Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom (Trip) Report
Feb 7th, 2023, 04:31 PM
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Feb 11th, 2023, 08:08 AM
#82
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Today was Back To School Day in Coimbra. At the University of Coimbra, we visited its renowned (and gorgeous) Biblioteca Joanina, 16th-century St. Michael’s Chapel, the Royal Palace (the oldest palace in Portugal), a unique room where a cow skeleton greeted us and the interesting Science Lab. The New Cathedral (built in the 1500s) and an art museum where you can walk through a 1st-century subterranean Roman Forum were in store for us. We’d view some Street “Trash” Art, and end our day at a magnificent monastery that we nearly bypassed. Capping off our night, we dined inside a chimney at a ceramics factory. A busy day indeed! (Story with photos in link below ... without photos ... and less proofing ... below photos)
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...mbing-coimbra/
Chapter Thirteen: Combing Coimbra
Day Thirteen: Agile Breakfast Servers, That First Step Is A Doozy, Big John, What Tour?, Bookin’ It, More Bats, Checking In With Michael, A Curious Room, Lab Rats, Not Manny Machado, Lunch At The Museum, The Giant Gin & Tonic, Tower of Power, Butt Statue?, Surprise Monastery, That’s Our Parking Lot, “Cafe of the Intellectuals,” Dinner At Pottery Barn and Open The Flue
We heard footsteps on the staircase at 8 a.m., which could only mean one thing: breakfast was served. Inside the basket that our hotel personnel braved life and limb scrambling up the steep stairs to deliver were hot scrambled eggs, rolls, cheese, cold cuts, baked pears, cereal and yogurt. With so much food, I asked Tracy if we were having guests over.
Meanwhile, Mary thought she could help out by going down to retrieve her basket. Unfortunately, her motto of “that first step is a doozy”came back to haunt her. She took a misstep and nearly tumbled down the flight of stairs, only to be saved by grabbing the rail at the last moment (re-enactment).
Tragedy averted and stomachs full, it was time to go to college. I had reserved a 10 a.m. tour of the Universidade de Coimbra, which also includes a visit to its big ticket item of the 18th century Joanine Library. On a rainy Thursday morning we entered a courtyard called Pátio das Escolas dominated by the gigantic statue of King João III. The university which was established in Lisbon in 1290, moved back and forth between Lisbon and Coimbra several times and finally João III re-established it here in 1537. The campus is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
I could almost hear Jimmy Dean belting out, “Big King John!”
We found the spot where the tour was supposed to meet and everything seemed fine, except for the fact there was no tour guide although a crowd was gathering. Finally someone opened the door and waved us into a room with books (that was not the Joanine Library). Perplexed, we walked in (after showing our letter from the university stating the four of us were allowed to be here), and a few minutes later we were led upstairs to the Joanine Library, where we were allotted ten minutes to view the dazzling display of 40,000 or so ancient books and manuscripts the library contains. There were strict orders of “No photos” and we could see a couple of people giving everyone the eagle eye (the two photos of the library are from the internet).
The library was constructed on the orders of King João V in 1720 (finished in 1728) on top of the ruins of a medieval royal prison. The painting in the photo below is of the king on what is called The Noble Floor. I had read that the library would be the last stop on our “tour,” so I figured we were on our own, which was actually fine with us as long as our papers of transit could get us in to all the places the tour was supposed to go (it did).
We were told that this library (along with the one at Mafra Palace) are the only two libraries in the world that have bat colonies to keep pesky pests from eating the pages. Whether that’s true or not, I’m not sure, but it was kinda neat to hear about these bats in the biblioteca. They’ve been hanging out here for more than two centuries keeping these books safe.
After our ten minutes in the library we were back outside the Manueline Portal of Capela de São Miguel (St. Michael’s Chapel).
In we went, and where happy to learn we could take photos here. The chapel dates back to the 16th century.
It was pretty small, but the 18th-century organ (still operational) that has 2,000 pipes is not. The trumpeting angels on top are a nice touch.
The ceiling (you knew we couldn’t forget that) is from the 17th century.
It was renovated and furnished with a more up-to-date coat of arms.
That was it for the chapel, so now we were really on our own.
I read on my ticket that we were allowed entry to the Royal Palace, which happens to be Portugal’s oldest palace, built near the end of the 10th century. In the 12th century it was the home of Alfonso Henriques, who was the first king of Portugal. As a matter of fact, all the Kings of the Portuguese first Dynasty lived here, a period spanning 240 years. The palace was not hard to find.
Entering the Hall of Arms, I expected to see a bunch of limbs, but it actually is the armory.
We ducked into an area adjacent to the Hall of Arms. I could only ascertain that this called The Yellow Room. Portraits on the yellow silk wall are of 19th-century rectors.
Next up was the The Great Hall of Acts, which at one one time was the Throne Room of the Royal Palace in the Citadel. There are large canvases with the kings of Portugal on the walls. Various ceremonies are held here, including doctoral thesis.
The intricately designed ceiling panes were created in the 17th century.
Tracy said, “Let’s go to the Private Examination Room.” “I’m not even sick,” I replied, not knowing that this was once the king’s quarters, but is now where graduates of the university take their examinations.
The colorful ceiling is from 1701. Kim caught Tracy in the act.
She was able to zoom in on the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Portugal …
… and “representations of the former great Faculties at the University of Coimbra.” This one, featuring a swan and the staff of Hermes, represents medicine.
Back outside we checked out King João III’s humongous statue up close. Something I learned while there was that Coimbra is known as the “Athens of Portugal,” due to its culture and heritage, and the fact that it is the birthplace of six Portugal monarchs.
Our next goal was to find something called the Cabinet of Curiosities. Curious as to where it was located, we asked a few people for directions but received no definitive answer. We wandered and wandered and instead of the Cabinet, we stumbled upon the nearby Sé Nova (New Cathedral of Coimbra). “New” being a relative term because the church was built in the 1500s, later becoming Coimbra’s New Cathedral when the Old Cathedral retired in 1772.
The gold altarpieces were added in the 1700s.
We stopped by the Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte (Our Lady of Good Death).
Lots of gilded woodwork can be seen throughout the church.
In The Chapel of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, for 50 cents the tomb lights up. I’m a sucker for those.
Finally, we saw a reliquary that reminded me of Thing on the Addams Family TV show. I forced myself not to say, “I’d give my right arm for that.”
Somehow (I really can’t remember how), we found the Cabinet of Curiosities. It turned out to be very interesting. I mean how many rooms have you been in with a cow skeleton and a crocodile hanging from the ceiling?
From the university website, Cabinets of Curiosities “were mainly created by the European nobility, who tried to gather in these rooms a set of objects, such as exotic pieces, in an attempt to recreate the work of God. The aim of these cabinets was to display rare, exotic and even bizarre objects, so as to amaze the visitor and simultaneously show the cosmopolitan vision of their owner.” That certainly defines this room.
The Science Museum at Coimbra University opened the Cabinets of Curiosities earlier in 2022. It took three years, 10 people and an investment of 250,000 euros to “ recreate this nearly magical atmosphere.”
A donkey with six leg, skeletons and skulls were just a part of this menagerie of unique items that have no captions or labels to say what they are.
They are not displayed in any semblance of logical order.
The lighting in the room definitely adds to the mystique of the items in the cabinets.
We spent a lot more time in here than we first thought we would, and it is quite a memorable experience.
Our final stop on the university “tour,” was the Chemistry Laboratory, which has a “unique collection of the 18th and 19th century experimental devices.”
I guess this is where students sat to watch different experiments.
I could tell this guy was about to stir up some trouble.
Pigments and dyes for all sorts of experiments are located in the room.
I kept an eye out for this exhibit.
After checking out a European spider crab, I auditioned for a part in The Fly.
There was no Donna Summer tunes playing when we checked out the Disco de Newton (Newton’s disk). When this spins, the colors fade to white.
I don’t know what this feathered creature did to be called the Lesser Bird of Paradise.
Outside the Science Museum we admired a piece of street art on the side of the College of Arts that looked like a larger version of things we saw in the Cabinet of Curiosities. I later learned it is called “A Young Owl” by Bordalo II, a Portuguese activist and trash artist who utilizes street garbage to create animal sculptures to warn about pollution and endangered species
It took 2 1/2 hours to visit all those places, and since we had such a large breakfast, we decided to head over to the Museu Nacional Machado de Castro. I learned the name had nothing to do with Manny Machado or Fidel Castro, but was named after famed Portuguese sculptor Joaquim Machado de Castro.
Its location in the former Bishop’s Palace over the ruins of the Roman forum of Aeminium (Coimbra's Roman name) made for an interesting first stop in the museum.
We headed down to the cryptoporticus, the Roman name for a covered corridor or passageway. The Roman Forum of Aeminium was situated on a slope so the Criptoportico de Coimbra is located on two floors.
