really impressive along with all the tilework, and the cemetery.  [As were their clean and free public restrooms.]

 

1 Igreja de Válega

 

2 Igreja de Válega

 

3 Igreja de Válega

 

4 Igreja de Válega

 

5 Igreja de Válega

 

6 Igreja de Válega

 

It was after 1 pm when Xavier dropped us and our bags off near the Scenic Azure for our Unforgettable Douro cruise.  Crew members hurried over to greet us and take our luggage.  One, Inez, chatted and escorted us to the ship to do a preliminary check-in.  We then went into the lounge.  Just about everyone else there was from the cruise that had just ended, waiting for their transfer transportation.

 

The bar was open and there was a buffet lunch for any of us who wanted to eat.  The two of us sat on a couch and shortly made the acquaintance of a British couple who’d just arrived from Norwich.  Liz and Bob had flown in via Amsterdam.  We finally succumbed and got some food to eat.  Another couple joined us in our sitting area, Joy and Paul from Kent.  Finally after 2:30 pm, the Hotel Manager, Felipe Silva (“Phillip #1”) told us our room was ready and he introduced us to the head butler, Alexandra.  She took us to 322, our Royal Panorama Suite.

 

We have a huge bed with remote controls to raise and lower either/both sides.  There is a couch and easy chair and coffee table with a live orchid, plus an enclosed balcony.  We have all sorts of buttons and switches to raise and lower privacy curtains, room darkening blinds, and the balcony wall.  The flat screen TV is built into a floor-to-ceiling glass partition [not a better idea...].  We have a mini-fridge with free liquor, soft drinks, water, a bottle of champagne.  Our bathroom is divided into two rooms: a powder room with toilet and sink, and a bathroom with a big tub and a huge glass-enclosed shower stall separated by a long vanity with lots of storage drawers and shelves.  We have a 6’ double closet and storage under the bed.  We get free laundry service.  [DW wants to move in!!!]

 

We unpacked and while I showered, DW walked the sundeck for almost a mile.  Then it was time for our 5:45 pm welcome briefing with the top brass.  The captain, Pedro Menezes, is 28 years old!  He told us to visit him in the wheelhouse.  Felipe Silva/Phillip #1 is 32.  He spoke next.  Then came Felipe Nunes [“Phillip #2”] who is the Cruise Director.  He never stopped talking—till it was almost 7 pm and time for dinner.  We went downstairs and sat with Liz and Bob and a couple from Alberta, Canada, Eileen and Gil.

 

The two of us ordered the same food for dinner:  Portuguese potato soup with chorizo and kale to start.  It was less than tepid and not very flavorful except for the two slices of chorizo.  The main course was butterfish with a creamy shrimp sauce, zucchini and white rice/peas/carrots.  Dessert was best part—apple tart which was a pastry crust with bright yellow custard topped with sliced apples.  There was a scoop of vanilla ice cream surrounded by ground cinnamon.

 

At 9:10 pm they reminded us that a Fado presentation was about to being in the lounge upstairs.  We said good night to our dinner companions and went up.  It was interesting (male guitarists and a female singer named Claudia Madur) but we enjoyed our first two exposures to this art form more.  Enrichment Manager Miguel thanked all for coming and encouraged us to stay for his Portuguese lounge music.  We were tired, so we returned to our room.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thursday September 21, 2023 – Porto to Entre-os-Rios

 

Breakfast was available in the Crystal dining room from a large buffet with an egg/omelette station or from a two page printed menu for crêpes, eggs Benedict…

 

Our tour this morning was a walking tour of Porto.  We gathered in the lounge but got a late start with Guido as there were all sorts of trouble syncing up various headphones for listening to his narration.  Despite a rainy forecast, we lucked out on that front as not a drop fell on us.

 

We started out from Scenic Azure and explored the streets in the immediate neighborhood passing a McDonald’s building clad in burgundy tiles.  Soup is so much a part of the culture that it is even on the McD menu.  This McD is right next to our post-cruise hotel, 1872 River House.

 

1 Porto - McDonald's

 

2 Porto - 1872 River House hotel

 

We could look across the Douro river to Vila Nova de Gaia and see all the major Port wine warehouses.  We walked along the riverfront Ribeira (= riverbank) district in the city’s most scenic and touristy quarter with its highest concentration of restaurants and postcard racks.  Narrow, higgledy-piggledy homes face the busy Douro river.  Unfortunately, there are many abandoned buildings which the government can’t afford to take over and restore.  Rents for those still being used are climbing steadily.  Rent control is an issue.

 

3 Porto - view of Vila Nova de Gaia

 

4 Porto - abandoned building on the Ribeira

 

We walked through Praça da Ribeira with a statue of John the Baptist, and saw the first of the bright golden scallop shell signs showing the path of the Caminho Português route to Santiago de Compostela.  We also saw markers showing the height of flood waters from 1962 [and evidence that the dams and locks are helping to mitigate the problem].

 

5 Porto - Praça da Ribeira

 

6 Porto - John the Baptist

 

7 Porto - Caminho Português marker

 

8 Porto - flood markers

 

A bas relief titled Alminhas da Ponte shows the 1809 massacre when Napoleon’s troops attacked the city and the weight of the fleeing population collapsed the Ponte das Barcas bridge – near the new (1886) Ponte Dom Luís I [ironically designed by a disciple of Frenchman Gustave Eiffel...]

 

9 Porto - Alminhas da Ponte

 

10 Porto - Ponte Dom Luís I

 

To get to the other side of the river to Gaia, we boarded a rabelo boat used for sightseeing.  [This style of boat was used to transport casks of Port wine from the wineries on the Douro to the cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, a hazardous occupation before the coming of the railway and the building of locks that tamed the river.  Now they are only used to transport tourists.]

 

11 Porto - Rabelos

 

We had a short sweep of the harbor before he docked alongside a similar craft on the opposite shore.  We disembarked and walked past Port cellars, taking a peek at a strange bunny sculpture down one of the narrow side roads.

12 Vila Nova de Gaia

 

13 Vila Nova de Gaia - Port Cellar

 

14 Vila Nova de Gaia - bunny sculpture

 

We then all headed for the cable car station to ride to the top of the Ponte Dom Luís I.  This Porto landmark is growing fragile and is now only open to trams and pedestrians.  A new bridge for cars will be built farther upstream.

 

15 Vila Nova de Gaia - Cable Car

 

Where we exited the cable car was a round monastery above us, Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar.  It is a 16th-century convent with a circular church and cloisters, built by the Augustinian Order.  [We had to step lively to avoid the machete of a street vendor preparing sugar cane juice drinks.]

 

16 Vila Nova de Gaia - Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar

 

17 Vila Nova de Gaia - sugar cane street cart

 

18 Vila Nova de Gaia - sugar cane

 

We didn’t have time to visit the monastery or get a drink, so we all headed across the bridge back to Porto.  On the Porto side we saw the Guindais Funicular, which we planned to use on our post-cruise sightseeing, and a section of the city’s Medieval Wall.

 

19 Porto - Guindais Funicular

 

Approaching the Cathedral of Porto we saw the Statue of Vimara Peres, who began the reconquista of Portugal from the Moors.  

 

20 Porto - Statue of Vimara Peres

 

As we were a large tour group, we were not allowed into the Cathedral.  This hulking, fortress-like, 12th-century Romanesque cathedral was the site of Henry the Navigator’s baptism and the scene of many a royal wedding.  We had time to explore Cathedral Square and listen to a street musician [a fairly decent cello player who seemed to be collecting a good bit of donations and selling his CDs]  He was situated near the Pillory and the Bishop’s Palace.

 

21 Porto - Cathedral Square

 

22 Porto - Cathedral Square - Pillory

 

23 Porto - Cathedral Square - Bishop's Palace

 

We started to walk downhill coming to an old Jesuit church (Igreja dos Grilos) that is now a museum.  Our guide was not a fan of this religious order.  We stopped nearby for a photo op of a public lavanderia before proceeding down to a busy street where some of our group headed back to the ship.

 

24 Porto - Igreja dos Grilos

 

25 Porto - Lavanderia

 

The rest of us followed Guido uphill to our last official site on the tour—the São Bento Train Station.  It has a main entry hall that features some of Portugal’s finest azulejos—vivid, decorative hand-painted tiles that show historical and folk scenes from the Douro region.  It was originally a Benedictine convent.

 

26 Porto - São Bento Train Station

 

27 Porto - São Bento Train Station

 

28 Porto - São Bento Train Station

 

29 Porto - São Bento Train Station

Guido released us to walk back on our own.  We passed the old red market building before seeing the Stock Exchange Palace (Palácio da Bolsa) on our right at the far side of Henry the Navigator Square.

 

Back on Scenic Azure, it was time for lunch.  We ate down in the Crystal dining room with a couple from Toronto.  I had pasta carbonara and a slice of orange almond cake.  DW had a hearty local soup with veggies and meat followed by croaker fish in curry sauce with peppers.

 

We took it easy for the next couple of hours before attending the Cruise Overview with Phillip II.  Scenic Azure set off from Porto and headed to the first lock (Crestluma).

 

We chatted with the couple nearby who were from Calgary, Alberta until it was time to get ready for the Welcome Gala Dinner.  We sat with two couples from Australia (Derek and Audrey, Graham and Vicky).  DW had avocado/prawns salad and then octopus (Polvo a Lagareiro) slow cooked and served with sweet potato puree, garlic spinach and carrot.  I opted for the sea scallop appetizer plus beef tenderloin AND zucchini spring rolls in filo pastry [I only order vegetarian options as side dishes...].  Everyone at the table (save Audrey) had chocolate dome for dessert.  It was disappointing.  Otherwise, the food was good.

[Host Jazzbeau]

September 22, 2023 – Guimarães

 

Autumn in Portugal.  We left Porto and are now docked in Entre-os-Rios (means ‘between two rivers’).  It rained early and was foggy, but that is the usual state of affairs in this area of Portugal.  It is the rainiest part of the country.  However, although it was cool (around 60), it never rained on us.

 

The granite industry reigned around here and is still a major employer.

 

We are in the Vino Verde region.  Even with small plots of land, residents employ a self-sufficient style of agriculture growing their own vegetables, grape vines, small animals for their own use.

 

It took us over an hour by coach to reach our tour destination for the morning— Guimarães.  (It turns out Scenic owns the buses that will follow us up and down the river throughout the cruise.  Comfortable.  Lots of leg room.  Storage overhead.  Restroom equipped.)

 

We spotted the Ducal Palace up on the hill – the residence of the first Dukes.  Its intermediary floor has been turned into a museum.  Granite is evident everywhere—walls, floors…  And roofs were designed like the wooden keel of a boat.

 

1 Guimarães - Ducal Palace

 

2 Guimarães - Ducal Palace

 

We visited the Salão dos Passos Perdidos, with a beautiful tapestry.

 

3 Guimarães - Ducal Palace - Salão dos Passos Perdidos

 

The Salão de Banquetes is a huge room with one long table expanse comprised of nine sizable tables abutting one another.  Diners ate on only one side, with servants bringing food and drink from the other.  Several guests ate out of one large dish.  Wine was served in lead based pitchers.  Replicas of huge tapestries hang on the walls.  There are fine examples of Chinese porcelain and Middle Eastern rugs.

 

4 Guimarães - Ducal Palace - Salão de Banquetes

 

We walked through huge halls for gathering many people, to smaller rooms for private dining, studies, sleeping….  We walked up stairs to the well-appointed but tasteful Capela with modern stained glass windows.

 

5 Guimarães - Ducal Palace - Sala dos Contadores

 

6 Guimarães - Ducal Palace - Sala de Comer Íntima

 

7 Guimarães - Ducal Palace - Capela

 

8 Guimarães - Ducal Palace - Capela

 

The Salão Nobre and St. Michael’s Chamber have high arched ceilings like the inside of a boat – and always tapestries, and beautiful carpets, and fancy Chinese cabinets and vases.

