Portugal Travelogue

PORTO

Portugal is where we went on a recent driving holiday from our home in France. Neither of us had been there before, we knew of the Algarve and the popularity of the game of golf, (why spoil a good walk I say)! We stopped off at various different places for a night or two depending on how much we liked the area. The first place we stopped was Portugal's second largest city, Porto which is situated at the mouth of the Douro River. We stayed at the Hotel Boa-Vista, Esplanada do Castelo 58 Foz do Douro Tel:226 180 083. Described as a grand old hotel situated at the mouth of the Douro River with magnificent views over the river, sea, and the Castelo de Sao Joao da Foz, from the rooms at the front of the property. There is a good restaurant/bar up on the roof top. We were pleased that the hotel had it's own garage too as parking even this far from the centre of town appeared to be in short supply. We had intended to stay there for two nights but found our room to be on the small side, so much so that we both felt very claustrophobic; so that will be just for the one night then! The roof top bar was nice with great views especially in the evening, no idea what the food was like as we didn't eat in the restaurant but it was very busy with locals which is usually a good sign. After checking in we took a taxi into the dock area where there are a large number of restaurants all along the quay side. These mainly fish restaurants are predominately aimed at tourists, as we wandered past we were encouraged into all of them, but we didn't bite! After stopping off at a cafe for a drink and watching people for a while we walked into the centre of town. So far the area had felt very much like a third world country to me, I am sure it is completely different on the Algarve. Once we were in the town though Porto had a very different feel to it, with roads full of huge buildings housing banks and offices around the Avienida dos Aliados. The streets that lead off of this main road is where we found all of the shops. The shops around this area sell everything, there were books shops, stationary shops and a large number of shoe and clothes shops, many stocking 'designer' labels. As well as streets full of shops there is some interesting architecture to be seen in Porto from Medieval, Baroque, Neoclassical to Azulejo. You can pick up a free pamphlet from the tourist office of which there are three, but the most helpful one was on Rue Clube Fenianos 25 (July-Sept 9am-7pm, Oct-June Mon-Fri 9am-5:30pm, Sat & Sun 9am-4:30pm; Tel: 223 393 470, www.portoturismo.pt), that will guide you on walks specific to these architectural styles, although you will need to be quite fit as this is not a flat option, Porto is very hilly. There are several bridges here, some modern in design whilst two are nineteenth century and they are all quite striking. One of the older bridges is the Maria Pia railway link which was designed by Eiffel and is now extinct and the two tiered Ponte Luis I, which connects the town with Vila Nova de Gaia which is home to the wonderful port wine lodges. The grapes are harvested from mid September to mid October and then they are crushed mechanically, although many of the lodges claim that they are still crushed under foot, can't blame them for trying I guess! We both love port, needless to say we did purchase a bottle or two of it for medicinal purposes obviously! If memory serves me, we managed to find a bottle from the time of Richard's birth, which was very tasty indeed. Apparently as far as food is concerned tripe is a speciality in Porto, no thank you, not for us! There is a story that goes to explain why they are called 'tripeiros' (tripe eaters) by the rest of Portugal but just the thought of tripe is making me feel slightly unwell so i'll leave it there. We had been wandering around the business and shopping area when we started to feel hungry ,and we definitely didn't want to go to one of the tourist, fish restaurants along the dock. So we decided to follow the first office worker we saw going for lunch and see where we ended up ... No not really, we just walked round until we saw somewhere that was busy with no tourists. Although picking on no one in particular and following them does sound like an interesting idea, or is it called stalking! Anyway before I get too carried away by madness, we found a nice looking place that was very busy and we were seated upstairs. Obviously the menu contained lots of fish dishes (we rarely eat fish unless we can guarantee the freshness, that's an Egypt related story), but we managed to order two meat dishes with the help of our wonderful waitress. We had both ordered something different but when it arrived we couldn't really tell what that difference was, never the less it was delicious. I can't remember what it was exactly, something with pork and potatoes, and it was served with the usual bread, olives and salad too. When it came time for us to leave we tried to ask the manager for directions to a shopping centre that we wanted to visit. Our two or three words of Portuguese not being great, it was just as well that he spoke excellent English having lived in Wales for many years apparently?! He was so helpful and decided that instead of directions he would escort us out of the restaurant (we had paid our bill in full honest)! He walked us along several streets until it was impossible for us to not find the shopping centre, where we had a good look at all of the shops. What a nice man, we found that everyone we spoke to in Portugal was very friendly and helpful. Maybe we noticed it more after so many years in London where most people don't even know who their neighbours are even after living next door to them for many years. There are some good museums in Porto, the most interesting for us was the Fundacao de Serralves (Tues-Sun 10am-7pm, www.serralves.pt) which exhibits contemporary art from the 1960's right up to the present, in a very modern building which was designed by Alvaro Siza, a local architect. Nearby in the 1930's Art Deco Casa de Serralves, temporary exhibitions are displayed. The grounds are very pleasant to look round too, there are formal gardens and some farmland which has some sculptures worth viewing. Apparently some of the local school children make scarecrows from household rubbish, and these are displayed in the farm at the end of the summer. Then the scarecrows are burnt after the harvest in October, saves taking the rubbish out I guess!