It was pretty cool to walk through these galleries …
… and some of the walkways are pretty narrow, so if you’re a little claustrophobic it might not be for you.
Before leaving this part of the museum, we saw the bust of Trajan.
One of the museum’s highlights is the 13th century cloister of the adjacent church of São João da Almedina.
Since de Castro was a sculptor, there were plenty of them to see like this medieval knight carved for Domingos Joanes’ tomb. He served Alfonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal.
There is a lot of medieval religious art including my man Michael on the left.
Another highlight is the Capela Do Tesouroeiro (Treasurer’s Chapel). It was once a part of the apse of the Church of Santo Domingoes, which no longer exists. I noticed all the apostles on the chapel are headless.
The Deposition of Christ (l) was created the Monastery of Santa Cruz (stay tuned) while the Altarpiece Nativity is from the Ursuline School.
There are lots of things to see here, but finally hunger won out.
While Kim and Mary went in search of an Irish pub for lunch, Tracy and I decided to hit Loggia, the museum cafe with some nice views. My steak sandwich with a giant Gin and Tonic was a perfect way to relax.
Tracy again went for the 5-A-Day meal.
We meandered downward as the rain had seemed to be a thing of the past.
I think this statue was called Tricana of Coimbra, which supposedly “commemorates the ladies of the city who listen to fado serenades.” It’s on the Rua de Quebra-Costas that is literally translated as Backbreaker Street. The street runs from the Arco de Almedina to the square Sé Velha. I read, “It should be said that this curious name was the humorous way that the people of Coimbra found to describe this steep, tortuous hill with slippery cobbles that have already caused so many falls.” We tread even more carefully.
Nearby was the Arco de Almedina, which was once a section of a medieval wall rebuilt in the 11th century by the Arab conqueror Almansor.
Then I saw something that definitely caught my eye. “Is this a statue of a woman’s backside?” I asked Tracy. Tracy, who was on the other side of the statue, said it looked like a guitar. As it turned out, we were both correct. The “Monument to the Fado of Coimbra” is half guitar and half woman. I suppose she would be high strung.
We were now back in the area we had been the previous evening and saw students strolling through town. They dress a lot better than I did when I went to college.
Back at the Igreja Santa Cruz, Tracy said, “Let’s go in and see if we missed anything.” As it turned out, we had missed almost everything.
As we would learn, this church is the Mosteiro da Santa Cruz and the National Pantheon, holding the remains of kings, including Portugal’s first two kings.
In this church you can walk all the way up to the altar, and of course Tracy was infatuated with its intricate ceiling.
She zoomed in to get a couple of sharp photos.
We were about to leave when we saw two tombs facing each other at the head of the church. We first looked at the tomb of Dom Alfonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal. It is surrounded by musical angels, prophets the national coat of arms among others. The 12 apostles surround him.
Facing him from the other side of the altar is the tomb of his son and second king of Portugal, Dom Sancho I.
We looked up at the organ and learned something about this 4,000 pipe organ. It is so complicated that it takes four people to play. I guess if one of those people leave, they quickly get an organ transplant to help out. Another website states that only four people actually know how to play this organ.
The azulejos are colorful and depict important events in the country’s history. They looked beautiful to me, but it is said they were so badly manufactured that the Lisbon pottery company that made them would not put its name on them.
We thought that was it for the church until we saw an open door. It led to the Sacristy, where for €3 we got a huge surprise as to how big this complex was.
Next we entered the Chapter Room …
… on our way to The Cloisters.
The tiles in The Cloister of Silence were magnificent.
There are bas reliefs sculpture panels in the four corners, along with tombs scattered throughout.
Next up were the Choir Stalls, carved in 1513.
Finally we ended up in The Sanctuary featuring a number of reliquaries.
We were happy we had taken the time to take that one last “quick” look to see if we missed anything.
Wandering down the street where we had dined the previous evening, the little alleyway popped out exactly at the parking garage where our car was still safely ensconced. Then it was back up to the hotel where we relaxed a bit before heading back down to dinner.
Before dinner, we popped into the historic Cafe Santa Cruz for pre-dinner drinks. The cafe will be celebrating its 100th birthday in 2023 and is “a meeting place for writers, journalists, people of letters and Arts, and also sports enthusiasts.” It is coined, “The Cafe of the Intellectuals.” Our group brought the intellectual quotient down quite a bit.
It was less than a five minute walk to Refeitro Da Baixa (Quintal do Prior, 2), another restaurant that was highly recommended.
The restaurant with a Mediterranean flair is housed in the centenary building of a ceramics factory (Cerâmica Antiga de Coimbra) that dates back to 1824.
It’s a cute restaurant. After being seated Kim said, “I think we’re eating inside one of the ovens.” Sure enough, looking up we saw a light at the end of the chimney.
Dinner was marvelous beginning with a puff pastry with brie, honey, walnuts and thyme. Wow!
Mary’s ahi salad tasted as good as it looked.
I was extremely hungry and started with steak tartare, followed by a main dish of pork cheeks.
Tracy enjoyed the roasted duck breast.
That was it for an insanely busy day in Coimbra. Not even the singing students could keep me up tonight.
Tomorrow, we’d get our car out of storage and head for four nights in the Douro Valley. Along the way, we’d stop in the cute city of Viseu and then it was on to Lamego, where we had the choice of climbing 686 steps up to the Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios or take a peaceful drive in the woods to the church. Via a famous road we arrived in the Douro Valley at the Quinta de la Rosa (the first of our two Douro hotels), where our room had a great view of the river.
Chapter Fourteen: Driving To The Douro
Day Fourteen: A Stop In A Medieval City, Is That An Orange Julius?, Stairway To Heaven, Into The Forest I Go, Yet Another Karen Valentine Highway, “Best Drive In The World?,”Bus Stopped, Maybe We Won’t Cross That Bridge When We Come To It, Wrong Turn and A Room With A View
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...mbing-coimbra/
Chapter Thirteen: Combing Coimbra
Day Thirteen: Agile Breakfast Servers, That First Step Is A Doozy, Big John, What Tour?, Bookin’ It, More Bats, Checking In With Michael, A Curious Room, Lab Rats, Not Manny Machado, Lunch At The Museum, The Giant Gin & Tonic, Tower of Power, Butt Statue?, Surprise Monastery, That’s Our Parking Lot, “Cafe of the Intellectuals,” Dinner At Pottery Barn and Open The Flue
We heard footsteps on the staircase at 8 a.m., which could only mean one thing: breakfast was served. Inside the basket that our hotel personnel braved life and limb scrambling up the steep stairs to deliver were hot scrambled eggs, rolls, cheese, cold cuts, baked pears, cereal and yogurt. With so much food, I asked Tracy if we were having guests over.
Meanwhile, Mary thought she could help out by going down to retrieve her basket. Unfortunately, her motto of “that first step is a doozy”came back to haunt her. She took a misstep and nearly tumbled down the flight of stairs, only to be saved by grabbing the rail at the last moment (re-enactment).
Tragedy averted and stomachs full, it was time to go to college. I had reserved a 10 a.m. tour of the Universidade de Coimbra, which also includes a visit to its big ticket item of the 18th century Joanine Library. On a rainy Thursday morning we entered a courtyard called Pátio das Escolas dominated by the gigantic statue of King João III. The university which was established in Lisbon in 1290, moved back and forth between Lisbon and Coimbra several times and finally João III re-established it here in 1537. The campus is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
I could almost hear Jimmy Dean belting out, “Big King John!”
We found the spot where the tour was supposed to meet and everything seemed fine, except for the fact there was no tour guide although a crowd was gathering. Finally someone opened the door and waved us into a room with books (that was not the Joanine Library). Perplexed, we walked in (after showing our letter from the university stating the four of us were allowed to be here), and a few minutes later we were led upstairs to the Joanine Library, where we were allotted ten minutes to view the dazzling display of 40,000 or so ancient books and manuscripts the library contains. There were strict orders of “No photos” and we could see a couple of people giving everyone the eagle eye (the two photos of the library are from the internet).
The library was constructed on the orders of King João V in 1720 (finished in 1728) on top of the ruins of a medieval royal prison. The painting in the photo below is of the king on what is called The Noble Floor. I had read that the library would be the last stop on our “tour,” so I figured we were on our own, which was actually fine with us as long as our papers of transit could get us in to all the places the tour was supposed to go (it did).
We were told that this library (along with the one at Mafra Palace) are the only two libraries in the world that have bat colonies to keep pesky pests from eating the pages. Whether that’s true or not, I’m not sure, but it was kinda neat to hear about these bats in the biblioteca. They’ve been hanging out here for more than two centuries keeping these books safe.
After our ten minutes in the library we were back outside the Manueline Portal of Capela de São Miguel (St. Michael’s Chapel).
In we went, and where happy to learn we could take photos here. The chapel dates back to the 16th century.