 

9 Guimarães - Ducal Palace - Salão Nobre

 

10 Guimarães - Ducal Palace - Salão Nobre

 

11 Guimarães - Ducal Palace - St. Michael's Chamber

 

12 Guimarães - Ducal Palace - St. Michael's Chamber

 

Leaving the palace, we headed downhill and stopped briefly to see the first fire alarm system.  It was a plaque with a listing of all the parishes and a number next to each which represented how many times a bell cord should be pulled to alert citizens to danger (fire?) in that area.

 

 13 Guimarães - Fire Alarm Bell Tower

 

14 Guimarães - Fire Alarm Menu

 

We passed the Carmo Convent the beautiful courtyard of the Lar de Santa Estefania, and headed to the town square (Largo do Toural) where we had free time to explore the area.  Some headed for gelato.  

 

15 Guimarães - Lar de Santa Estefania

 

16 Guimarães - Largo do Toural

 

Surprisingly, we passed on the gelato and continued walking past more beautiful courtyards and modern sculptures.

 

17 Guimarães - Museu Alberto Sampaio

 

18 Guimarães - Dom Afonso Henriques

 

We popped into Santa Casa da Misericordia de Guimarães, built in the 1600s.  Bright inside and well maintained, its decorations were heavy-handed stone work that seemed as if they could fall off the walls onto congregants below.

 

19 Guimarães - Santa Casa da Misericordia

 

20 Guimarães - Santa Casa da Misericordia

 

We met our bus near Igreja de São Gualter (St. Walter) and returned late to the ship which was waiting to leave for Peso da Régua.

 

21 Guimarães - Igreja de São Gualter

 

We hurried down to lunch as there was only a half hour left.  I chose the perch with potatoes and green beans and a profiterole for dessert.  DW had a tossed salad, two shrimp tempura, some cheese with quince jam.

 

We sat and chatted with Dave and Vera at lunch and then again at 3:00 for a Portuguese lesson with Miguel.  In the interim Scenic Azure passed through the Carrapatelo lock (the highest) – we saw it very clearly from the rear window and side balcony of our panoramic cabin – and docked in Peso da Régua.

 

22 Peso da Régua

 

23 Peso da Régua

 

We both took short naps before I hurried off to Phillip II’s tour talk.  Then at 5:30 pm, we all headed off the ship [we were now rafted to an AMA ship] to walk up to the Douro Museum, which explains the landscape, industry, and culture of the Douro valley.  There are models of rabelo boats, traditional costumes and musical instruments, lots of exhibits relating to the production of Port wine, and a film showing the hard work and dangers of producing and shipping Port in this harsh landscape.  I enjoyed it.

 

24 Peso da Régua - Douro Museum - Rabelo Boat

 

25 Peso da Régua - Douro Museum

 

26 Peso da Régua - Douro Museum

 

27 Peso da Régua - Douro Museum

 

DW had broken from the crowd and walked over two miles out to the old pedestrian bridge and back to the ship, which was now at dockside as AMA had pulled out.  The main drag had empty shops or wine shops (for tasting and buying) and restaurants.  DW took the upper one-way road on the return and there encountered small active businesses—shoe stores, clothing shops, groceries, appliance repair, pharmacies, opticians…  Parking enforcement agents were busy handing out infraction slips after 6 pm.

 

She enjoyed watching a power struggle between waterfowl on the local small-craft dock.  One duck was shooing away all comers – including a larger duck or goose – and maintaining its sovereignty over 120’ of walkway.  However, this meant that he missed out on the locals feeding all the other birds with leftover bread.  But power/control is everything!

 

I broke away from the museum tour and returned to our cabin around 6:50 pm to get ready for a special invitation-only dinner for suite guests—Table d’Or.  An interesting menu:

•  Couvert: individual olive breads, olive tapenade and truffle butter

•  Chef’s Welcome: tuna tataki nest (like a tiny bird’s nest)

•  Warm Ocean Appetizer: zamburinhas (Portuguese scallops)

•  Portuguese Soup: broad beans cream soup

•  Sorbet:  sparkling wine sorbet with forest berries

•  From the Earth: beef tournedo on truffle crouton with brown truffle gravy, seared foie gras, forest mushroom risotto, baby vegetables

•  Of Our Mountain: serra da estrela (goat cheese) brulée topped with a caramelized walnut half and pumpkin jam

•  Dessert: abade da priscos Portuguese conventual pudim (caramel gelatin square), lemon confit, melon ice cream, shortbread crumble

•  Finale:  pralinés & petit fours and espresso/cappuccino/etc.

 

The paired of wines (all Portuguese) were:

•  Aperitif: Elpídio Superior Bruto sparking (São Domingos)

•  White: Couquinho Superior (Quinta do Couquinho, Douro)

•  Red: Post Scriptum (Prats & Symington, Douro)

•  Port: Ferreira Late Bottled Vintage Port (Douro)

 

The head butler, Alexandra knew DW didn’t drink so she kept topping off her still water.  (Miguel was the other butler on duty at this dinner.)

 

Our dinner companions were Phil and Chris from Tasmania, Edwin and Jennie from England near Wales,  Derek and Audrey from Melbourne, and Roger and Christy (U.S.?).

[Host Jazzbeau]

Saturday September 23, 2023 – Mateus

 

We are staying a second night in Peso da Régua.  We woke up to clear blue skies.  We had no touring plans for this morning so DW slept till 8 and I till 11 [this is one thing I'm really good at...]  DW took a short walk (1.2 miles) to find the church we’d be attending this evening for Mass.  Found!

 

We went to lunch when the dining room opened at 12:30 pm, but I went back up to the lounge to get pizza (which was disappointing) and an Asian noodle vegetable dish that Alexandra added chili sauce and sesame seeds to (which I liked).  I also enjoyed a roast beef/cheddar sandwich from the lounge.  DW had a tossed salad, some sliced turkey breast and berry gravy from the carving station, and two types of cheese with jam.  She finished it off with half a scoop of mango sorbet.  It was all good as was our company, Dave and Vera.

 

All of us headed out at 1:45 pm to the Scenic Coach for our ride to the Palácio de Mateus (as in the famous rosé wine).  The Mateus estate in its heyday had the equivalent of 400 soccer fields of vines in production.  Today there is a palace and formal gardens that you can visit.

 

1 Mateus Palace

 

2 Mateus Palace

 

3 Mateus Palace

 

4 Mateus Palace

 

We had an extensive tour of the first-floor rooms.  [The upstairs is used by the head of the foundation, who must reside there for at least six months of the year to keep that position.]

 

The Palace was finished in 1733.  The first room we entered had a chestnut ceiling in the Baroque style.  It seems that Christians at that time felt anything new might be the work of the devil so Baroque was frowned upon at first.  Chestnut wood was used because it was solid, strong and resistant to termites.  In this room was a beautifully preserved harpsichord that could be played, and two sedan chairs.

 

We then entered our guide’s favorite room, the Library.  It had been renovated in 1930 and many of the beautiful multicolor leather bound books had tiny strips of paper sticking up out of them, which showed they have been digitized.  About half the tomes were in French and Latin.  The ceiling was very tall, as were the shelves.  A library ladder was discreetly hidden in a wall pocket, to give access to the higher shelves.

 

5 Mateus Palace - Library

 

The most important books were in a glass display case.  They were oversized copies of Os Lusiadas de L. De Camoes.  Usually translated as The Lusiads, it is a Portuguese epic poem written by Luis Vaz de Camoes and first published in 1572.  It is widely regarded as the most important work of Portuguese-language literature and is frequently compared to Virgil’s Aeneid.

 

We moved on to the Smoking Room where the men/diplomats would meet to discuss policy and smoke their cigars.  It was also called the Room of Blue Porcelain because it had many pieces of 18th-century Chinese ware on display.  Many of the rooms have beautifully-carved walnut ceilings.

 

6 Mateus Palace - Smoking Room

 

It didn’t end there because we then entered the Dining Room with more of that china plus sterling silver pieces from England and Portugal.  This blue ware sent the message to guests that the hosts were “someone special.”  The lady of the house had to show she was in charge and ran a smooth operation.  Where she sat at table was a floor buzzer that she could tap with her foot to summon the help to begin serving the meal [like magic...]

 

7 Mateus Palace - Dining Room

 

We then proceeded into the Waiting Room where guests could cool their heels waiting for the owners to summon them into cozier chambers.  On the small but solid table in the center was a very large Spanish plate dating from the 15th century.

 

8 Mateus Palace - Waiting Room

 

One of the last rooms to view was the Lady’s Room.  It was the most important place in this palace as this was where the woman of the house ran everything.  She was the one home 24/7, unlike her husband who might be gone for months tending business in Brazil.  There was beautiful and unusual furniture with ivory inlays, iridescent tops, cases that could be carried and secured on trips and used as desks.

 

9 Mateus Palace - Lady's Room

 

10 Mateus Palace - Lady's Room

 

The final area in-house was the Museum of Sacred Art where there were two glass wall cases of saints’ relics.  There was a large display called the Machine (although it didn’t move, it gave the illusion of things in motion) that depicted the birth, death and resurrection of Christ.  It reminded me of the Italian nativity art scenes known as presidios.  There were also  priest’s vestments that took years of handwork but might only have been used a few times for special weddings or baptisms.

 

11 Mateus Palace - Museum of Sacred Art

 

12 Mateus Palace - Museum of Sacred Art

 

Our guide was able to get us a special entrance to the Chapel where there was a mummified body of St. Mark.  [And he kept shooing out other visitors, just like the duck in Peso da Régua...]

 

13 Mateus Palace - Chapel

 

14 Mateus Palace - Chapel

 

15 Mateus Palace - Chapel

 

We had about 15 minutes to wander around the Garden.  There were some grape vines, olive trees, lots of  trimmed boxwood hedges and some very fragrant roses in bloom.

 

16 Mateus Palace - Gardens

 

17 Mateus Palace - Gardens

 

18 Mateus Palace - Gardens

 

19 Mateus Palace - Gardens

 

There was a large reflecting pool at the entrance to the palace grounds.  In one corner in the water was a sculpture of a reclining nude, created by João Cutileiro in 1981.

 

20 Mateus Palace - Reflecting Pool

 

21 Mateus Palace - Reclining Nude by João Cutileiro (1981)

 

Back on the coach and we were on Scenic Azure before 5 pm.

 

At 6:20, DW and I left the ship and walked uphill to Capela do Cruzeiro for 6:30 Mass in Portuguese.  It was well attended.  My guess is that we were the only Anglos there.

 

Afterwards we hurried down to the ship and slipped in late to the dining room.  We sat with Gil and Eileen for dinner.  We both had smoked duck breast and asparagus to start.  Everyone at the table ordered the roasted pork tenderloin except for DW, who went to the ‘everyday’ menu and ordered a sirloin steak and fries.  Everybody was happy with their choice. For dessert we had vanilla panna cotta with forest berries ice cream.  Yum!

 

At 9:30, we went to the Scenic Azure Lounge for a very entertaining performance by the VIP Duo (violin and piano).  They started with a couple of classical pieces before launching into contemporary ones that we could sway to and sing along with – like YMCA, Sweet Caroline, Mamma Mia, Waterloo, I Will Survive.  They played for a full hour.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Sunday September 24, 2023 – full day cruising

 

A beautiful day!  Sun and low 80s.  DW walked along the shore of the Douro toward the three bridges (2+ miles round-trip).  She returned just in time for the raising of the gangway.  [The captain departed ahead of schedule – keeping up her record of being 'passenger zero' !!!]

 

We went down to lunch.  The Chef’s carving board special today was sea salt-encrusted whole salmon (he used 3.5 kg of salt per fish).  He removed the salty crust and served the fish.  [We have had this before and found it dry and salty – but this was moist and delicious!]  I also had bowtie pasta with cheese; DW a tossed salad.  She tried a small piece of sardine (it was as she remembered from childhood – Eww!) and two small meat samosas (nice but no better than Trader Joe’s vegetable ones).

 

After lunch we joined one of two teams competing in a general knowledge quiz.  Ours won and the prize was a bottle of Mateus rosé which no one wanted.  [They had won the previous time, so since we were the newbies they stuck me with it and it spent the rest of the cruise in our mini fridge.]