COIMBRA

Coimbra used to be the capital of Portugal from 1143-1255, and it's not hard to see why. It has the feel of a superior city with it's shops, galleries and cafes and it's strong academic history. Coimbra's famous university was founded in 1290 and permanently established in 1537 after several moves to and from Lisbon. It used to be the only university in Portugal until the start of the last century and remains very prestigious providing Coimbra with one of it's greatest monuments, the Baroque library. There is lots of other interesting architecture to see there, cathedrals, churches and old mansions, one of which is home to the wonderful Museu Machado de Castro, Rua de Sao Joao. Named after an eighteenth century sculptor, and a former archbishops palace. The museum is full of interesting goodies including ceramics, furniture, sculptures and paintings. This all sits on top of the Roman Crypoportico which were a series of underground galleries possibly used to store grain before being used for the foundations of the palace. We stayed at the Quinta das Lagrimas off Rua Antonio Augusta Goncalves, Tel: 239 802 380, www.supernet.pt/hotelgrimas. This is said to be Coimbra's grandest hotel and is across the Rio Mondego over the ponte de St.Clara. We found the hotel after a little drive round, entering through large iron gates which led up to the stately house. The hotel boasts the Duke of Wellington as a former guest so we were in good company! Once we had been relieved of our car by the valet we were shown a couple of rooms, and decided on one overlooking the garden. The gardens are famous and absolutely gorgeous with a wide variety of plants, shrubs etc. Our room was huge as was the bathroom and it was all furnished very tastefully. We decided that the car deserved a good rest so we took a taxi back over the river to the centre of the town for a look round. I seem to remember feeling incredibly tired whilst we were in Coimbra, therefore can't remember too much about it, it could have been all the driving but who am I kidding I usually leave that to Richard! It's not unusual for both of us to feel tired pretty much all the time, my mum says that Richard is so laid back he is practically horizontal! I do remember that I liked the feel of Coimbra much more than Porto, it felt sunnier and more relaxed and affluent. There were numerous cafes, restaurants, bars and shops everywhere we walked. The sun was out and so were lots of people all relaxing and enjoying themselves. I don't think we went to any restaurants whilst we were in Coimbra in fact I don't remember eating anything at all, not for want of anywhere to go though. There are lots of restaurants serving practically every type of food, fish, chicken, steaks, grills, stews, salads you name it they have it. I do remember that every time we stopped for petrol, (which was very often as our car was very thirsty - or was it our very fast driving)! the petrol stations had small cafes attached to them. These seemed very popular, the food was good especially the delicious little bread rolls with different fillings, fish, meat and egg, they seemed to be a good option for breakfast, and we enjoyed them on more than one occasion.