It was pretty small, but the 18th-century organ (still operational) that has 2,000 pipes is not. The trumpeting angels on top are a nice touch.
The ceiling (you knew we couldn’t forget that) is from the 17th century.
It was renovated and furnished with a more up-to-date coat of arms.
That was it for the chapel, so now we were really on our own.
I read on my ticket that we were allowed entry to the Royal Palace, which happens to be Portugal’s oldest palace, built near the end of the 10th century. In the 12th century it was the home of Alfonso Henriques, who was the first king of Portugal. As a matter of fact, all the Kings of the Portuguese first Dynasty lived here, a period spanning 240 years. The palace was not hard to find.
Entering the Hall of Arms, I expected to see a bunch of limbs, but it actually is the armory.
We ducked into an area adjacent to the Hall of Arms. I could only ascertain that this called The Yellow Room. Portraits on the yellow silk wall are of 19th-century rectors.
Next up was the The Great Hall of Acts, which at one one time was the Throne Room of the Royal Palace in the Citadel. There are large canvases with the kings of Portugal on the walls. Various ceremonies are held here, including doctoral thesis.
The intricately designed ceiling panes were created in the 17th century.
Tracy said, “Let’s go to the Private Examination Room.” “I’m not even sick,” I replied, not knowing that this was once the king’s quarters, but is now where graduates of the university take their examinations.
The colorful ceiling is from 1701. Kim caught Tracy in the act.
She was able to zoom in on the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Portugal …
… and “representations of the former great Faculties at the University of Coimbra.” This one, featuring a swan and the staff of Hermes, represents medicine.
Back outside we checked out King João III’s humongous statue up close. Something I learned while there was that Coimbra is known as the “Athens of Portugal,” due to its culture and heritage, and the fact that it is the birthplace of six Portugal monarchs.
Our next goal was to find something called the Cabinet of Curiosities. Curious as to where it was located, we asked a few people for directions but received no definitive answer. We wandered and wandered and instead of the Cabinet, we stumbled upon the nearby Sé Nova (New Cathedral of Coimbra). “New” being a relative term because the church was built in the 1500s, later becoming Coimbra’s New Cathedral when the Old Cathedral retired in 1772.
The gold altarpieces were added in the 1700s.
We stopped by the Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte (Our Lady of Good Death).
Lots of gilded woodwork can be seen throughout the church.
In The Chapel of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, for 50 cents the tomb lights up. I’m a sucker for those.
Finally, we saw a reliquary that reminded me of Thing on the Addams Family TV show. I forced myself not to say, “I’d give my right arm for that.”
Somehow (I really can’t remember how), we found the Cabinet of Curiosities. It turned out to be very interesting. I mean how many rooms have you been in with a cow skeleton and a crocodile hanging from the ceiling?
From the university website, Cabinets of Curiosities “were mainly created by the European nobility, who tried to gather in these rooms a set of objects, such as exotic pieces, in an attempt to recreate the work of God. The aim of these cabinets was to display rare, exotic and even bizarre objects, so as to amaze the visitor and simultaneously show the cosmopolitan vision of their owner.” That certainly defines this room.
The Science Museum at Coimbra University opened the Cabinets of Curiosities earlier in 2022. It took three years, 10 people and an investment of 250,000 euros to “ recreate this nearly magical atmosphere.”
A donkey with six leg, skeletons and skulls were just a part of this menagerie of unique items that have no captions or labels to say what they are.
They are not displayed in any semblance of logical order.
The lighting in the room definitely adds to the mystique of the items in the cabinets.
We spent a lot more time in here than we first thought we would, and it is quite a memorable experience.
Our final stop on the university “tour,” was the Chemistry Laboratory, which has a “unique collection of the 18th and 19th century experimental devices.”
I guess this is where students sat to watch different experiments.
I could tell this guy was about to stir up some trouble.
Pigments and dyes for all sorts of experiments are located in the room.
I kept an eye out for this exhibit.
After checking out a European spider crab, I auditioned for a part in The Fly.
There was no Donna Summer tunes playing when we checked out the Disco de Newton (Newton’s disk). When this spins, the colors fade to white.
I don’t know what this feathered creature did to be called the Lesser Bird of Paradise.
Outside the Science Museum we admired a piece of street art on the side of the College of Arts that looked like a larger version of things we saw in the Cabinet of Curiosities. I later learned it is called “A Young Owl” by Bordalo II, a Portuguese activist and trash artist who utilizes street garbage to create animal sculptures to warn about pollution and endangered species
It took 2 1/2 hours to visit all those places, and since we had such a large breakfast, we decided to head over to the Museu Nacional Machado de Castro. I learned the name had nothing to do with Manny Machado or Fidel Castro, but was named after famed Portuguese sculptor Joaquim Machado de Castro.
Its location in the former Bishop’s Palace over the ruins of the Roman forum of Aeminium (Coimbra's Roman name) made for an interesting first stop in the museum.
We headed down to the cryptoporticus, the Roman name for a covered corridor or passageway. The Roman Forum of Aeminium was situated on a slope so the Criptoportico de Coimbra is located on two floors.
It was pretty cool to walk through these galleries …
… and some of the walkways are pretty narrow, so if you’re a little claustrophobic it might not be for you.
Before leaving this part of the museum, we saw the bust of Trajan.
One of the museum’s highlights is the 13th century cloister of the adjacent church of São João da Almedina.
Since de Castro was a sculptor, there were plenty of them to see like this medieval knight carved for Domingos Joanes’ tomb. He served Alfonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal.
There is a lot of medieval religious art including my man Michael on the left.
Another highlight is the Capela Do Tesouroeiro (Treasurer’s Chapel). It was once a part of the apse of the Church of Santo Domingoes, which no longer exists. I noticed all the apostles on the chapel are headless.
The Deposition of Christ (l) was created the Monastery of Santa Cruz (stay tuned) while the Altarpiece Nativity is from the Ursuline School.
There are lots of things to see here, but finally hunger won out.
While Kim and Mary went in search of an Irish pub for lunch, Tracy and I decided to hit Loggia, the museum cafe with some nice views. My steak sandwich with a giant Gin and Tonic was a perfect way to relax.
Tracy again went for the 5-A-Day meal.
We meandered downward as the rain had seemed to be a thing of the past.
I think this statue was called Tricana of Coimbra, which supposedly “commemorates the ladies of the city who listen to fado serenades.” It’s on the Rua de Quebra-Costas that is literally translated as Backbreaker Street. The street runs from the Arco de Almedina to the square Sé Velha. I read, “It should be said that this curious name was the humorous way that the people of Coimbra found to describe this steep, tortuous hill with slippery cobbles that have already caused so many falls.” We tread even more carefully.
Nearby was the Arco de Almedina, which was once a section of a medieval wall rebuilt in the 11th century by the Arab conqueror Almansor.
Then I saw something that definitely caught my eye. “Is this a statue of a woman’s backside?” I asked Tracy. Tracy, who was on the other side of the statue, said it looked like a guitar. As it turned out, we were both correct. The “Monument to the Fado of Coimbra” is half guitar and half woman. I suppose she would be high strung.
We were now back in the area we had been the previous evening and saw students strolling through town. They dress a lot better than I did when I went to college.
Back at the Igreja Santa Cruz, Tracy said, “Let’s go in and see if we missed anything.” As it turned out, we had missed almost everything.
As we would learn, this church is the Mosteiro da Santa Cruz and the National Pantheon, holding the remains of kings, including Portugal’s first two kings.
In this church you can walk all the way up to the altar, and of course Tracy was infatuated with its intricate ceiling.
She zoomed in to get a couple of sharp photos.
We were about to leave when we saw two tombs facing each other at the head of the church. We first looked at the tomb of Dom Alfonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal. It is surrounded by musical angels, prophets the national coat of arms among others. The 12 apostles surround him.
Facing him from the other side of the altar is the tomb of his son and second king of Portugal, Dom Sancho I.
We looked up at the organ and learned something about this 4,000 pipe organ. It is so complicated that it takes four people to play. I guess if one of those people leave, they quickly get an organ transplant to help out. Another website states that only four people actually know how to play this organ.
The azulejos are colorful and depict important events in the country’s history. They looked beautiful to me, but it is said they were so badly manufactured that the Lisbon pottery company that made them would not put its name on them.
We thought that was it for the church until we saw an open door. It led to the Sacristy, where for €3 we got a huge surprise as to how big this complex was.
Next we entered the Chapter Room …
… on our way to The Cloisters.
The tiles in The Cloister of Silence were magnificent.
There are bas reliefs sculpture panels in the four corners, along with tombs scattered throughout.
Next up were the Choir Stalls, carved in 1513.
Finally we ended up in The Sanctuary featuring a number of reliquaries.
We were happy we had taken the time to take that one last “quick” look to see if we missed anything.