 

At 3 pm there was a cheese and charcuterie tasting plus a red and a white wine.

 

As today was a full day cruising the Douro Valley’s Vinhateiro wine growing region, we went up to the sun deck to enjoy the passing scenery, as did many others.  I took some pictures and DW walked laps.  She took a break to come down for a drink and a rest, then returned to pass her 10,000 step goal.

 

1 Cruising the Vinhateiro region of the Douro

 

2 Cruising the Vinhateiro region of the Douro

 

 

3 Cruising the Vinhateiro region of the Douro [movie]

 

4 Cruising the Vinhateiro region of the Douro

 

Phillip II talked to us at 6:30 about endangered bird species and about the Salamanca trip tomorrow.

 

We went down to dinner and sat with Liz and Bob from Norwich and a couple from Australia.  I had a smoked salmon Caesar salad and sirloin steak/fries.  DW had goat cheese with mesclun greens and a skewer of veal with veggies.  We both had the same Portuguese dessert (a bar of a dense, moist cake covered with cinnamon) and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

 

Since we were nearing the Spanish border, Scenic arranged for three female students from Clara’s School of Flamenco Dancing to give us a colorful and passionate Flamenco performance. They did well.

 

5 Flamenco Performance on Scenic Azure

 

Scenic Azure passed through three locks today: Bagauste, Valeira, and Pocinho.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Monday September 25, 2023 – Salamanca, Spain

 

Another lovely day!  Sunny and high 70s/low 80s.

 

We’re off on Scenic Coach #1 for a full day: 9:00-6:00 for a visit to Salamanca, Spain, a city as visually striking as it is historically intriguing.  From humble beginnings during the Iron Age to darker times, such as the economic crises and the War of the Spanish Succession, Salamanca has been shaped over time to become the fascinating beauty it is today.

 

Our ride there took 2.5 hours including a rest stop at Casa Cornado, replete with hanging Iberian hams.

 

The coach crossed the bridge into Spain, then passed through the village of La Fregeneda with its chapel of Santiago and its collection of solar panels that rotate like sunflowers seeking the rays of the sun.  In this area, plane trees line the sidewalks.  Ines (our tour guide for this trip) brought us a small branch of the Holm Oak, an evergreen.

 

As Nonu drove us closer to our destination, we saw fields of tan cows, others with dark brown ones, some that were integrated.  Still others with a few horses or lots of merino sheep.

 

Since winters are so windy, owners of these orchards trim the tops of the trees to avoid damage and to encourage them to branch out making their crops easier to harvest and giving the wildlife a shady place to hunker down in the heat.

 

Acres of sunflowers were now fading after being harvested for their oil to use for cooking and for biofuel.

 

Closing in on the walled city of Salamanca, we drove among warehouses.  Since there is no major rail service inside, small businesses store their goods in these buildings and ship small amounts to the stores as needed.

 

1 Salamanca, Spain

 

 

The universities in Salamanca have 30,000 students.  These young people and their visitors are a driving force in the local economy, as are tourism and the production and sale of Iberian ham.

 

Nonu dropped us off as close as he could to the walls of the city.  Our two buses were divided into three tour groups.  We met our local guide, Carmen, who made some introductory remarks before taking us into the covered Market.  Its windows are stunning and are in imitation of those of the Art Nouveau Museum (Museo Art Nouveau y Art Deco).  As we entered we didn’t notice the usual overwhelming fish smell, because they don’t have those stalls open on Mondays as no one has done commercial fishing on Sunday.

 

2 Salamanca - Market

 

3 Salamanca - Market

 

We walked around some of the stalls and stopped at a butcher’s case with Iberian hams hanging above.  The most expensive was 399 Euros for one ham from an authentic Iberian pig who was fed a restricted diet of acorns.  We each got a snack to sample some ham, a wedge of cheese and freshly baked bread.

 

4 Salamanca - Market

 

5 Salamanca - Market

 

6 Salamanca - Market

 

Eaten in record breaking time, we were on our way to Plaza Mayor, “Spain’s ultimate plaza.”  It is a harmonious design, carved from the lemony local sandstone called piedra de Villamayor which is easy to carve when first quarried but then hardens and becomes very durable.  The unique style, with intricately carved details, has become known for its designers as Churrigueresque.  The plaza has a monument to Alberto Churriguera, for whom the style is named.

 

7 Salamanca – Plaza Mayor

 

8 Salamanca – Plaza Mayor - Town Hall

 

9 Salamanca – Plaza Mayor Gate

 

10 Salamanca - Monument to Alberto Churriguera and Conde Francos

 

Leaving the plaza we got a peek at the top and back of Iglesia de San Martín de Tours, which originally stood alone but is now so crowded with residences and businesses that only the front is exposed.

 

11 Salamanca - Iglesia de San Martín de Tours

 

12 Salamanca - Iglesia de San Martín de Tours

 

We headed down Calle Rúa Mayor, the main drag connecting Plaza Mayor with the city’s religious and academic institutions.  Out first stop was La Clerecía Church and its towers, aka the “Stairway to Heaven.”  The twin spires offer a bird’s-eye-view of the city and a panorama of the Old and New Cathedrals.  This church was originally built for the Jesuits and used to instruct young men studying for the priesthood.  Today it is part of the secular university.

 

13 Salamanca - La Clerecía

 

Across the street is the Casa de la Conchas (House of Shells).  The exterior is covered with more than 300 scallop shells of St. James [honoring the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route from Madrid to Galicia]; inside is the public library.

 

14 Salamanca - House of Shells

 

15 Salamanca - House of Shells

 

We continued down Calle Rúa Mayor to the University of Salamanca, the oldest in Spain (est. 1218).  As we looked at the grand entrance façade, which is ornately decorated in the Plateresque style [resembling fine jewelry], our guide set us to find a tiny frog that students consider a good luck charm.  [I found it easily, because Rick Steves had told me where it is!]

 

16 Salamanca - University - entrance façade

 

17 Salamanca - University - frog on skull

 

18 Salamanca - University - frog on skull

 

We passed one classroom at ground level with the windows wide open.  There was a science class in session, with an instructor who didn’t look much older than his students.

 

Our guide also pointed out medieval graffiti celebrating the successful defense of PhD theses.  [photos wouldn't load]

 

We next visited Salamanca’s twin Cathedrals.  First up was the ‘new’ cathedral, constructed 1513-1733.  It was put right next to the town’s 12th-century Romanesque ‘old’ cathedral.  The two buildings share buttresses, and you can only enter the old one through the new one.

 

19 Salamanca

 

20 Salamanca - Catedral Nueva

 

As we approached, our guide pointed out the Plateresque main façade and gave us another task: to find the astronaut that was added by a capricious restorer in 1993.  [She didn’t mention it, but Rick Steves had alerted me to look for a nearby dragon that looks like it’s either eating an ice-cream cone or singing karaoke...]

 

21 Salamanca - Catedral Nueva - main façade

 

22 Salamanca - Catedral Nueva - main façade

 

23 Salamanca - Catedral Nueva - astronaut

 

24 Salamanca - Catedral Nueva - dragon

 

The Catedral Nueva is a towering mix of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque, with a.  The interior is vast and majestic but lacks the famous art that enhances others in Spain.  This one has fancy stone trim and a beautifully decorated dome.  Its choir is filled with ornately carved woodwork.

 

25 Salamanca - Catedral Nueva

 

26 Salamanca - Catedral Nueva

 

27 Salamanca - Catedral Nueva

 

28 Salamanca - Catedral Nueva

 

29 Salamanca - Catedral Nueva

 

We then dropped down into the Catedral Vieja.  Sitting in the front pew, one can study the altarpiece’s 53 scenes from the life of Christ and his Mother.  They surround a statue of the Virgin of the Valley.  High above is a dramatic Last Judgment fresco.

 

30 Salamanca - Catedral Vieja

 

31 Salamanca - Catedral Vieja

 

32 Salamanca - Catedral Vieja

 

We exited to the street, where Carmen bid us farewell and turned us loose for some free time.

 

The two of us decided to visit the Art Nouveau Museum, a stunning collection of art nouveau works housed in a building from the same architectural era.  As you enter the main hall/atrium and look up, you are stunned by the beauty of the stained glass ceiling/skylight.  We really enjoyed most of the art on display in the 19 themed exhibits.  We viewed porcelain, chryselephantine enamels [made from gold, ivory and other precious materials], art glass, bronzes, jewelry, fans, furniture, paintings.  [We did skip the rooms with dolls and toy figurines.]  There were beautiful pieces from Lalique, Tiffany, Preiss, Chinarus, and Émile Gallé.  Exiting the museum, we stepped away from the building to get a perspective of the stained glass on the beautiful main façade.  Very nice!

 

33 Salamanca - Art Nouveau Museum

 

34 Salamanca - Art Nouveau Museum

 

35 Salamanca - Art Nouveau Museum

 

36 Salamanca - Art Nouveau Museum

 

37 Salamanca - Art Nouveau Museum

 

[We opted not to walk all the way down the hill to the Roman Bridge and the Río Tormes because it was too hot to walk back up, especially when we were hungry and tired.]

 

With help with directions from a young local woman, we found our way over to the Church of San Esteban.  The city’s second church sits a few blocks east of the Cathedrals.  Unfortunately, it was locked up for siesta!  So I took photos of the Plateresque façade with a bas relief of the stoning of St. Stephen, and a Crucifixion by Cellini.  The nearby Convento de las Duenas was also closed for siesta, so we couldn’t buy amarguillos sweets from the nuns.

 

38 Salamanca - Igreja de San Esteban

 

39 Salamanca - Igreja de San Esteban

 

40 Salamanca - Igreja de San Esteban

 

41 Salamanca - Igreja de San Esteban

 

We made our way uphill to Plaza Mayor and looked for the recommended Bambu tapas restaurant, but it was also closed for siesta.  Getting desperately hungry now, we went back to the main square and found the Art Nouveau Café Novelty, where I ordered croquettas and DW a ham/cheese sandwich.  We devoured them [it was 3 pm!], but skipped the fries that came on the side.  We rested there awhile, then toddled off towards Bico de Xeado for gelato.  They had Café for DW, and Dulce de Leche for me.  We finished them in time to board the bus back to Scenic Azure.

 

42 Salamanca - Café Novelty

 

43 Salamanca - Café Novelty

 

44 Salamanca - Café Novelty

 

We were supposed to have docked in Vega de Terron, just over the Spanish border – but for some reason that wasn’t possible so we were close by but still in Portugal at Barca D’Alva.  That gave Phillip #2 the opportunity to take our picture with an azulejo mural commemorating the Douro railway, and for me to take a gorgeous shot of the Admiral Sarmento Rodrigues Bridge over the Douro.  [Phillip told me it’s his favorite view on the Douro, and I agree.  Entered into the Scenic Azure photo contest, it won second place!]

 

45 Barca D'Alva - Admiral Sarmento Rodrigues Bridge

 

We returned to the ship by 6 pm and Captain Pedro immediately took off for Pocinho.  As we returned to our room, we met our butler Alexandra who said she had left us a special eggplant, cheese and sundried tomato hors d’oeuvres.  I asked her for a white port/tonic [recommended by a poster on Cruise Critic] and enjoyed that.  DW ate two of the hors d’.  Nice but rich!

 

At 7 pm we descended to the dining room and sat with Dave/Vera and Paul/Joy.  DW had a green salad and lamb shank.  I skipped the first course went straight to the John Dory.  We both enjoyed the Portuguese version of Tarte de Santiagocake, accompanied by pistachio ice cream.

 

I returned to the cabin while DW went up to the Horizon Deck for Dancing Under the Douro Stars with whomever you liked.  She started out with Vicky, but after several numbers decided it was wise to return to the cabin as well.

 

A really full day – but worth it!