EVORA

We both enjoyed our time in Evora more than anywhere else in Portugal, we had only intended to stay for one night but stayed for two as it was so nice. Our hotel was the Albergaria Solar Monfalim; Largo da Misericordia 1 Tel: 266 702 031. The hotel is situated within the old city walls and was once a summer palace belonging to the Dukes of Monfalim, now it is fully restored with spacious rooms and a cosy bar and a verandah which offers great views. All of the staff here were very friendly and the service was excellent, there was some limited parking right outside the front of the hotel too. Evora has some interesting monuments all in excellent restorative condition under the protection of UNESCO. The most striking is the Templo Romano which is right in the heart of the old city, dating from the second century AD. It was used for executions during the Inquisition, and then as a slaughterhouse until 1870. Opposite the temple is the fifteenth century Convento dos Loios which has been converted into a luxury state run hotel. During the summer the cloisters are a dining area, we had wanted to eat there but unfortunately there was a private function going on, but we still went in for a little look round. Apparently the intricate carvings, in the 'Luso Moorish' style, on the doorway to the chapter house are by the architect Francisci de Arruda who was also responsible for the aqueduct in Evora and the Belem tower in Lisbon. Left of the Hotel is the former conventual church dedicated to Sao Joao Evangelista (Tues-Sun 9:30am-2:30pm & 2:30pm-5:30pm; €2.50). Still private property of the Ducal Cadaval family who occupy a couple of wings of their ancestral palace next door. If you wish to enter, a guide will show you where you can view the floor to ceiling azulejos inside; masterpiece created by Antonio Oliveira Bernardes in the early eighteenth century. Evora's cathedral situated right in the centre of town is the Se (9am-12:30pm & 2pm-5pm Daily) work commenced in 1186 roughly two decades after the re-conquest of Evora from the Moors. For a small fee it is possible to climb onto a terrace over the west entrance where you can get a real close up look at the towers and the 'Zimborio' (lantern above the crossing of the transepts). The cathedrals Museum (Tues-Sun 9am-11:30am & 2pm-4:30pm €2), is worth a visit too as it is full of great finds. The most impressive is a carved statue of the Madonna, her midriff opens to show layered scenes from the bible. There is also a reliquary which is studded with 1,426 stones. Another museum worth some time is the Museu Municipal (Tues 2:30pm-5:30pm, Weds-Sun 9:30am-12:30pm & 2:30pm-5pm; €2). Inside are Flemish and Portuguese paintings from the fifteenth and sixteenth century. One Flemish artist who is known to have worked in Evora is Frei Carlos whose work is on display. The main pull though has to be the thirteen panels which once formed the altarpiece in the cathedral, they portray scenes of the life of the Virgin and are apparently by an anonymous fifteenth century Flemish artist. There are many other interesting sites to see such as the medieval Aqueduto do Aqua Prata (Silver Water Aquaduct), where in the arches a row of houses has been built, also the Neoclassical Theatre of Garcia de Redende and the Igreja Nossa Senhora da Graca with it's mid sixteenth century facade and grotesque Atlas giants supporting two globes, the emblem of Dom Manuel and his empire, which is behind the bus station. There are a number of students in Evora as the university was re-opened in the 1970's, so the town does have a young lively feel to it and there are quite a few clothes shops around the main square. Although it was lovely and sunny and warm during the day the evenings were a touch chilly. We had seen some of the men wearing these huge long coats with thick fur collars. Richard really wanted one, and during our second day in Evora we looked everywhere and almost gave up hope of finding the shop that sold them. But we decided to walk down one more back street and not only did we find the shop that sold the coats but also a wonderful Italian restaurant. The shop was a large place selling mainly equestrian accessories and right at the back the lovely coats. Apparently they were originally worn by shepherds way out in the wilds. These coats came in many different colours, browns, greens, blues and there were several different fur collars to choose from. Richard bought a grey coat with a fox fur collar, actually it's more like a cape it has no sleeves. We had eaten in another restaurant the previous evening and the food was mediocre to say the least (it was a bit touristy but the first place to open and we were very hungry for a change) so for our last day we thought we would go 'foreign' and Italian seemed just the thing! The restaurant was called the Pane & Vino, Patio do Salema, entrance is on Rua Diogo Focardo. It was originally the stable block of a mansion house but now serves lots of hungry locals the usual Italian dishes. We noticed that the pizza's were extremely popular and it wasn't hard to see why, they were massive, they had to be served on their own separate table. We didn't order pizza, I remember the bread that arrived as soon as we were seated was particularly delicious, as was the olive oil. We stuck to a pasta and a meat dish all washed down with a few bottles of wine, well it was lunch time and we didn't have to drive until the next morning! After a long lunch we retired to our hotel for a siesta, and spent the evening in the bar there before leaving early the next morning to begin our onward journey. I would say that for us Portugal felt like lots of different countries in one. Some places felt very depressed and others more modern, lively and edgy, the people everywhere we went in Portugal were very friendly and helpful. We both had a great time there and it kind of felt like we were back in the U.K. because where we used to live in London there was a very large Portuguese community, in fact the area is known as 'Little Lisbon' because of the number of Portuguese residents there. Funnily enough most of the delicious Portuguese food we have ever tasted was in our local bar/restaurants along the road from our London home. Who say's travel broadens the mind?