Wandering down the street where we had dined the previous evening, the little alleyway popped out exactly at the parking garage where our car was still safely ensconced. Then it was back up to the hotel where we relaxed a bit before heading back down to dinner.
Before dinner, we popped into the historic Cafe Santa Cruz for pre-dinner drinks. The cafe will be celebrating its 100th birthday in 2023 and is “a meeting place for writers, journalists, people of letters and Arts, and also sports enthusiasts.” It is coined, “The Cafe of the Intellectuals.” Our group brought the intellectual quotient down quite a bit.
It was less than a five minute walk to Refeitro Da Baixa (Quintal do Prior, 2), another restaurant that was highly recommended.
The restaurant with a Mediterranean flair is housed in the centenary building of a ceramics factory (Cerâmica Antiga de Coimbra) that dates back to 1824.
It’s a cute restaurant. After being seated Kim said, “I think we’re eating inside one of the ovens.” Sure enough, looking up we saw a light at the end of the chimney.
Dinner was marvelous beginning with a puff pastry with brie, honey, walnuts and thyme. Wow!
Mary’s ahi salad tasted as good as it looked.
I was extremely hungry and started with steak tartare, followed by a main dish of pork cheeks.
Tracy enjoyed the roasted duck breast.
That was it for an insanely busy day in Coimbra. Not even the singing students could keep me up tonight.
Tomorrow, we’d get our car out of storage and head for four nights in the Douro Valley. Along the way, we’d stop in the cute city of Viseu and then it was on to Lamego, where we had the choice of climbing 686 steps up to the Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios or take a peaceful drive in the woods to the church. Via a famous road we arrived in the Douro Valley at the Quinta de la Rosa (the first of our two Douro hotels), where our room had a great view of the river.
Chapter Fourteen: Driving To The Douro
Day Fourteen: A Stop In A Medieval City, Is That An Orange Julius?, Stairway To Heaven, Into The Forest I Go, Yet Another Karen Valentine Highway, “Best Drive In The World?,”Bus Stopped, Maybe We Won’t Cross That Bridge When We Come To It, Wrong Turn and A Room With A View
Last edited by maitaitom; Feb 11th, 2023 at 08:52 AM.
Feb 12th, 2023, 05:43 AM
#83
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All of your photos are gorgeous!!! I never thought a university and library could be so beautiful and so interesting to visit! Did you ever actually see your tour guide? I love all the ornate ceilings and the organ and the palace.
The Cabinet of Curiosities is so creepy! I love the Young Owl street art! And you always find such interesting restaurants!
I really like your itinerary so far. If we have the chance to re-visit Portugal, I will definitely include a couple nights each in Tomar and Coimbra.
The Cabinet of Curiosities is so creepy! I love the Young Owl street art! And you always find such interesting restaurants!
I really like your itinerary so far. If we have the chance to re-visit Portugal, I will definitely include a couple nights each in Tomar and Coimbra.
Feb 12th, 2023, 11:19 AM
#85
Original Poster
"I took several photos of A Young Owl, but had no idea what the backstory was, thanks for filling in the blanks."
M8 - I watched as many many people just walked by and barely took a glance at this colorful and interesting piece of art. Guess they just didn't give a hoot.
M8 - I watched as many many people just walked by and barely took a glance at this colorful and interesting piece of art. Guess they just didn't give a hoot.
Feb 13th, 2023, 09:00 AM
#86
"I took several photos of A Young Owl, but had no idea what the backstory was, thanks for filling in the blanks."
M8 - I watched as many many people just walked by and barely took a glance at this colorful and interesting piece of art. Guess they just didn't give a hoot.
M8 - I watched as many many people just walked by and barely took a glance at this colorful and interesting piece of art. Guess they just didn't give a hoot.
Feb 14th, 2023, 09:44 AM
#87
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Excited to see you stopping in Viseu (on your next report)! It's weirdly one of our favorite places in Portugal. I guess mostly because, like you, I also took a tumble in Portugal and got to experience the wonderful healthcare there (back in 2019). I fell on the steps in Lamego and broke my foot and we were on the way to Viseu so we ended up there for a few nights while arranging an early return to the U.S. and vising the hospital. We returned to Portugal to finish that trip last fall and we had to make a short stop in Viseu for old times sake (and so I could see the upper levels of the Se since I couldn't manage the stairs last time). Looking forward to hearing what you thought of it.
Feb 16th, 2023, 07:07 PM
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What a wonderful descriptive, informative and entertaining writer you are that keeps us waiting for more details of your adventures with Tracy! We are waiting for your next entry for Douro and Porto adventures!
Feb 20th, 2023, 07:10 AM
#89
Original Poster
Thanks. plufmud
A couple of days of the trip in this installment. From Coimbra we stopped at the interesting town of Viseu (wish we could have stayed longer) and then moved on to Lamego, where in my younger days I would have climbed those 686 steps to Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, but thankfully there was a road up to it. Then we made it to the Douro Valley, where I accidentally drove off the highway (not as bad as it sounds) on the way to our lodging. The following day we’d go on a glorious hike into the vineyards to start the day. Then we’d take to the hills, where humanity seemed to have fled knowing we were on our way. Of course, being in the Douro meant a little wine to be consumed. Cheers! Story with photos in link below .. without photos below photos.
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...-to-the-douro/
Chapter Fourteen: Viseu, Lamego & On To The Douro
Day Fourteen: A Stop In A Medieval City, Is That An Orange Julius?, Stairway To Heaven, Into The Forest I Go, Yet Another Karen Valentine Highway, “Best Drive In The World?”, Wrong Turn, Bus Stop, Maybe We Won’t Cross That Bridge When We Come To It and A Room With A View
After another delicious filling breakfast at Solar Antigo Luxury Coimbra, we collected our rental mobile from the parking garage and were back on the road with our destination being the wine country of the Douro Valley. About an hour north of Coimbra, we made our first stop in the medieval city of Viseu.
We parked near a World War I Monument …
… and walked along the picturesque streets.
The street lamps hanging over the narrow streets added a unique touch, and this town, filled with charming squares, seemed to warrant much more time than we had to spend. Next time.
Reaching the heart of town, two churches faced one another. Although one had a much more magnificent façade, we chose the Catedral de Viseu located cross the square from the Igreja da Misericórdia (which I would duck into for a couple of moments after exploring the cathedral).
Before entering we took a look at a statue of King Duarte located nearby.
The cathedral dates to the 12th and 13th centuries and was enlarged in the 16th century. It kind of has a nautical feel with those stone pillars that look like twisted ropes.
Upstairs there was a better view of the interior and we also saw the choir.
Fortunately for Tracy the ceiling was interesting so she could work out a few kinks in her neck.
The sacristy doesn’t have a whole lot to see, especially after seeing so much in (some may say too many) other cathedrals. However, we did catch a great view of the Igreja da Misericórdia, along with one of the bell towers.
We didn’t spend an over abundance of time in Viseu, because we had one more stop along the way to the Douro Valley. Still, it was a worthwhile stop.
Before leaving, I took a peek inside the Rococo-styled Igreja da Misericórdia, built in the latter half of the 18th century. I particularly liked the cool balcony below the organ.
It was about 45 minutes to Lamego. I found driving in Portugal to be very easy. We did have to keep an eye out for Via Verde lanes on the highways, where the transponder in the car would give a little ding to pay whatever toll was at that designated spot. In nine days of driving, despite a lot of dinging, the tolls added up to less than 15 euro.
In Lamego, after parking in yet another stadium parking lot, we searched along a tree-lined street for a quick lunch. We decided on the Com Unhas e Dentes Hamburgerlia as it had a 4.9 rating on Google Eats. Tasty burgers and I had a tremendous fresh squeezed orange juice which tasted just like the Orange Julius of my childhood.
After lunch, our goal was to locate the Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, with its set of 686 zigzagging stairs. Tracy laughed, “That shouldn’t be too difficult. Look straight ahead and up.” We had parked virtually at the bottom of the stairway of Our Lady of Remedies, although there was no explanation for my lack of observation.
In the old days, I would have eagerly climbed the Baroque staircase to Monte de Santo Estêvão (St. Stephen) where the sanctuary is located. Sadly, my “1,000 stairs a day” vacation mantra has faded into distant memory. I had read that there was a pretty drive up to the church, which is what we did. A winding road through a forest area with camping and picnic sites ended in the parking lot, where we first saw a 700-year-old chestnut tree.
We parked (free) and found the front of the church.
Taking the stairs down a level or two, the views back to Lamego were stupendous.
As we stood on the landing, an air raid siren started blaring, and I mean blaring. This went on for a matter of minutes, which was cause for, perhaps, a little alarm, although the thought of Lamego being attacked was certainly remote. Finally, after about about 10 minutes it stopped. Someone we talked with said it was for the volunteer fire department.
Numerous statues, some of kings, lined the stairways and landings.