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Tuesday September 26, 2023 – Fraxo de Numao

 

Blessed with another nice day, we had a little later start.  Our coach pulled out from our dock in Pocinho at 10 am for the Tastes of the Côa Valley tour including a visit to Casa Painova for a sweet almond workshop and a tasting of their almond, olive and fruit products.  The drive to the small village of 600 inhabitants took less than a half hour despite the very twisty roads.

 

We had barely pulled away from the river when we passed replicas of rock art engravings [no photos – I must have been getting my beauty sleep until we arrived at the village!]

 

Looking down on the Douro we could see a dam not so far away that supplies 633 gigawatts of hydropower a year.

 

We crossed over inactive train tracks and soon saw the last active train station on the Douro line.  There are perhaps six trains a day from Pocinho to Porto.  The track from here to Salamanca has been allowed to decay and neither Portugal nor Spain is willing to spend what it would take to restore it.  Symbolic of this decay was a rusty locomotive.

 

Nearby was a large storage facility with barrels and stainless vats.  This was a wine cooperative for growers of small sized vineyards.

 

We passed ash trees, believed to be sacred because of their strength and healing power.

 

The coach climbed higher and we were in this fertile valley of olive, almond, peach, cherry trees.  There were 17,000 hectares of almond trees.  After being planted, it takes five to six years for them to begin producing nuts.  Their production span is about 40 years.

 

Round, white structures from centuries ago were seen occasionally.  These were called pigeon houses because they attracted and kept pigeons safe from bigger birds of prey – and collected their droppings which were used for organic manure in the fields.  Broth was made from the birds themselves for health/medicinal purposes.

 

We arrived in the small village, Fraxo de Numao and were greeted by a local tour guide, Mr. Lapao.  He was a resident and knew their history.  He had a strong voice which we were happy since the Scenic Tailormade app was not working well.

 

1 Fraxo de Numão

 

He led us around the village pointing out a Baroque manor house and its chapel next door.  It seems that some Roman ruins were found under their floors.  We saw less pretentious homes built centuries ago in granite.  Even though they had access to schist/slate, these were built of granite as it was easier to work and would last.  He pointed out several buildings including the Romanesque-style village church, dedicated to St. Peter.

 

2 Fraxo de Numão - manor house

 

3 Fraxo de Numão - granite house

 

4 Fraxo de Numão - village church

 

In the nearby plaza was a Baroque-style monument, a pelourinho or pillory.  Not an instrument for public punishment but rather a symbol of local autonomy.  On the square was a large building formerly the Town Hall but now a private establishment.

 

5 Fraxo de Numão - pillory

 

Walking down a side street we visited a small chapel.  The wooden ceiling was in need of repair but it seems that the last heir of the chapel gave it up and the local church now owns it but needs more funding to fix it.

 

6 Fraxo de Numão - Chapel

 

7 Fraxo de Numão - Chapel

 

8 Fraxo de Numão - Chapel

 

We arrived at Casa Painova.  Like many houses in Portuguese villages this one has been left to several family members together, and they don’t always agree on upkeep.  So you can see that the branch that owns the left half has keep it nicely maintained, while the other side of the family has let their part molder.

 

9 Fraxo de Numão - Casa Painova

 

We had to divide into two smaller groups to fit inside.  Our group started with a tour of the first floor of the house, which was built in 1652.  Then we went out into the patio/garden where we were given a glass of their own port wine and watched Dona Isabel show how she coats raw almonds using ½ cup water, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup almonds and some cinnamon (or it could be ginger, coconut, lemon, orange, or chocolate).  They certainly tasted good and small packets of them were for sale along with their olive oil and honey.  [You could also buy their homemade Port wine, but you can’t bring it home because they aren’t registered for export.]

 

10 Fraxo de Numão - Casa Painova

 

11 Fraxo de Numão - Dona Isabel

 

We walked back to the bus which was parked near a statue of St. John the Baptist.

 

12 Fraxo de Numão - John the Baptist

 

Once we were all back onboard Scenic Azure, the Captain pulled away from the dock and headed toward the locks where we waited till our assigned time.

 

Meanwhile there was a BBQ lunch on the Horizon Deck, with sausage, chorizo, chicken, ribs and pork loin, plus potatoes, a mix of vegetables and a large salad bar.  Wait staff brought around water, beer, wine and eventually ice cream/sorbet for dessert.

 

DW did three sets of laps around the top deck at different times in the afternoon to reach her 10,000 steps.

 

At one point the two of us went to a cooking demonstration given by Chef Gabriel and pastry chef Ernesto.  They showed how to make Pasteis de Nata.  It seemed to be the Belem recipe.  Fresh and yummy.  Then they passed out little dark chocolate cups filled with ginjinha cherry liquor.

 

Here’s the recipe for Pasteis de Nata:

 

More walking for DW – very hot!  She had to come down for a rest as the crew flattened the top deck for a low clearance coming up.  She had some water and took a nap, then returned upstairs for her third go round and to finish up for the day.  She took some videos and chatted a bit before coming down to get ready for the port talk and dinner.

 

We had the Portobellos dinner this evening.  Everybody gets invited to this once per cruise, in small groups on different nights.  We were assigned a table with Liz/Bob and a couple from BC.

 

The Menu was:

•  Couvert:  regional breads (cornbread, brown bread) and olive oil [no cover charge, unlike Portuguese restaurants!]

•  Petiscos:  marinated olives and cherry tomatoes, octopus salad, paprika cheese, prosciutto, chorizo, tuna toast, croquettes

•  Petiscos quente:  clams in garlic, white wine, coriander, herbs, crostini

•  Sopa:  Argarve fish soup (fish broth with monk fish and sea bass)

•  Prato principal:  Bife a Portuguesa (sliced beef tenderloin, crispy prosciutto, punch potatoes & garlic, sautéed turnip greens)

•  Dessert:  Sobremesas tipicas (leite crème, tarte de Amendoa, pudim de ovos)

•  Cheese:  Queijos Regionais with quince marmalade, grapes, walnuts

 

It was a lovely meal and at the end, we could hear the entertainment from the front of the Scenic Azure Lounge—the Pina Brothers playing Portuguese music and Miguel’s encouraging the audience to participate.

 

We are docked in Pinhão for the next two nights.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Wednesday September 27, 2023 – Provesende and Pinhão

 

A full day!  Started out in low 60s but hit mid 80s in the middle of the afternoon.  A little hazy!

 

Off we went on Scenic Coach #3 at 8:50 to the village of Provesende, a picturesque spot in the country.

 

Leaving Pinhão, we passed the railroad bridge and the pedestrian one.  Our ride to Provesende was all uphill and very twisty.  Our driver was very cautious as there were minimal guardrails or none at all.  We stopped for photos at the Miradouro São Cristovão.

 

1 Miradouro São Cristovão

 

2 Miradouro São Cristovão

 

A half hour later we were at the bus station in Provesende.  We started walking downhill and our first stop was the firehouse.  Although the trucks weren’t as big and elaborate as what we have come to know, there were many of them.  Not only do the workers put out fires, they also drive senior citizens to doctor appointments, etc.  

 

They had a classic truck and a really old wooden fire cart on display, and a stuffed mascot (“Júlio, Fireman”) was on the dashboard of a current vehicle.  The mascot dog (a big black older hound) was zonked out on the stoop.

 

3 Provesende - Firehouse

 

4 Provesende - Firehouse

 

5 Provesende - Firehouse

 

We continued along that main street and came to the Church of St. John the Baptist where we all sat on the wooden pews.  The organist played for us and we applauded her.  The church had an arched wood plank ceiling delicately painted in folk art-style with the scene of Christ’s baptism in an oval frame of blue and rose hues.  There were four confessionals all now being used as closets.  Freshly harvested crops were on the side altars.

 

6 Provesende - Church of St. John the Baptist

 

7 Provesende - Church of St. John the Baptist

 

8 Provesende - Church of St. John the Baptist

 

9 Provesende - Church of St. John the Baptist

 

We walked to the small town square where Backroads vans were unloading bicycles for one of their tour groups [no thanks!]  

 

Provesende has two major claims to fame. First is the famous Padaria Fátima bakery, in operation since 1940.  Adjacent to a baroque fountain dating back to 1755 in the main square, the building was constructed from the remains of an olive press, with the millstones built into the walls.  Here, in the single wood-fired oven, are baked the approximately 200 loaves per day that draw locals and tourists from all over.

 

There is one baker who works from 5-9 am baking hearty white bread and whole grain, too.  Some of it is sold at the counter but most is loaded into his van and he becomes a mobile market driving his inventory around to the nearby villages.  Sometimes the baker and his wife and an assistant make bola which is a savory bread stuffed with meat, cheese, veggies…

 

We walked up toward the TI and there was a pillory outside it.  This one had evidence of being used for public punishment and humiliation.  It had an iron ring to which the offender would be attached and one could see the erosion of the granite where the feet of all the accused would have worn it out.

 

10 Provesende - Pillory

 

We walked down a side road and passed an alley filled with plants, some of which were in old toilets now being used as planters.  We reached our destination showing Provesende’s other claim to fame:  a plaque of a man considered a saintbecause he figured out how to stop the blight/plague of the dreaded phylloxera brought from the Americas and responsible for the loss of 85% of the Portuguese vines.  Dr. Joaquim Pinheiro de Azevedo Leite Pereira came up with the idea of grafting Portuguese vines onto the roots of American vines that had developed immunity.  This technique was adopted throughout Europe to revive the wine industry, and every drop of Old World wine we drink is thanks to Dr. Pereira’s invention.

 

11 Provesende - Dr. Joaquim Pinheiro de Azevedo Leite Pereira

 

Backtracking a bit we came to Provesende’s most notable attraction – the Morgadio Da Calçada manor house – sitting at the western edge of the village.  We entered the lobby of this centuries-old building and sitting in the middle was an older man who had been hand-making baskets for 50 years.  (Younger members of his family had no interest in continuing this trade.)

 

12 Provesende - Morgadio Da Calçada

 

13 Provesende - Morgadio Da Calçada

 

14 Provesende - Morgadio Da Calçada

 

After a tour of the manor house we were led into the ground-floor tasting room, which looks like a barn.  Inside the entrance, two car-sized antique wine casks – one on each side – funnel visitors in single file through the narrow space until they reach the long communal table beyond, where the Port is poured.

 

15 Provesende - Morgadio Da Calçada

 

16 Provesende - Morgadio Da Calçada

 

17 Provesende - Morgadio Da Calçada

 

The youngest family member, Manuel, gave a history of the building and the wine making through the years and how in the past century, no one lived close enough to give it their full attention.  His grandfather, a doctor, started to come up on weekends.  Then his father decided to give some time and eventually moved in full-time as did Manuel after a while.  They used to grow grapes for others but now have vineyards for their own production.  They also have fixed up the manor house and live there and use it as a B&B.

 

[no pictures of the wine tasting – I was too busy tasting wine!]

 

We returned to the ship around 12:45 pm.  I got sandwiches (Portuguese pork and a roast beef) from the lounge and brought them down to the dining room.  I had tangerine sorbet for dessert.  DW made a salad and had three shrimp tempura and had a small syrup-soaked pastry.

 

We then walked over the pedestrian bridge into town to the famous Pinhão train station to see the scenic tiles covering the outside of the building.  It is a set of 24 panels constructed with a total of 3024 individual tiles.  These images of the landscape of the Douro Valley and the traditional workers of the area were installed in 1937.

 

18 Pinhão

 

19 Pinhão - Train Station

 

20 Pinhão - Train Station

 

21 Pinhão - Train Station

 

22 Pinhão - Train Station

 

23 Pinhão - Train Station

 

24 Pinhão - Train Station

 

25 Pinhão - Train Station – reed ‘raincoats’

 

26 Pinhão - Train Station

 

27 Pinhão - Train Station

 

At 3:45 we were back on a Scenic Coach heading to Quinta da Roêda to the Croft winery for a tour and tasting of two of their ports.  [They make four types]  In his presentation, the guide told us that they produce nine million bottles a year.  However, because of the extremely dry conditions lately, they lost half their crop this season.  He told us that in a small percentage of production, people still stomp the grapes in a big concrete vat with their (clean) feet.  The remainder is stomped on in a deeper vat by robots.  [He didn’t mention if the robots’ feet are clean...]  He also showed us a very short video demonstrating the vine grafting used to prevent phylloxera.