The nine landings are decorated with spectacular azulejo friezes.
It was mid-afternoon by now, and we wanted to catch a glimpse of the church before hitting the Douro.
After taking a couple of photos, we learned that no photos are allowed. Sorry.
Apologizing at the tomb of the founder of the sanctuary, Canon Jose Teixeira Pinto, at the entrance to the nave (oops, one last photo), we departed.
And it was just in time, because a tour bus had pulled up, and the quiet sanctuary we had just enjoyed would soon be overrun.
In less than thirty minutes, we were near Peso da Régua, and found ourselves traveling on the Estrada Nacional 222 (N222), which we, of course, dubbed the Karen Valentine Highway (named in honor of the Room 222 star). We had not been on a Karen Valentine Highway since 2005, when we drove on the S222 in Italy.
The road, which runs from Peso de Regua to Pinhão has been awarded the prestigious honor of “Best Drive In The World.” It was lovely, but I would have to say “Best Drive In The World” might be overstating it a bit. Sadly, portions of the river looked more like a stream as Portugal has been enduring a drought (as Californians, we felt their pain).
It didn’t help that when the road veered slightly to the left, the driver (that would be moi) continued straight. My passengers were quite surprised when I headed straight, and the next words I heard were, “Tom, you are in a driveway.” Yes, I was on the driveway to one of the hotels that dot the Douro landscape.
I quickly reversed and continued to our lodging for the next two nights, the Quinta de la Rosa. But first we had to get through Pinhão. Approaching the bridge into town, there was a backup of vehicles as two tour busses headed in opposite directions met at the beginning of the narrow bridge. As we eventually learned, it was narrow for two cars to pass each other on this bridge, and impossible for two busses to navigate.
At first it was a wild west standoff, but finally the tour bus entering the bridge reluctantly backed up ever so carefully.
Two kilometers later we arrived at the Quinta de la Rosa, a hotel that doubles as a winery (or vice versa). The reception area featured a floor to ceiling window overlooking the river and countryside. I believe Kim was pondering if it was time to take away my driver’s license. Watch out old man!
Our spacious rooms were great with views of the river and hillside vineyards. Hoping to help the local economy, we purchased a bottle of wine to enjoy on the terrace before we headed to dinner at the on-site restaurant Cozinha da Clara, where we dined on the patio.
Although the Maître d' was pretty grumpy, our helpful and cheerful sommelier/wine server made up for the former’s lack of personality. We started with house-made bread with three different types of butter (chorizo, parsley and olive). The first two were delicious, and the other three assured me the olive was good. Not being an olive aficionado, I will have to take their word for it.
Some of the more interesting dishes consisted of special fried sardines; and confit chicken with potato terrine and roasted veggies.
Tracy and I both started with a fantastic cold pumpkin and carrot soup with ginger and chutney.
Kim ordered Iberian black pork with what the menu declared was “the most exquisite creamy, truffled mashed potatoes.”
Dinner was very, very good, and the setting was exquisite. Even the Maître d’ had lightened up by the end of the meal. Life is good.
We settled into our cozy room for a good night’s sleep, because we had to get up early for breakfast before our 90-minute tour of one of Quinta de la Rosa’s terraced vineyards and its winery. Then we would head for the hills to check out a few of the small towns surrounding the area. Dinner would be in Pinhão at another restaurant with a patio overlooking the river.
Day Fifteen: That’s Not What It Looks Like, Take A Hike, Not Dante’s Inferno, Changing Colors, A Barrel Of Laughs, Kids In A Vat, Send In Trevor Hoffman, Where Is Everybody?, Spectacular Views, Wrong House, We’re Walking Here, A Smoke Filled Room, “Two Guys With Attitude” and No Lamb For Ewe
Today was one of those mixed bag vacation days that doesn’t go quite the way you planned. It did get off to a good start. After a quick bite at the hotel restaurant buffet (included with the room), we arrived at the Reception area to await our guide. Although this picture looks suspiciously like Kim and I are peeing on the window, trust me we weren’t (or at least I wasn’t).
At 9 a.m. sharp our guide Isabel (not the one from Sintra) appeared and we headed out to the Vale do Inferno. It was a clear, crisp morning, but it would give way to very hot conditions later. I was glad to have chosen the early tour.
Walking along a dirt road we entered the Vale do Inferno, which has no correlation to Dante’s book, but are some of the highest dry stone terraces in the Douro. The terrace vines were awash with autumn colors, but it looked like one misstep could have a laborer (or tourist) tumbling down the hillside. We safely ambled on.
The crush had been completed just a few days before we arrived but a few grapes still clung to the vines.
La Rosa has 60 acres of vines here, and they also have a property near the border with Spain. Although the family acquired the property in 1825, the winery wasn’t started until much later by the family matriarch, Claire, “who was gifted the estate and vineyard for her baptism in 1906 and lived in the house for much of her life.” One of her children, Sophia, is the estate owner and manager today.
The views were remarkable, and Isabel was very informative sharing the storied history of the winery and the family. Built during the first world war, these are some of the highest-terraced vineyards in the Douro.
Back at the hotel property, we checked out the owner’s pool (there is a separate one for guests).
Isabel took us into the wine cellar where the grapes were fermenting.
She told us that the winery was able to start producing port in 1988, when Sophia and her father Tim relaunched Quinta de la Rosa and started to make Port wines under their own label.
Unbeknownst to me previously, we learned that only port made in the Douro region of Portugal can be called port (like champagne is supposed to come only from the Champagne region of France in order to be called champagne).
In 1996, La Rosa was awarded the Fortified Wine Maker of the Year at London’s International Wine Show.
Special casks are marked with the names of children in the family and the year they were born. When they turn 21, a big party is held where the cask is opened to sample the port.
Speaking of casks, we were asked what the little door on this one was for. Tracy jokingly replied, “That’s where you put the kids when they’re bad.” She was actually pretty close. Isabel told us the small door was indeed for small children, who decades earlier had been used to clean the inside of the cask. She assured us this was a tradition that has since been discontinued.
Our tour (€30) completed, we decided to head for the hills and explore some of the nearby hill towns. Unfortunately, I had parked in a way that made it difficult to actually turn the car around so we could get on the road without backing onto it. When the driving gets tough, the tough call on Kim to be the relief driver (the automotive version on Trevor Hoffman). I had not called on Kim since the episode in Spain where he extracted us from a parking conundrum with a walnut tree that was watched with great humor by the locals who actually applauded Kim’s driving skills when he managed to extract the car without a dent in either the car or the tree.
Safely turned around, I re-entered the cockpit and we drove into the hills, stopping to admire the scenery at this viewpoint.
Our first stop was Provesende, where I had heard about an 80-year-old bakery, Padaira Fatima. Parking on the edge of town, we walked into town.
The one thing that seemed to be missing were the people. For ten minutes the only thing we saw was a dog who looked like he needed some human companionship.
We finally found a person and asked about the bakery, but she said it was closed, which was not what I kneaded to hear.
I was able to find (by luck, since there weren’t really any people to ask) the Fountain of Provesende, built in 1755.
I also stuck my head into a small church, and soon we were on the road again.
Our next stop was Sabrosa, the birthplace of Fernão de Magalhães (Magellan), the first person to circumnavigate the world.
Again the town was virtually empty, and I started to think we were in an old Twilight Zone episode.
We ducked into what looked like the Igreja Matriz de Sabrosa, but when I did this was all I saw was this small chapel. I looked around for Rod Serling.
I was excited to explore Magellan’s birthplace, only to learn when I returned home was that it was just a building on Rua Fernão de Magalhães. At least I didn’t get shot by a poison arrow.
Back in the car, we thought surely there would be a decent spot for lunch in Favaios. It was a pretty drive.
In Favaios, I did something I had not done since our infamous 2005 Italy trip (no, not put the wrong petrol in the car). It was tough finding a parking place, but I assured the group, “There’s one up ahead. I’ll park there.” Then, for the second time in as many days, as I pulled up to where I thought we could park, I heard Tracy mutter words of endearment, “Tom, you idiot.”
I said, “What did I do this time?” She replied, “You are driving on a pedestrian plaza.” Yes, citizens of Trevi, you are now not alone.
We walked through town, as I shielded my face from the local citizenry. Passing by the Bread & Wine Museum, I asked Kim and Mary if they wanted to go in. Kim replied, “I prefer not to spend the dough.” Thankfully, only one week was left on our trip.
Kim checked the Meal-o-Meter on his phone, and said there was a good restaurant not too far away we could try. I don’t know what “not too far away” meant to him at that time, on a day that was approaching 90 degrees (32.2C), the hike alongside the vineyards was taking quite some time.
We happened upon an old woman who looked very much like Ed Asner’s animated character in the movie “Up,” who looks just like Spencer Tracy. But I digress… When we asked her about the restaurant Kim and Mary were headed to, she shook her head, pointed in the opposite direction, and said, “Better restaurant.” Narrowly averting heatstroke, as we walked up a steep cobblestone street the woman had told us not to go to, we caught up with Kim and Mary only to learn the restaurant was full with people waiting (so this is where they all are?). We trudged back down the hill to town.
It was now the dreaded no lunch zone of 2:15, but Kim and Mary bravely entered a smoke-filled den (café) where Mary purchased coffee and pastries. Meanwhile, we sat in the shade and entertained ourselves by watching a woman feed a dog on the plaza, where I had parked about 45 minutes previously. I donned my sunglasses in case anyone recognized me.
Tracy loves to taste olive oil, and I had read about a place not too far away, the D’Origem Olive Oil Museum. As we approached on a narrow street a quagmire of cars boxed us in. Tracy and Mary got out of the car and jogged the short distance to inquire where was the best place to park.
A few minutes later they hopped back in the car, and said, “Let’s go.” Kim and I were perplexed. Tracy and Mary explained that the people working there were real jerks, “two guys with attitude,”so no olive oil tasting for us. I had also wanted to go to the Miradouro de Casal de Loivos, which has been said to have “the best view in the world,” but our car was facing the wrong direction with no easy place to turn around. Plus, it was unbelievably hot and it seemed nobody was really in the mood to explore. I get my Miradouro fix by watching Youtube videos. Ah, the best laid plans…
The Val de Mendez was lovely and shortly we were back along the river.
Tracy and I hopped up to Tim’s Terrace, a patio restaurant at the Quinta de la Rosa, and even though dinner was not that far away, we shared a small bite and some vinho.
Dinner on this evening would be in Pinhão on the patio of a restaurant called The Writer’s Place. The view from where it is nestled on the curve of the river almost under the bridge was lovely, and the patio was covered with grapes hanging from the arbor. It was all starting well.
Last to order, I chose the lamb. For the umpteenth time on the trip, and even though the restaurant had opened just scant minutes earlier, our waiter said what sounded like, “None for ewe” but was more likely, “we are out of lamb.” It had happened so many times in the past two weeks, he probably did not know why we were all laughing. I eventually ordered the pork.
Mary loved her fish from the Douro (airy lightly breaded white fish).
Kim’s grilled salmon and Tracy’s pork were also good.
However, my dinner did not arrive. After about ten minutes I asked about my pork, and it seemed they had forgotten my order. My guess is the waiter was new, and just like in the states or in Sintra, mistakes happen. That said, the food was good, and it wasn’t like we were in a hurry. Did I mention the view was splendid indeed?
I had thought three nights in the Douro would be best, but circumstances required we spend two nights at Quinta de la Rosa and two nights at our lodging the next day, Quinta do Pego, which is located almost directly across the river. There has always been much discussion on the Fodor’s Travel Board as to which one is the preferred accommodation. Now, we could weigh in with our opinion.
Our first goal was to make it to our new lodgings. The private road on the Quinta do Pego property is steep and winding and only accommodates one car at a time. My passengers were fearful with my driving skills that they might plunge down the steep vineyard and into the river.
Obviously we made it, because, after checking in, we’d hit the Karen Valentine Highway to Peso da Régua, to visit the Museu do Douro to learn about the region’s wine making.
Then we’d head up to to take the tour I had arranged at Casa de Mateus, an 18th century palace with beautiful gardens.
Then it was back to our new hotel to relax on its terraces under the olive trees with magnificent views.
Chapter Fifteen: The Douro - Part Two
Day Sixteen: To Everything Turn Turn Turn, Any Port In A Heatwave, A Wonderful Tour, Glorious Gardens, More Bats?!, Getting Supplies, This Is The Way To Live, Fiona Can We Adopt You? and An “Appetizing” Dinner
A couple of days of the trip in this installment. From Coimbra we stopped at the interesting town of Viseu (wish we could have stayed longer) and then moved on to Lamego, where in my younger days I would have climbed those 686 steps to Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, but thankfully there was a road up to it. Then we made it to the Douro Valley, where I accidentally drove off the highway (not as bad as it sounds) on the way to our lodging. The following day we’d go on a glorious hike into the vineyards to start the day. Then we’d take to the hills, where humanity seemed to have fled knowing we were on our way. Of course, being in the Douro meant a little wine to be consumed. Cheers! Story with photos in link below .. without photos below photos.
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...-to-the-douro/
Chapter Fourteen: Viseu, Lamego & On To The Douro
Day Fourteen: A Stop In A Medieval City, Is That An Orange Julius?, Stairway To Heaven, Into The Forest I Go, Yet Another Karen Valentine Highway, “Best Drive In The World?”, Wrong Turn, Bus Stop, Maybe We Won’t Cross That Bridge When We Come To It and A Room With A View
After another delicious filling breakfast at Solar Antigo Luxury Coimbra, we collected our rental mobile from the parking garage and were back on the road with our destination being the wine country of the Douro Valley. About an hour north of Coimbra, we made our first stop in the medieval city of Viseu.
We parked near a World War I Monument …
… and walked along the picturesque streets.
The street lamps hanging over the narrow streets added a unique touch, and this town, filled with charming squares, seemed to warrant much more time than we had to spend. Next time.
Reaching the heart of town, two churches faced one another. Although one had a much more magnificent façade, we chose the Catedral de Viseu located cross the square from the Igreja da Misericórdia (which I would duck into for a couple of moments after exploring the cathedral).
Before entering we took a look at a statue of King Duarte located nearby.
The cathedral dates to the 12th and 13th centuries and was enlarged in the 16th century. It kind of has a nautical feel with those stone pillars that look like twisted ropes.
Upstairs there was a better view of the interior and we also saw the choir.
Fortunately for Tracy the ceiling was interesting so she could work out a few kinks in her neck.
The sacristy doesn’t have a whole lot to see, especially after seeing so much in (some may say too many) other cathedrals. However, we did catch a great view of the Igreja da Misericórdia, along with one of the bell towers.
We didn’t spend an over abundance of time in Viseu, because we had one more stop along the way to the Douro Valley. Still, it was a worthwhile stop.
Before leaving, I took a peek inside the Rococo-styled Igreja da Misericórdia, built in the latter half of the 18th century. I particularly liked the cool balcony below the organ.
It was about 45 minutes to Lamego. I found driving in Portugal to be very easy. We did have to keep an eye out for Via Verde lanes on the highways, where the transponder in the car would give a little ding to pay whatever toll was at that designated spot. In nine days of driving, despite a lot of dinging, the tolls added up to less than 15 euro.
In Lamego, after parking in yet another stadium parking lot, we searched along a tree-lined street for a quick lunch. We decided on the Com Unhas e Dentes Hamburgerlia as it had a 4.9 rating on Google Eats. Tasty burgers and I had a tremendous fresh squeezed orange juice which tasted just like the Orange Julius of my childhood.
After lunch, our goal was to locate the Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, with its set of 686 zigzagging stairs. Tracy laughed, “That shouldn’t be too difficult. Look straight ahead and up.” We had parked virtually at the bottom of the stairway of Our Lady of Remedies, although there was no explanation for my lack of observation.
In the old days, I would have eagerly climbed the Baroque staircase to Monte de Santo Estêvão (St. Stephen) where the sanctuary is located. Sadly, my “1,000 stairs a day” vacation mantra has faded into distant memory. I had read that there was a pretty drive up to the church, which is what we did. A winding road through a forest area with camping and picnic sites ended in the parking lot, where we first saw a 700-year-old chestnut tree.
We parked (free) and found the front of the church.
Taking the stairs down a level or two, the views back to Lamego were stupendous.
As we stood on the landing, an air raid siren started blaring, and I mean blaring. This went on for a matter of minutes, which was cause for, perhaps, a little alarm, although the thought of Lamego being attacked was certainly remote. Finally, after about about 10 minutes it stopped. Someone we talked with said it was for the volunteer fire department.
Numerous statues, some of kings, lined the stairways and landings.
The nine landings are decorated with spectacular azulejo friezes.
It was mid-afternoon by now, and we wanted to catch a glimpse of the church before hitting the Douro.
After taking a couple of photos, we learned that no photos are allowed. Sorry.
Apologizing at the tomb of the founder of the sanctuary, Canon Jose Teixeira Pinto, at the entrance to the nave (oops, one last photo), we departed.
And it was just in time, because a tour bus had pulled up, and the quiet sanctuary we had just enjoyed would soon be overrun.
In less than thirty minutes, we were near Peso da Régua, and found ourselves traveling on the Estrada Nacional 222 (N222), which we, of course, dubbed the Karen Valentine Highway (named in honor of the Room 222 star). We had not been on a Karen Valentine Highway since 2005, when we drove on the S222 in Italy.