 

28 Quinta da Roêda (Croft)

 

29 Quinta da Roêda (Croft)

 

30 Quinta da Roêda (Croft)

 

The gift store had an example of the reed ‘raincoats’ the harvesters wore.

 

31 Quinta da Roêda (Croft) – reed ‘raincoat’

 

The port drinkers among us were disappointed in their two samples and liked what was available on Scenic Azure better.

 

The coach backtracked to our dock.  We passed Symington, which is a large British wine producer.  Others include Taylor, Sandeman, Cockburn.  At first, the English bought port from the Portuguese.  Then they decided to buy land and plant vines themselves.  Now they co-exist.

 

We passed big, white, stone wine vats dubbed Ginas after the actress Gina Lollobrigida because they resemble her voluptuous bosoms.  [This Italian star died this year.]

 

32 Pinhão – Ginas

 

Ines pointed out bushes of oleander and explained that they are poisonous so they are not used in home gardens but are planted along highways to absorb pollutants.

 

At 5:45 we were late reaching the ship.  Our bus parking spot was taken by a 50 year old red Bedford pickup truck that had broken down.  [We didn’t mind, because its bed was full of grapes so it was a living relic of past times of Douro wine production...]

 

33 Pinhão – Grape truck

 

At 6:30 we were in the lounge for the Captain’s cocktail reception with hors d’oeuvres.

 

Then eight of us invitees were escorted downstairs to the back of the Crystal dining room for dinner at the Captain’s Table.  The two of us chose Octopus Carpaccio and Tiger Prawns/Orange Coconut Jus for our appetizers.  These were followed by Lemon/Vodka Sorbet.  For the main course, DW had veal tenderloin and I had a trilogy of fish/seafood.  Dessert was Baked Alaska.  Plus petit fours.  There were two wines—white and red [both very good]

 

Then the Captain and Phillip #1 excused themselves from the table.  Phillip called all the crew members up to the dining room and talked about each by name.  The captain did likewise with his wheelhouse crew.

 

Then we were invited up to the lounge for a Crew Surprise Show.  They sang and formed a conga line encouraging guests to join them.  Then Miguel (enrichment officer) played music like Cotton Eye Joe and Macarena and more of the passengers joined in – but those young crew members could really move!  Of course, their knees weren’t shot!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thursday September 28, 2023 – back to Porto

 

We were at sea today.  [You don't hear that often on a river cruise!]  We left Pinhão at 7 am and didn’t dock in Porto until 4:30 pm.  Another beautiful day!

 

Because there were no tours while sailing, we could get up a little later [or in my case skip breakfast altogether!]  We also passed on the enrichment talk on the cork industry at 10 am but caught the port talk for tomorrow morning (three options to choose from) and the details relating to disembarkation for Saturday.  [Some guests are leaving as early as 4:30 am!]

 

Scenic arranges transfers for all passengers to airports, train stations, hotels.  The luggage going off ship gets color coded tags designating times of pickup, to prevent pile-ups.

 

We had some free time before lunch and then headed down to the dining room.  We both went for the large tiger shrimp sautéed in a tomato garlic sauce.  Tender and tasty!  DW had a salad and an olive roll with butter.  I decided to have two desserts instead of an accompaniment for the shrimp: lemon meringue tart, and mixed berries ice cream.

 

We then tried to spend our special Spa OBC (on board credit).  We didn’t want any spa services (facial, massage…), but we were told by one employee that we could buy spa products with the credit.  DW had picked out several items for family members.  However, it turned out that Spa OBC could only be used for spa services.  We pared down our purchase list and used up our regular OBC.

 

DW went up to the Horizon Deck and walked about a mile, but got interrupted a number of times by the passengers playing Corn Toss.  It got most of the guests topside laughing because these gamesters were not ready for prime time.  DW came down and did some puzzle pages and then napped.  After docking, she went for a mile and a half walk in Porto.  [I don’t remember what I did, but I’ll bet a nap had something to do with it...]

 

Dinner tonight was served at 6:30 pm and was a buffet, to expedite dining in preparation for the after-dinner event.  There was pork with chestnut gravy, hake with shrimp in curry sauce, a pasta dish.  Plenty of hors d’oeuvres: shrimp tempura, crab mousse, Portuguese sausage, stuffed mushrooms. I leaned toward the pork and DW to the hake.  She had a small chocolate iced orange cake and I had caramel custard with slivered almonds.

 

We went up to get ready for the evening outing—a Concert at São Francisco Church.  At 7:45 pm we all followed Phillip II over to the church.  Less than a ten minute walk, it is Porto’s most important 14th-century Gothic monument.  It is one of the most notable examples of Baroque architecture, with gilded interiors dating back to the 17th- and 18th-centuries.  Inside, one is overwhelmed by the quantity and exquisiteness of the gilded carved wood and not surprised to learn it is called the Church of Gold.  In 1910 it was designated a Portuguese National Monument and later in 1996, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

1 Porto Ribeira

 

2 Porto – São Francisco Church

 

3 Porto – São Francisco Church

 

4 Porto – São Francisco Church

 

5 Porto – São Francisco Church

 

6 Porto – São Francisco Church

 

7 Porto – São Francisco Church

 

8 Porto – São Francisco Church

 

9 Porto – São Francisco Church

 

The concert featured the Arc’duto String Quartet plus two singers – soprano and baritone.  There were 11 musical selections from Bach, Handel, Mozart and Shostakovich to Offenbach, Leonard Bernstein (Somewhere from West Side Story), Andrew Lloyd Webber (All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera).  The encore piece was Andrea Bocelli’s It’s Time to Say Goodbye.

 

10 Porto – Arc’duto String Quartet and singers

 

After strolling back along the Ribeira, we were back at Scenic Azure around 9:15.  There were no desserts in the River Café so DW grabbed a mug of chamomile tea and went back to our cabin.  We ate the two chocolate covered strawberries that Alexandra had left for us, and a couple of chocolate chip cookies from our cabin cookie jar.

 

11 Porto Ribeira

[Host Jazzbeau]

Friday September 29, 2023 – Aveiro and Palácio da Bolsa

 

Because this was the 10-night itinerary, we weren’t done yet!

 

We were out to the coach at 8:30 am.  It was an hour’s ride to Aveiro, which has been called the “Venice of Portugal” because of the network of canals and waterways within the city.

 

Located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, Aveiro is an industrial city with an important seaport.  It was known for many years for its production of salt and the molico seagrass harvest, which was used as fertilizer before the development of chemicals for that purpose.  The colorful Moliceiro barcos (boats) once used for harvesting now have outboard motors and carry tourists on the canals.  Salt production has also decreased dramatically with only a few salt ponds still remaining.

 

1 Aveiro - Moliceiro barcos

 

2 Aveiro - Moliceiro barcos

 

3 Aveiro - Moliceiro barcos

 

4 Aveiro - Moliceiro barcos

 

It is a thriving city with many modern buildings and shopping centers among the older, historic structures.

 

Its famous pastry is Ovos Moles [literally ‘soft eggs’], a light confection filled with an egg yolk custard.  Like most other Portuguese sweets, including the world famous pastéis de nata, ovos moles originate from the convents in Portugal (these types of sweets are collectively known as Doces Conventuais).  Back in the day, the nuns used egg whites to starch their habits and this meant that they had a lot of egg yolks left over.  All across Portugal, nuns experimented with different ways to they sugar and just one or two other ingredients to make sweets.

 

5 Aveiro – Ovos Moles

 

6 Aveiro – Ovos Moles

 

The residents have great devotion to Santa Joana who was the daughter of King Alfonso V.  She gave up her royal status as princess and entered the Monteiro/Convent of Jesus.

 

The city has well over 40,000 residents when you add on all the university students and the suburbs.

 

The local guide on our Moliceiro cruise pointed out the old fish market from 1904, new apartment buildings with 3BR units going for a million and a half euros, bridges over the canals with multicolor ‘love’ ribbons (instead of padlocks – lighter so easier on the bridges, and more colorful).  Before the 40 minute excursion ended, she took our photos if we wanted, sang us a short Fado song and brought out a bag of Ovos Moles for us to try [very good].

 

7 Aveiro - Moliceiro cruise

 

8 Aveiro - Moliceiro cruise

 

9 Aveiro - Moliceiro cruise

 

10 Aveiro - Moliceiro cruise

 

11 Aveiro - Moliceiro cruise

 

After we disembarked, we had an hour of free time to explore before regrouping for our bus.  We chose to visit two small museums—Museu de Arte Nova (Art Nouveau) 

 

12 Aveiro – Museu de Arte Nova

 

13 Aveiro – Museu de Arte Nova

 

14 Aveiro – Museu de Arte Nova

 

15 Aveiro – Museu de Arte Nova

 

16 Aveiro – Museu de Arte Nova

 

17 Aveiro – Museu de Arte Nova

 

18 Aveiro – Museu de Arte Nova

 

19 Aveiro – Museu de Arte Nova

 

and the Museu da Cidade (city museum).

 

20 Aveiro – Museu da Cidade

 

21 Aveiro – Museu da Cidade

 

22 Aveiro – Museu da Cidade

 

23 Aveiro – Museu da Cidade

 

[Both museums were free to us since we are old!]  We had just enough time see both museums and rejoin our mates at the town square.

 

We walked a short distance to our coach and got back to Scenic Azure before 1:15 pm so we could catch the last half of lunch.  I went for the fried calamari, and for dessert another egg yolk confection and the bread and butter pudding.  DW had a salad and sliced pork loin followed by the B&B pudding.  We ate with Vera and Dave.

 

We then walked up to the Palácio da Bolsa (old stock exchange building) to buy tickets for a guided tour.  We had to wait a half hour for a tour through the upper floor.  This bold building is neither a stock exchange nor a palace, but the headquarters of the Commercial Association of Porto.  We gathered on the entry floor in the main hall.  It is decorated with the coats of arms of 20 international trading partners (including the U.S.).

 

24 Porto - Palacio da Bolsa

 

25 Porto - Palacio da Bolsa – Trading Floor

 

26 Porto - Palacio da Bolsa – Trading Floor

 

27 Porto - Palacio da Bolsa – Trading Floor

 

28 Porto - Palacio da Bolsa – Trading Floor

 

We climbed around 40 steps up the grand staircase to the next level.  

 

29 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa – Grand Staircase

 

30 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa – Grand Staircase

 

31 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa – Grand Staircase

 

32 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa – Grand Staircase

 

33 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa – Grand Staircase

 

34 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa – Grand Staircase

 

The rooms are lavishly decorated with complex patterned floors, a detailed inlaid table, and a room that looks as if it’s made of finely carved woodwork and bronze—only to be told that it’s painted plaster and gold leaf.

 

35 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa

 

36 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa

 

37 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa

 

38 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa

 

39 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa

 

40 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa

 

41 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa

 

42 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa

 

The real surprise is the sumptuous Arabian Hall inspired by the Alhambra and 18 years in the making.  It was set up for a dinner for more than 60 members of a scientific society.

 

43 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa - Arabian Hall

 

44 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa - Arabian Hall

 

45 Porto – Palácio da Bolsa - Arabian Hall

 

We headed downhill and saw that the Church of St. Nicholas was now open.  DW had stopped in there on her walk Thursday afternoon.  Today it was filled with people and Mass was just beginning.  In English.  So we stayed.  It seemed to be a Filipino group from the U.S. on a Marian pilgrimage.

 

46 Porto - Church of St. Nicholas

 

47 Porto - Church of St. Nicholas

 

48 Porto - Church of St. Nicholas

 

We then scoped out our hotel for Saturday night before returning to Scenic Azure.  While I showered, DW started gathering her clothes out for packing.

 

At 6:30 pm we had our final meeting in the lounge.  First Phillip #1 spoke.  Then #2, and he announced the photo entry prizes.  I won 2nd place for a photo of a bridge.  1st place got a bottle of wine; I was “close but no cigar”...