The road, which runs from Peso de Regua to Pinhão has been awarded the prestigious honor of “Best Drive In The World.” It was lovely, but I would have to say “Best Drive In The World” might be overstating it a bit. Sadly, portions of the river looked more like a stream as Portugal has been enduring a drought (as Californians, we felt their pain).
It didn’t help that when the road veered slightly to the left, the driver (that would be moi) continued straight. My passengers were quite surprised when I headed straight, and the next words I heard were, “Tom, you are in a driveway.” Yes, I was on the driveway to one of the hotels that dot the Douro landscape.
I quickly reversed and continued to our lodging for the next two nights, the Quinta de la Rosa. But first we had to get through Pinhão. Approaching the bridge into town, there was a backup of vehicles as two tour busses headed in opposite directions met at the beginning of the narrow bridge. As we eventually learned, it was narrow for two cars to pass each other on this bridge, and impossible for two busses to navigate.
At first it was a wild west standoff, but finally the tour bus entering the bridge reluctantly backed up ever so carefully.
Two kilometers later we arrived at the Quinta de la Rosa, a hotel that doubles as a winery (or vice versa). The reception area featured a floor to ceiling window overlooking the river and countryside. I believe Kim was pondering if it was time to take away my driver’s license. Watch out old man!
Our spacious rooms were great with views of the river and hillside vineyards. Hoping to help the local economy, we purchased a bottle of wine to enjoy on the terrace before we headed to dinner at the on-site restaurant Cozinha da Clara, where we dined on the patio.
Although the Maître d' was pretty grumpy, our helpful and cheerful sommelier/wine server made up for the former’s lack of personality. We started with house-made bread with three different types of butter (chorizo, parsley and olive). The first two were delicious, and the other three assured me the olive was good. Not being an olive aficionado, I will have to take their word for it.
Some of the more interesting dishes consisted of special fried sardines; and confit chicken with potato terrine and roasted veggies.
Tracy and I both started with a fantastic cold pumpkin and carrot soup with ginger and chutney.
Kim ordered Iberian black pork with what the menu declared was “the most exquisite creamy, truffled mashed potatoes.”
Dinner was very, very good, and the setting was exquisite. Even the Maître d’ had lightened up by the end of the meal. Life is good.
We settled into our cozy room for a good night’s sleep, because we had to get up early for breakfast before our 90-minute tour of one of Quinta de la Rosa’s terraced vineyards and its winery. Then we would head for the hills to check out a few of the small towns surrounding the area. Dinner would be in Pinhão at another restaurant with a patio overlooking the river.
Day Fifteen: That’s Not What It Looks Like, Take A Hike, Not Dante’s Inferno, Changing Colors, A Barrel Of Laughs, Kids In A Vat, Send In Trevor Hoffman, Where Is Everybody?, Spectacular Views, Wrong House, We’re Walking Here, A Smoke Filled Room, “Two Guys With Attitude” and No Lamb For Ewe
Today was one of those mixed bag vacation days that doesn’t go quite the way you planned. It did get off to a good start. After a quick bite at the hotel restaurant buffet (included with the room), we arrived at the Reception area to await our guide. Although this picture looks suspiciously like Kim and I are peeing on the window, trust me we weren’t (or at least I wasn’t).
At 9 a.m. sharp our guide Isabel (not the one from Sintra) appeared and we headed out to the Vale do Inferno. It was a clear, crisp morning, but it would give way to very hot conditions later. I was glad to have chosen the early tour.
Walking along a dirt road we entered the Vale do Inferno, which has no correlation to Dante’s book, but are some of the highest dry stone terraces in the Douro. The terrace vines were awash with autumn colors, but it looked like one misstep could have a laborer (or tourist) tumbling down the hillside. We safely ambled on.
The crush had been completed just a few days before we arrived but a few grapes still clung to the vines.
La Rosa has 60 acres of vines here, and they also have a property near the border with Spain. Although the family acquired the property in 1825, the winery wasn’t started until much later by the family matriarch, Claire, “who was gifted the estate and vineyard for her baptism in 1906 and lived in the house for much of her life.” One of her children, Sophia, is the estate owner and manager today.
The views were remarkable, and Isabel was very informative sharing the storied history of the winery and the family. Built during the first world war, these are some of the highest-terraced vineyards in the Douro.
Back at the hotel property, we checked out the owner’s pool (there is a separate one for guests).
Isabel took us into the wine cellar where the grapes were fermenting.
She told us that the winery was able to start producing port in 1988, when Sophia and her father Tim relaunched Quinta de la Rosa and started to make Port wines under their own label.
Unbeknownst to me previously, we learned that only port made in the Douro region of Portugal can be called port (like champagne is supposed to come only from the Champagne region of France in order to be called champagne).
In 1996, La Rosa was awarded the Fortified Wine Maker of the Year at London’s International Wine Show.
Special casks are marked with the names of children in the family and the year they were born. When they turn 21, a big party is held where the cask is opened to sample the port.
Speaking of casks, we were asked what the little door on this one was for. Tracy jokingly replied, “That’s where you put the kids when they’re bad.” She was actually pretty close. Isabel told us the small door was indeed for small children, who decades earlier had been used to clean the inside of the cask. She assured us this was a tradition that has since been discontinued.
Our tour (€30) completed, we decided to head for the hills and explore some of the nearby hill towns. Unfortunately, I had parked in a way that made it difficult to actually turn the car around so we could get on the road without backing onto it. When the driving gets tough, the tough call on Kim to be the relief driver (the automotive version on Trevor Hoffman). I had not called on Kim since the episode in Spain where he extracted us from a parking conundrum with a walnut tree that was watched with great humor by the locals who actually applauded Kim’s driving skills when he managed to extract the car without a dent in either the car or the tree.
Safely turned around, I re-entered the cockpit and we drove into the hills, stopping to admire the scenery at this viewpoint.
Our first stop was Provesende, where I had heard about an 80-year-old bakery, Padaira Fatima. Parking on the edge of town, we walked into town.
The one thing that seemed to be missing were the people. For ten minutes the only thing we saw was a dog who looked like he needed some human companionship.
We finally found a person and asked about the bakery, but she said it was closed, which was not what I kneaded to hear.
I was able to find (by luck, since there weren’t really any people to ask) the Fountain of Provesende, built in 1755.
I also stuck my head into a small church, and soon we were on the road again.
Our next stop was Sabrosa, the birthplace of Fernão de Magalhães (Magellan), the first person to circumnavigate the world.
Again the town was virtually empty, and I started to think we were in an old Twilight Zone episode.
We ducked into what looked like the Igreja Matriz de Sabrosa, but when I did this was all I saw was this small chapel. I looked around for Rod Serling.
I was excited to explore Magellan’s birthplace, only to learn when I returned home was that it was just a building on Rua Fernão de Magalhães. At least I didn’t get shot by a poison arrow.
Back in the car, we thought surely there would be a decent spot for lunch in Favaios. It was a pretty drive.
In Favaios, I did something I had not done since our infamous 2005 Italy trip (no, not put the wrong petrol in the car). It was tough finding a parking place, but I assured the group, “There’s one up ahead. I’ll park there.” Then, for the second time in as many days, as I pulled up to where I thought we could park, I heard Tracy mutter words of endearment, “Tom, you idiot.”
I said, “What did I do this time?” She replied, “You are driving on a pedestrian plaza.” Yes, citizens of Trevi, you are now not alone.
We walked through town, as I shielded my face from the local citizenry. Passing by the Bread & Wine Museum, I asked Kim and Mary if they wanted to go in. Kim replied, “I prefer not to spend the dough.” Thankfully, only one week was left on our trip.
Kim checked the Meal-o-Meter on his phone, and said there was a good restaurant not too far away we could try. I don’t know what “not too far away” meant to him at that time, on a day that was approaching 90 degrees (32.2C), the hike alongside the vineyards was taking quite some time.
We happened upon an old woman who looked very much like Ed Asner’s animated character in the movie “Up,” who looks just like Spencer Tracy. But I digress… When we asked her about the restaurant Kim and Mary were headed to, she shook her head, pointed in the opposite direction, and said, “Better restaurant.” Narrowly averting heatstroke, as we walked up a steep cobblestone street the woman had told us not to go to, we caught up with Kim and Mary only to learn the restaurant was full with people waiting (so this is where they all are?). We trudged back down the hill to town.
It was now the dreaded no lunch zone of 2:15, but Kim and Mary bravely entered a smoke-filled den (café) where Mary purchased coffee and pastries. Meanwhile, we sat in the shade and entertained ourselves by watching a woman feed a dog on the plaza, where I had parked about 45 minutes previously. I donned my sunglasses in case anyone recognized me.
Tracy loves to taste olive oil, and I had read about a place not too far away, the D’Origem Olive Oil Museum. As we approached on a narrow street a quagmire of cars boxed us in. Tracy and Mary got out of the car and jogged the short distance to inquire where was the best place to park.