 

We descended to dinner and sat with Liz/Bob, Eileen/Gil.  We were the last to leave.  [And we forget to note what we ate...]

 

Packing!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Saturday September 30, 2023 – Porto

 

Some passengers had to disembark for flights at 4:30 am.  A number of others at 5:30.  Yikes!

 

We chose a 10 am transfer to our hotel [1872 River House, about 250m away]  Phillip II rode ‘shotgun’ in the Mercedes to help us get our luggage from the car to the eight room boutique hotel right on the riverfront.  The clerk kept it for us while we went sightseeing as it was way too early for us to check in.

 

1 Porto - 1872 River House

 

2 Porto - 1872 River House

 

We got an Uber (we think the driver was training for the Demolition Derby) to take us up to the top of the neighborhood.  We walked up a little farther to take a look at Igreja de Santíssima Trindade (Holy Trinity Church), where we intended to return for vigil Mass.  Ornate and musty smelling.  But as we headed downhill, we discovered other Mass times at closer churches.

 

3 Porto - Igreja de Santíssima Trindade

 

4 Porto - Igreja de Santíssima Trindade

 

Then we walked back down to Câmara Municipal (City Hall).  The sculpture is Abundância Os Meninos.

 

5 Porto - Câmara Municipal

 

6 Porto - Abundância Os Meninos

 

The River Steves Upper Porto Walk took us down Avenida dos Aliados (Avenue of the Allies), Praça da Liberdade, Rua da Fábrica, and Praça Guilherme Gomes Fernandes.  The architecture in this area is eye catching.

 

7 Porto - Avenida dos Aliados

 

8 Porto - Avenida dos Aliados

 

9 Porto - Avenida dos Aliados

 

We passed several ornate churches, with the distinctive blue azujelo decoration.

 

10 Porto - Igreja de Santo Ildefonso

 

11 Porto - Igreja de Santo António dos Congregados

 

We passed the Padaria Ribeiro pastry shop and went to Praça de Gomes Teixiera with the faded facade of the Armazéns Cunhas department store on one side and the main building of the University of Porto on the other.

 

12 Porto - Praça de Gomes Teixeira

 

13 Porto - Armazéns Cunhas

 

14 Porto - Universidade do Porto

 

In the corner of the square is the former Carmelite convent with twin churches.  The side of Igreja do Carmo (for the friars) has beautiful azulejos [and a charge to enter; no thanks]; the Igreja dos Carmelitas (nuns) has one of the more elaborate ‘wedding cake’ altars with seven levels representing the seven levels of heaven [it was free to enter, so we enjoyed a much-needed breather].  Sandwiched in between the two churches is the ‘world’s narrowest house.’

 

15 Porto - twin churches

 

16 Porto - Igreja do Carmo

 

17 Porto - Igreja dos Carmelitas (‘wedding cake’ altar)

 

18 Porto - ‘world’s narrowest house’

 

The weather today was brutal.  It hit 90.  Bright sun.  No breeze.  At times it was a struggle to get up the steep hills.  Sitting inside the cool church for 15 minutes helped.

 

Leaving the church we headed for the Lello & Irmão Bookstore.  We were amazed at the very long line waiting to get into this 1906 Art Nouveau building [the bookstore is the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books, but the outside is more impressive than the cramped interior].

 

19 Porto - Lello & Irmão Bookstore

 

20 Porto - Lello & Irmão Bookstore

 

On the other side of the nearby garage/park/shopping center complex we visited Clérigos Church, but not its tower.  We were rewarded as the church was full of people in wedding attire and had pretty floral displays.  Then in came a lovely looking bride in a lace gown.  Although ornate, the church did not have the usual heavy, overwhelming feeling of so many others because Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni decorated it with pastels and only a little gold leaf.

 

21 Porto - Igreja dos Clérigos

 

22 Porto - Igreja dos Clérigos

 

23 Porto - Igreja dos Clérigos

 

24 Porto - Igreja dos Clérigos

 

As we left the church DW spotted an Amorino shop.  Gelato!!!  And they had a fabulous coffee flavor one.  She asked the clerk to leave off the coffee beans and savored the cold, tasty treat as we sat inside.  I went for double flavors: Amaretto and pistachio.

 

Rejuvenated by the earlier rest and this fortification, we could continue our planned walk and enjoy it.  Otherwise, it was like the Bataan death march!

 

We had finished the Upper Porto walk, and thankfully our earlier touring in Porto had covered many of the sights in Rick Steves Lower Porto walk.

 

An easy walk took us to São Bento Train Station [which we had already seen] before heading uphill in the sun to the Cathedral (Sé do Porto).  There was a line to get to the cashier [€3] but it moved along and we enjoyed our time inside the Cloister, the Saint Vincent Chapel, the church itself, then upstairs to the small treasury housing vestments and sacred vessels and all the way up to the Chapter Room where the bishop and his cronies met in the 17th century.

 

25 Porto - Cathedral

 

26 Porto - Cathedral - Cloister

 

27 Porto - Cathedral - St. Vincent Chapel

 

28 Porto - Cathedral - Sacristy

 

29 Porto - Cathedral

 

30 Porto - Cathedral

 

31 Porto - Cathedral

 

32 Porto - Cathedral

 

33 Porto - Cathedral - Lady of Vendôme

 

34 Porto - Cathedral - Silver Altar

 

35 Porto - Cathedral - Chapter Room

 

36 Porto - Cathedral - Chapter Room

 

37 Porto - Cathedral - Cloister (upper level)

 

38 Porto - Cathedral - Cloister (upper level)

 

From here it was all downhill to the waterfront and our hotel.  On our way there, we passed St. Nicholas Church and noticed that there should be a 7:00 pm vigil Mass [closer to our hotel than any other Mass we had found].

 

We returned to the 1872 River House after 3 pm, and the clerk told us our top-floor room was now ready and our bags were already in it.  It faced the river (west) and the shutters were open.  So it was beastly hot.  She turned on the AC for us and said it would take around 20 minutes to start cooling down.  She wasn’t kidding.  [In fact it took longer than that, until I figured out how to set the controls on ‘max’]  We closed the shutters and waited quietly.  Finally we felt some cooler air and we both took a nap.

 

We freshened up and walked about five minutes to the church.  There were about 25 in attendance (not like the big Filipino group from the day before).  A short gray-haired priest came out and even before he actually began the Mass, he talked and talked… in Portuguese, of course.  It turned out this was his shtick.  He did this throughout the Mass.  We had brought along the readings and a commentary in English, so this helped pass the time during his homily – and we can follow a Catholic Mass in any language.

 

At 8:00 we showed up for our reservation at a small restaurant down the hill from St. Nicholas called Restaurante A Grade [it means ‘the grid,’ not their hygiene rating although that’s probably an ‘A’ too].  Recommended by Rick Steves, we were not disappointed.  We shared a mixed green salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, shredded carrots and red cabbage.  Very nice.  For the main, I chose rabbit and DW had roasted octopus.  Both were served with small potatoes, stuffed roasted tomato and another vegetable (green beans for me, and cabbage for DW).  All really good!  Wisdom prevailed and we decided against dessert.

 

We enjoyed the whole experience from the waiter’s trying to teach us a few basic words in Portuguese to observing the dishwasher do all the plates, glasses, cutlery, serving dishes… by hand.  Then as we left, I stopped to tell another customer that I had earlier shared the same joke with DW that the fellow had just told his four tablemates.

 

We walked down to the Ribeira (riverbank) and continued past all the restaurants along there until we arrived back at our hotel.

 

The end of our stay in Porto – and we had accomplished everything on my sightseeing list!  Without recreating the Bataan death march [barely]

[Host Jazzbeau]

Sunday October 1, 2023 pt. 1 – Óbidos

 

The start of a new month!  We slept well in our quaint hotel on the river’s edge and went down to their buffet breakfast where the desk clerk offered us scrambled eggs and bacon.  Off she went down the steep stairs to the basement level and returned after a short time with bowls of freshly scrambled eggs and bacon.  

 

[It was the best bacon the whole trip.  As I have learned on Cruise Critic, Americans, Canadians, Brits and Continentals have four different definitions of ‘bacon’ – of course We are right, but this was one of the few times in Portugal that we got the cut of meat we expect and it was cooked perfectly!]

 

We were picked up by our driver Alex around 11 am.  [Booking private drivers let me choose a civilized time to begin the day...]  There was some confusion as to where he was parked so the desk clerk came out and helped us down to the lower level with our luggage.

 

It took over two hours to drive to our stop, Óbidos.  DW slept most of the way [once Alex stopped talking to me]  It was sunny and about 90 in Óbidos.

 

Óbidos was founded by the Celts around 300 BC, then ruled by the Romans, Visigoths and Moors.  In 1282 when King Dinis brought his bride Isabel here, she liked the town so much he gave it to her [DW’s birthday is coming up; how can I top that???]  Not long after, in the 14th century, the wall surrounding it was built.  

 

A 16th-century aqueduct connected it to a nearby spring.  The wall corrals a collection of narrow lanes and flower-laden whitewashed houses.

 

1 Óbidos - Aqueduct

 

Preserved in its entirety as a national monument since 1951, Óbidos survives on tourism.  In 2015, it was named a “City of Literature” and has about a dozen book shops—one is in a converted old church; another shares its space with a fish market.

 

I had a touring plan all set based on Rick Steves Óbidos Walk, but the next thing we knew Alex was tagging along with us and suggesting that we do the city wall first while we were still fresh.  He then proceeded to lead us all the way around town.  [We think part of it was his concern for these two old fogies walking the 45’ high city wall – and as we mounted the rough staircase with no railing, I was partly relieved...]  He talked a lot but really didn’t tell us much.

 

2 Óbidos - Town Gate

 

3 Óbidos - Town Gate

 

4 Óbidos - view from Town Wall

 

5 Óbidos - view of St. Peter's from Town Wall

 

6 Óbidos - view of St. Mary's from Town Wall

 

7 Óbidos - view of Castelo from Town Wall

 

We also walked around the grounds of the Castelo/Pousada (now a fancy hotel), which has a nice view.

 

8 Óbidos - view of Castelo

 

9 Óbidos - Castelo

 

10 Óbidos - view from Pousada do Castelo

 

We passed on the ginjinha cherry liquor that tour groups were lined up for [since we had already had it onboard Scenic Azure] and grabbed a quick bite in a small café, Pasteleria Dom Afonso.

 

11 Óbidos - Pasteleria Dom Afonso

 

12 Óbidos - Pasteleria Dom Afonso

 

Alex headed back to his car after lunch to cool it down and left us to complete the sightseeing on our own.  Since I had memorized the guidebook, I pointed out the book store in the Santiago Church, the Church of St. Mary with its fine painted wood ceiling, the Church of St. Peter with a huge painting of the Call of Peter at the seashore.  Maltese crosses are carved in many places throughout the church as a reminder of the Knights Templar.

 

13 Óbidos - Santiago Church Bookstore

 

14 Óbidos - St. Mary's

 

15 Óbidos - St. Mary's

 

16 Óbidos - St. Peter's

 

17 Óbidos - St. Peter's

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Sunday October 1, 2023 pt. 2 – Sintra National Palace

 

Back in the car, we headed to our last major stop, Sintra.  Alex dropped us at the door of our hotel, the Sintra Boutique Hotel, before taking off.

 

We barely checked in and we were out the door heading to the Sintra National Palace (Palácio Nacional) for which I had purchased tickets online.  There were few people visiting as it was near closing.  We had ample time to walk through all the public rooms.  While the palace dates back to Moorish times, most of what we saw is from the 15th-century reign of King Joao I, with later Manueline architectural ornamentation from the 16th century.  It is the oldest surviving royal palace in Portugal and still used for official receptions.

 

1 Sintra National Palace

 

We first entered the Swan Room.  This banquet hall has a ceiling filled with paintings of swans.  

 

2 Sintra National Palace - Swan Room

 

3 Sintra National Palace - Swan Room

 

Outside was the Central Patio and Water Grotto.

 

4 Sintra National Palace - Central Patio

 

5 Sintra National Palace - Central Patio

 

6 Sintra National Palace - Water Grotto

 

7 Sintra National Palace - Water Grotto

 

Back inside to the Magpie Room, which was probably used for royal audiences.  Rumor has it that the king was getting too friendly with a lady-in-waiting and Queen Philippa found out.  Frustrated with the gossip and to defend his honor, he had this ceiling painted with magpies quoting his slogan, Por bem [“For Good”].

 

8 Sintra National Palace - Magpie Room

 

9 Sintra National Palace - Magpie Room

 

We saw King Sebastian’s Bedchamber, the Mermaid Room, the Julius Caesar Room with a Flemish tapestry and Celestial Globe, the Goddess Diana Courtyard, and headed upstairs to the Galleon Room (the ceiling is covered with paintings of ships flying the flags of the great nautical powers of the day).

 

10 Sintra National Palace - King Sebastian's Bedchamber

 

11 Sintra National Palace - King Sebastian's Bedchamber

 

12 Sintra National Palace - Mermaid Room

 

13 Sintra National Palace - Mermaid Room

 

14 Sintra National Palace - Julius Caesar Tapestry

 

15 Sintra National Palace - Celestial Globe

 

16 Sintra National Palace - Goddess Diana Courtyard

 

17 Sintra National Palace - Galleon Room

 

18 Sintra National Palace - Galleon Room

 

The huge, square Heraldic Hall (also known as the Coat of Arms Room) is truly impressive.  It sits under an extremely high gold and blue tiled dome emblazoned with the king’s coat of arms at the top.

 

19 Sintra National Palace - Heraldic Hall

 

20 Sintra National Palace - Heraldic Hall

 

21 Sintra National Palace - Heraldic Hall

 

22 Sintra National Palace - Heraldic Hall

 

The Bedchamber and Prison of Alfonso VI, who was mentally unstable, was a letdown.  After becoming king, he was removed by his wife and his brother who became King Pedro II.  They locked him in this spare room for the rest of his life and married one another.  But the story is better than the room.

 

23 Sintra National Palace - King Afonso VI Chamber

 

The Palatine Chapel was under renovation.

 

24 Sintra National Palace - Palatine Chapel

 

25 Sintra National Palace - Palatine Chapel

 

The Arab Room had an indoor fountain.

 

26 Sintra National Palace - Arab Room

 

27 Sintra National Palace - Arab Room

 

The Kitchen, which had to be constantly supplied with water, firewood and food, had running water since at least the beginning of the 15th-century.  It employed dozens of individuals with different responsibilities.  It could have 14 cooks at a time or even 29.  It has two huge chimneys to suck out the heat and smoke.

 

28 Sintra National Palace - Kitchen

 

29 Sintra National Palace - Chimneys

 

The final major stop was the Manueline Room with a huge two tiered glass chandelier.

 

30 Sintra National Palace - Manueline Hall

 

31 Sintra National Palace - Manueline Hall

 

There were several other minor rooms on the way out, but a guard was following us (and one other couple), closing up each room as we left it, so we hustled it.  Once we exited the palace, the door was locked behind us!

 

Here are some resources with even more information about the  Sintra National Palace:

 

https://www.parquesdesintra.pt/en/digital-resources/digital-experiences/360%C2%BA-visit-to-the-national-palace-of-sintra/

 

https://viajonarios.com/en/national-palace-of-sintra/

 

 

We returned to the hotel for a short time and then found our way down a long staircase in the dark (except for the light of a friendly local’s cell phone) to the street below.  She pointed us up another hill to our restaurant.  We thanked her and we parted company.

 

We found Restaurante Regional de Sintra on a side street and had a hearty, inexpensive meal.  DW had a tropical salad with lettuce, tomato, kiwi and pineapple before shrimp curry on rice surrounded by more fruit (apple, banana, grapes…).  Very tasty curry but way too much rice!  I started with a local shrimp dish—at least eight large shrimp in a spicy garlic sauce.  I then got a monkfish rice stew and more shrimp.  I did not become a fan of monkfish after this meal.  Too many bones!  But thankfully I had enough shrimp between the two dishes to fill me up.

 

We were both too full for dessert and headed back to the hotel.  This time we took out our own cell phones to light the way up those 152 steps.  Were we ever glad to reach the top!

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Monday October 2, 2023 pt. 1 – Sintra – Pena Palace

 

A more pleasant day weather wise.  High in the 70s and sunny.

 

Breakfast buffet was limited but adequate.  I loved their pastries.  Our suite looks very au courant but the bathroom has nowhere to put anything.  No washcloths [or flannels as the Brits call them]   Lots of closet space, but in the hall.

 

We had a tough time this morning getting transportation to our 11:00 am timed entry at the Palácio de Pena (Pena Palace).  

 

1 Sintra - Pena Palace

 

I started at 10:00 [a full hour cushion] trying to arrange an Uber – a driver took our itinerary and headed toward Sintra, but was making slow progress and then suddenly turned around and stopped at school – I concluded he had taken a more convenient call and left us in the lurch.

 

We asked the hotel desk clerk who confirmed that Uber is notorious for this in Sintra; he called a local cab who came in around ten minutes.  But it is a long, slow drive up narrow, twisting roads to the mountain top palace, and we had lost much of my cushion thanks to Uber.

 

The taxi got us up to the main entrance just before 11:00 and we had tickets so we could skip the line, but the line for the mini-bus to the top was long – or it’s a steep half-hour walk.

 

There seemed no alternative, so we started walking.  It was very steep and DW couldn’t keep up but said to press on and put my foot in the door...  I lost sight of her several times, but she made it and we got to the Moorish Archway and Monumental Gate.

 

2 Sintra - Pena Palace

 

3 Sintra - Pena Palace

 

4 Sintra - Pena Palace - Moorish Archway

 

5 Sintra - Pena Palace - Monumental Gateway

 

They let us join the 11:00 line despite their warnings about no deviation from your assigned time.  We wound up just behind a Chinese couple—daughter from Chicago and dad from Beijing.  We had an enjoyable conversation as we and a zillion others made slow progress through the outer area of this 19th-century fantasy built by German-born Prince Ferdinand.

 

It is a mix of German and Portuguese styles.  It’s a conglomerate of Gothic towers, Renaissance domes, Moorish minarets, Manueline carvings and more than a hint of Disney [on drugs].  He made sure it had a toilet for his wife.

 

After much climbing we finally made our way to the Triton’s Terrace, with a beautiful Manueline Window featuring the Triton.  

 

6 Sintra - Pena Palace - The Triton's Terrace

 

7 Sintra - Pena Palace - Manueline Window with Triton

 

Then into the interior and around the outside of the tiled Courtyard which had been a cloister when the site housed a monastery in the 16th century.  The monks wanted to be isolated and this location insured that.  Yet it became the destination for a popular pilgrimage to see the statue of Our Lady of the Feathers (Pena means “feather”).

 

8 Sintra - Pena Palace - Dom Ferdinand II

 

9 Sintra - Pena Palace - Snake Handrail

 

10 Sintra - Pena Palace - Courtyard

 

11 Sintra - Pena Palace - Courtyard

 

We saw dozens of rooms, including the Dining Room, King Carlos I’s Office, the Telephone Room [the palace was very advanced, with a telephone and several bathrooms], the Sitting Room, then out to the Queen’s Terrace with a marvelous view of Lisbon and the valley.

 

12 Sintra - Pena Palace - Dining Room

 

13 Sintra - Pena Palace - Office of Dom Carlos I

 

14 Sintra - Pena Palace - Telephone Room

 

15 Sintra - Pena Palace -  Sitting Room

 

16 Sintra - Pena Palace - view from Queens Terrace

 

We walked through the Smoking Room, which was the first room in the New Wing.  It has a ceiling of Moorish influence.  It was the only place where smoking was allowed.  Oak chairs and divans were upholstered in chintz and had zinc lined drawers to serve as ashtrays.

 

17 Sintra - Pena Palace - Smoking Room

 

18 Sintra - Pena Palace - Smoking Room

 

The Great Hall was just that!  It was the main space for hosting receptions and entertainment in the palace.

 

19 Sintra - Pena Palace - Great Hall

 

20 Sintra - Pena Palace - Great Hall

 

21 Sintra - Pena Palace - Great Hall

 

We walked through the Office of King Manuel II (a young king who lived with his mother).  He was the last monarch of Portugal.

 

The next big attraction was the Stag Room built as a dining room (with a circular table) to welcome guests who did not have access to the private dining room.  It was decorated in hunting motifs that included stag heads on the walls.

 

22 Sintra - Pena Palace - Stag Room

 

23 Sintra - Pena Palace - Stag Room

 

And you can’t eat without a Kitchen, which we walked through even though it is under renovation.  It has three chimneys interlinking with three wood-fired stoves.  At the rear there is an oven.  Copper utensils marked PP (Palácio de Pena) fill the shelves.  That concluded our walk through the PP.

 

Outside we discovered that the Chapel was closed, so we didn’t get to see the Statue of Our Lady of the Feather.  [And on an earlier cruise I had passed on the opportunity to try Pig Feather at dinner.  I'm just not good on feathers!]

 

The final stop in the palace was the Courtyard of Arches.

 

24 Sintra - Pena Palace - Courtyard of Arches

 

25 Sintra - Pena Palace - Courtyard of Arches

 

We took the elevator down and exited the palace on to the level where we began our wait on line to enter.

 

Next up was a stroll through the Pena Palace Park gardens – but where was the entrance?  [Paper maps are no longer available but there was a QR code.  It’s not the same!!!]  We asked a tour guide to point us in the direction of the gardens and got started, but signage was not always clear.

 

26 Sintra - Pena Palace Park map

 

We thought we’d try to see the High Cross up top one of the hills but turned back when we learned how long it would take us.  [We could have seen it if pigs fly!!!]

 

We continued down and came to the Lake of the Shell.  It was probably built in the 16th century by monks.

 

27 Sintra - Pena Palace Park - Lake of the Shell

 

28 Sintra - Pena Palace Park - Lake of the Shell

 

We left the main path and proceeded on a narrower one which took us to Little Birds Fountain, the entrance to the Queen’s Fern Valley and the Garden of Camellias.  There were wild lavender lilies growing in the brush.  Lovely!

 

29 Sintra - Pena Palace Park - Little Birds Fountain

 

30 Sintra - Pena Palace Park - Little Birds Fountain

 

31 Sintra - Pena Palace Park – wild lavender lilies

 

We then passed two small reservoirs in the Valley of the Lakes, whose water you wouldn’t even consider drinking.  We saw several pavilions, a few geese, and two swans as we continued off the Pena property.

 

32 Sintra - Pena Palace Park - Valley of the Lakes

 

33 Sintra - Pena Palace Park - Valley of the Lakes

 

34 Sintra - Pena Palace Park - Valley of the Lakes

 

35 Sintra - Pena Palace Park - Valley of the Lakes

 

36 Sintra - Pena Palace Park - Valley of the Lakes

 

37 Sintra - Pena Palace Park - Valley of the Lakes

[Host Jazzbeau]

Monday October 2, 2023 pt. 2 – Sintra – Moorish Castle

 

We finally crossed the road in search of the path leading up to the Moorish Castle.

 

1 Sintra - Moorish Castle

 

We passed the turnoff for the Vila Sassetti trail back to town, and realized that we are no longer up to such a long downhill slog.  Instead we found a bench in the shade and sat for a while enjoying a small snack and some water.  We continued on uphill toward the MC ticket booth (we had ours) and entered the property.

 

We saw small foundations of old Islamic Houses, a building that once was the Church of St. Pedro (but now has artifacts on display), a tomb and a Christian Necropolis.

 

We still had more climbing to reach the ticket scanner at the castle entrance.  Castelo dos Mouros is a thousand year old ruined castle surrounded by forest.  It’s almost a classically perfect castle with two hills capped by hardy forts, connected by a crenellated wall walkway.  It’s not for the faint of heart or those afraid of heights.

 

2 Sintra - Moorish Castle

 

After having our tickets scanned, we chose from the limited Cafeteria menu to get better nourished and hydrated.  Feeling more fortified we headed for the ramparts.  We climbed and walked from the lower to the higher.  DW told me to go on ahead and if I didn’t catch up to look for her near the cafeteria – but she did her Little Engine Who Could effort and slowly but surely made it to the top.  [She’s either a real trouper, or thick – or both...]

 

3 Sintra - Moorish Castle

 

4 Sintra - Moorish Castle

 

5 Sintra - Moorish Castle

 

6 Sintra - Moorish Castle

 

7 Sintra - Moorish Castle

 

8 Sintra - view from Moorish Castle

 

9 Sintra - view from Moorish Castle

 

10 Sintra - Pena Palace from Moorish Castle

 

11 Sintra National Palace from Moorish Castle

 

Upon leaving the property back out near the road, a taxi driver was trying to hustle up business by approaching people like us who weren’t sure of how they would get back down to the village.  He thought he could fill his van @ 5 Euros a head, but only the two of us agreed.  He got us down swiftly and to the door of our hotel – and then thanked us for trusting him.  We tipped him in gratitude, and off he went.

 

We were glad to be back and DW napped while I showered.

 

For dinner, we walked to InComun which was near our restaurant last night – but this time we found a better route that did not involve 152 steps in the dark and a steep hill.  This was a larger, busy restaurant.  For starters I ordered foie grasbut got paté and DW had a mesclun salad with “goat cheese.”  [You couldn’t convince her the white gelatinous discs had even been near a goat, but the small salad was nice]  For the mains, I had guinea hen with beet risotto and DW had duck Magret with pureed eggplant.  Both were nice.  We actually ordered dessert: I went for a special of dark chocolate mousse with orange mousse and DW had one large scoop of coffee ice cream.

 

We walked back to the hotel.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Tuesday October 3, 2023 pt. 1 – Sintra – Quinta da Regaleira

 

On our last day in Sintra, we had the desk clerk call us a taxi to Quinta da Regaleira.  This bit of gee (Manueline/Gothic/Renaissance) 1912 mansion and garden has mystical and Masonic twists.

 

1 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira

 

Designed by an Italian opera-set designer, Luigi Manini, for the owner, Antonio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, the mansion is striking – as it was designed to be – and the grounds are fun to wander with fanciful follies, secret underground passages and lush landscaping.

 

After standing on line for about 10 minutes outside the mansion waiting for tour groups to be admitted, our visit began with a peek into the Hunting Room and its beautiful mosaic tiled floor, monumental fireplace, artistically carved wooden ceiling.

 

2 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Hunting Room

 

3 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Hunting Room

 

We advanced across the hall to the Renaissance Room, the cozier living room.  Almost every room had an intricately designed wooden ceiling.

 

4 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Renaissance Room

 

5 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Renaissance Room

 

Next was the Music Room which was mainly used to receive the ladies who would gather here to play, chat or embroider.

 

6 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Music Room

 

Of course, there was a Billiards Room but it was also known as the “Kings’ Room” as its ceiling border features portraits of 20 kings and four queens of Portugal.

 

7 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Billiards Room

 

We proceeded into the Smoking Room where board and card games were played and smoking was permitted (by the men).

 

We were not allowed admittance to the upper floors.  [They are only open to the public for special exhibitions.]  But we were able to access the Terrace for views of Sintra and the Quinta gardens.

 

8 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Terrace

 

9 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - view from Terrace

 

We exited the Mansion and began exploring the Gardens and other outbuildings.  Thankfully we had invested a Euro for a map, but even then it was challenging to figure out where we were and how we could find our next item of interest.  There were a number of towers to climb via spiral staircases or outside steps.

 

10 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Map of Gardens

 

There was a small but beautiful Chapel which we could only look into.  At its main entrance were scenes of the Annunciation and at the altar the Coronation of the Virgin Mary.

 

11 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira -  Chapel

 

12 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira -  Chapel

 

We saw the Gruta da Leda (Grotto of the Swan) and its elaborate towered wall.

 

13 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Gruta da Leda

 

14 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Gruta da Leda

 

15 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Gruta da Leda

 

16 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Gruta da Leda

 

The biggest draw for crowds was Poço Initiático (Initiation Well).  We waited at least 15 minutes to be admitted into this nine-story structure below ground.

 

17 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Poço Initiático

 

18 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Poço Initiático

 

19 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Poço Initiático

 

20 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Poço Initiático

 

The property’s wells served as the starting point in Templar candidate-initiation ceremonies.  It is believed that Templar initiations at Quinta da Regaleira began with candidates entering one of the Initiation Wells blindfolded.  Holding a sword close to their heart, they would descend nine flights of stairs – a number that represents the nine founders of the Templar order.  Once reaching the bottom of the well, the candidate would walk into a dark labyrinth where they would symbolically and literally find their way up towards the light.  If they were able to make it back through the well tower and into the sunlight, the initiates would walk across stepping stones in the water to reach the chapel, where they would then be welcomed into the brotherhood.

 

Connected to the well was the Lago da Cascata (lake with waterfall).  This was no Niagara!

 

21 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Lago da Cascata

 

On higher ground was the Poço Imperfeito (unfinished well) which you could see from top or bottom.

 

22 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Poço Imperfeito

 

Along the same walkway we came to the Portal dos Guardiães (entrance of the guardians).

 

23 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Portal dos Guardiães

 

24 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Portal dos Guardiães

 

25 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Portal dos Guardiães

 

We headed downhill to see the Fonte da Abundáncia (fountain of abundance).  We waited to take a photo while a young woman washed her face and hands in it several times.

 

26 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira- Fonte da Abundáncia

 

27 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira- Fonte da Abundáncia

 

We saw the small lakes and the Loggia, then walked along the Patamar dos Deuses (landscape of the gods) back toward the mansion and cafeteria.

 

28 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Loggia

 

29 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Patamar dos Deuses

 

30 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Patamar dos Deuses

 

31 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Patamar dos Deuses

 

32 Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira - Patamar dos Deuses

 

We made our way out the entrance hoping to catch a taxi to take us to Monserrate.  None came so we walked down to the exit and approached a driver.  She explained it wasn’t worth her while to do it because although it was a short ride there, she then had to drive around a half hour through the twisting one-way streets to get back to where she was waiting for a fare into town.  She was very pleasant and suggested we take a tuk-tuk or the bus.  She said the bus was due soon and showed us where to wait.  When she saw the bus pulling up, she came over to tell us.  A young man onboard gave DW his seat.  [It was welcome, but nevertheless a sign we’re getting old...]

[Host Jazzbeau]

Tuesday October 3, 2023 pt. 2 – Sintra – Monserrate

 

We were at Monserrate in about ten minutes and walked zigzagging paths downhill through the gardens to the ornamental lakes.  At this time of year, the gardens were very green but had few flowers.  There were some yellow and red water lilies and some canna lilies.

 

1 Sintra - Monserrate

 

2 Sintra - Monserrate Map

 

After walking all the way down we came to the Romantic Ruin [it was built that way...]

 

3 Sintra - Monserrate - Romantic Ruin

 

4 Sintra - Monserrate - Romantic Ruin

 

5 Sintra - Monserrate - Romantic Ruin

 

6 Sintra - Monserrate - Romantic Ruin

 

the Ornamental Lakes and Lawn,

 

7 Sintra - Monserrate - Ornamental Lakes

 

8 Sintra - Monserrate - Ornamental Lakes

 

9 Sintra - Monserrate - Ornamental Lakes

 

10 Sintra - Monserrate - Ornamental Lakes

 

11 Sintra - Monserrate - The Lawn

 

and finally headed uphill to the Palace.

 

12 Sintra - Monserrate - Palace Terrace (West Façade)

 

The Main Entrance was at the South end, but the Entrance Room closed for renovation.

 

13 Sintra - Monserrate - Main Entrance

 

14 Sintra - Monserrate - Entrance Room

 

15 Sintra - Monserrate - Entrance Room

 

The other entrances were in the middle of the building, on the East Façade (now the main visitors’ entrance/exit), and on the Garden side (leading to the Entrance Hall with the  Staircase to the upper floor and a model of the palace.).  We approached from the gardens and entered through that side – entrance is wide open since tickets are taken at the entrance to the property.

 

16 Sintra - Monserrate - Staircase

 

17 Sintra - Monserrate - Palace Model

 

Both central entrances lead to the Octagon, or central atrium, with a fountain in the center and light streaming in from the cupola above.

 

18 Sintra - Monserrate - Octagon

 

19 Sintra - Monserrate - Octagon - Fountain

 

20 Sintra - Monserrate - Octagon - Cupola

 

Galleries lead from the Octagon to the north and to the south ends of the palace.  Both are Moorish in design and were lined with life-size marble statues.

 

21 Sintra - Monserrate - North Gallery

 

22 Sintra - Monserrate - North Gallery

 

23 Sintra - Monserrate - North Gallery

 

24 Sintra - Monserrate - South Gallery

 

25 Sintra - Monserrate - South Gallery

 

26 Sintra - Monserrate - South Gallery

 

At the north end is the Music Room, the main room for reception and socialization.

 

27 Sintra - Monserrate - Music Room

 

28 Sintra - Monserrate - Music Room

 

Next to it, on opposite sides of the Gallery, are the Billiards Room, where the men retired to smoke after dinner; and the Drawing Room, the most informal and family-oriented room in the palace and where ladies could retire after dinner.

 

29 Sintra - Monserrate - Billiards Room

 

30 Sintra - Monserrate- Drawing Room

 

At the south end, on one sides of the Gallery, are the Dining Room and Pantry (neither has been restored), with the Kitchen below.  On the other side of the Gallery is the Library, a truly handsome room whose entry door is a magnificent work of art in carved wood.

 

31 Sintra - Monserrate - Library

 

32 Sintra - Monserrate - Library - Door

 

We went upstairs for more views of the Octagon and outside to the Moorish Castle and the Pena Palace.  The small rooms are used for historical displays about the property.

 

33 Sintra - Monserrate - Octagon (upper level)

 

34 Sintra - Monserrate - Octagon (upper level)

 

35 Sintra - Monserrate - Octagon (upper level)

 

36 Sintra - Monserrate - view from Palace

 

37 Sintra - Monserrate - view of Moorish  Castle and Pena Palace

 

We exited by the East entrance to admire the East Façade,

 

38 Sintra - Monserrate - East Façade

 

39 Sintra - Monserrate - East Façade

 

40 Sintra - Monserrate - East Façade

 

then through the formal drive that welcomed guests.  A Triton Fountain

 

41 Sintra - Monserrate - Triton Fountain

 

leads to the scented Pergola and Indian Arch,

 

42 Sintra - Monserrate - Pergola and Indian Arch

 

a fake megalithic Cromlech, and some water mines that channel rainwater to the garden irrigation system.

 

43 Sintra - Monserrate - Cromlech Folly

 

44 Sintra - Monserrate - Water Mines

 

What goes down must go up.  We toiled up our last climb of the day, back to the park entrance.  A bus passed us by without stopping, and there were no cabs [only tuk-tuk drivers; we had seen how rough their rides were and didn’t fancy it for the long drive back to town]  With no other choice I called Uber, and mirabile dictu one came within minutes and brought us back to our hotel.

 

On the way back we passed a public fair of some sort in the park, but we never found out what it was about.

 

For dinner, we returned to the restaurant neighborhood of our previous two nights and ate at the local and crowded Apeadeiro Restaurante.  We had difficulty hearing one another because of the din and were disappointed in our meals.  To start, DW ordered a salad and I ordered chorizo [it never came].  My tournedos was overcooked and definitely not a filet mignon, but he ate all the fries.  DW ordered grilled prime rib.  It was tasty but chewy.  When I pointed out the missing chorizo they brought complimentary tawny port and two small pastries to the table.

 

We headed back to the hotel for our last sleep in Sintra.