A few minutes later they hopped back in the car, and said, “Let’s go.” Kim and I were perplexed. Tracy and Mary explained that the people working there were real jerks, “two guys with attitude,”so no olive oil tasting for us. I had also wanted to go to the Miradouro de Casal de Loivos, which has been said to have “the best view in the world,” but our car was facing the wrong direction with no easy place to turn around. Plus, it was unbelievably hot and it seemed nobody was really in the mood to explore. I get my Miradouro fix by watching Youtube videos. Ah, the best laid plans…
The Val de Mendez was lovely and shortly we were back along the river.
Tracy and I hopped up to Tim’s Terrace, a patio restaurant at the Quinta de la Rosa, and even though dinner was not that far away, we shared a small bite and some vinho.
Dinner on this evening would be in Pinhão on the patio of a restaurant called The Writer’s Place. The view from where it is nestled on the curve of the river almost under the bridge was lovely, and the patio was covered with grapes hanging from the arbor. It was all starting well.
Last to order, I chose the lamb. For the umpteenth time on the trip, and even though the restaurant had opened just scant minutes earlier, our waiter said what sounded like, “None for ewe” but was more likely, “we are out of lamb.” It had happened so many times in the past two weeks, he probably did not know why we were all laughing. I eventually ordered the pork.
Mary loved her fish from the Douro (airy lightly breaded white fish).
Kim’s grilled salmon and Tracy’s pork were also good.
However, my dinner did not arrive. After about ten minutes I asked about my pork, and it seemed they had forgotten my order. My guess is the waiter was new, and just like in the states or in Sintra, mistakes happen. That said, the food was good, and it wasn’t like we were in a hurry. Did I mention the view was splendid indeed?
I had thought three nights in the Douro would be best, but circumstances required we spend two nights at Quinta de la Rosa and two nights at our lodging the next day, Quinta do Pego, which is located almost directly across the river. There has always been much discussion on the Fodor’s Travel Board as to which one is the preferred accommodation. Now, we could weigh in with our opinion.
Our first goal was to make it to our new lodgings. The private road on the Quinta do Pego property is steep and winding and only accommodates one car at a time. My passengers were fearful with my driving skills that they might plunge down the steep vineyard and into the river.
Obviously we made it, because, after checking in, we’d hit the Karen Valentine Highway to Peso da Régua, to visit the Museu do Douro to learn about the region’s wine making.
Then we’d head up to to take the tour I had arranged at Casa de Mateus, an 18th century palace with beautiful gardens.
Then it was back to our new hotel to relax on its terraces under the olive trees with magnificent views.
Chapter Fifteen: The Douro - Part Two
Day Sixteen: To Everything Turn Turn Turn, Any Port In A Heatwave, A Wonderful Tour, Glorious Gardens, More Bats?!, Getting Supplies, This Is The Way To Live, Fiona Can We Adopt You? and An “Appetizing” Dinner
Feb 20th, 2023, 08:36 AM
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The air raid siren made me laugh. The small Texas town where I grew up had civil defense sirens that were used for two purposes: (1) a warbling tone, for a tornado warning; and, (2) a straight tone to alert the volunteer fire department. Of course, this was in the days before cell phones. Living in a larger town, they do still use the sirens for tornado warnings, and test them once a month.
Feb 27th, 2023, 10:27 AM
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Great report! I am really enjoying reading it. Your stories and sense of humor are so entertaining. Stunning pictures! You and Tracy have a selection of so nice and interesting places to visit. My husband and I also love Portugal. The food, hotels and sites are so nice. Here in the US is hard for me to find good restaurants and breakfast in hotels are disappointing. Took note of many of the restaurants and places you visited and now will have to visit Portugal again…
Thanks for all the details and tips! Got a lot from your trips to Italy too!
Thanks for all the details and tips! Got a lot from your trips to Italy too!
Feb 27th, 2023, 04:04 PM
#93
Tom, my hometown always had the fire siren go off at noon. It was considered a test.
Traveling along with you in Portugal, a special trip report! It was one of our favorite trips too largely because of the very welcoming local people.
Traveling along with you in Portugal, a special trip report! It was one of our favorite trips too largely because of the very welcoming local people.
Feb 28th, 2023, 11:03 AM
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I, too, so appreciate the vivid painted pictures of your many amazing travels! Such a huge help with my own trip planning. (Can't wait to hear about your upcoming trip to Mexico City, as mine is scheduled for Christmas week. 
Mar 2nd, 2023, 07:52 AM
#95
Original Poster
Thanks everyone ... Our final two days in the Douro Valley started with a slightly frightening drive (don't worry Maribel,we made it) to our next lodging that had some magnificent views. On that day we’d visit a regional wine museum and tour a palace/manor house complete with some gorgeous gardens. The following day Tracy and I would go rolling on the river in a rabelo, where we ran into our only Ugly American on the trip. Wine tasting and two good dinners at our lodging, and our time was up in wine country, but four nights in what turned out to be our favorite city in Portugal loomed ahead. Heading for the finish line! Story with photos in link below ... without photos and more spelling and other errors below photos.
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...-on-the-douro/
Chapter Fifteen: Rolling On The Douro
Day Sixteen: To Everything Turn Turn Turn, Any Port In A Heatwave, Glorious Gardens, Casa Tour, More Bats?!, Getting Supplies, This Is The Way To Live, An “Appetizing” Dinner and The Cat’s Meow
A quick breakfast at Quinta de la Rosa …
and, on a beautiful Sunday morning, we hopped in the car for the 12-minute drive across the river to our next lodging, Quinta do Pego. I had wanted to stay a total of three nights at either one of them, however both only had two night stays available, and since there had been so much discussion as to which quinta was best, I thought I’d just throw in that extra day.
Getting to Quinta do Pego presented a minor driving challenge (especially for the driving challenged). A twisting one lane private road for Pego guests takes you up from the Karen Valentine Highway to the hotel. At either end of the driveway is a light that either displays green or red to alert you if another car has already started in the opposite direction. As my travel board friend Maribel warned me before our trip, “Sometimes they don’t work.” Hey, what could go wrong?
The light showed green, so I carefully navigated the pretzel-like drive up the hill, not wanting to either (1) scrape the retaining wall on one side or (2) plummet to our ultimate demise on the other. While the others huddled in prayer, I slowly made the hairpin turns, and somehow reached the top with no problem. “See,” I told everyone, “sometimes those church visits come in handy.”
Since it was early our rooms were not ready yet, but we did scope out the vista from outside our room. Beautiful, it was.
More confidently, but still a tad concerned, back down the driveway I drove, and in a few minutes we were safely on the road toward Peso da Régua and its Museu do Douro, where would learn a little about the history of wine production in the Douro Valley.
Just a little outside of town, dozens of cars were parked alongside the river, and soon we passed the Barragem da Régua (Régua Dam), which obviously is a tourist attraction. Why, I don’t know. There’s nothing that stands out about it, plus, outside of Hoover Dam, I don’t find them very interesting, but I’ll be dammed if others do.
We checked out the nearly 300-foot tall Miguel Torga Bridge as we approached Peso da Régua.
Unlike the towns from the prior day, there was lots of traffic in Peso da Régua, so we parked a few blocks from the museum. The walk was interesting as we passed a number of hand-painted picture azulejos on the way.
Housed in a former wine warehouse on the riverfront, the Museu do Douro costs €6 (€3 for seniors), but if we paid full boat (Douro humor) we could have a glass of ten-year old port. We did just that, admiring the views from the terrace onto the River Douro.
The museum, celebrating its 25th birthday in 2022, has a number of wine making exhibits. As we climbed the stairs we changed the lyrics of 99 Bottles of Beer On The Wall to something more suitable.
We gazed at implements used in the growing of grapes on those steep hillsides that we traversed the day before at the Val de Inferno.
There were also short films about the people who do all the hard labor,
Also on display were some paintings from Portuguese celebrated contemporary artist Armanda Passos. In February 2022, the museum honored her with the Armanda Passos Room.
All in all, the museum was mildly interesting, but I think I’ve now seen as many wine museums as I need to go to. I still remain more interested in drinking wine.
Our next stop would be a mystery for me. I had read conflicting reviews abut visiting Fundação da Casa de Mateus. Some people raved about the house and gardens, while others said the tour was rather boring. I’m glad I listened to the positive reviews, because it was an interesting, fun and enlightening experience.
Casa de Mateus, an 18th-century Baroque-influenced palace (more like a manor house), is located a little less than half an hour from Peso do Régua. If you happened to have a bottle of Mateus Rosé in your life (I think I had one glass in the 80s), you might remember it had a palace on the label. This is that palace, although Mateus wine is not produced here.
We had a half hour tour scheduled at 1 p.m. and got there about a half hour early so we could explore the expansive gardens that surround the palace..
On another hot October day, we were surprised at the amount of color still seen in the garden.
The arches of the cypress trees provided some much-needed shade.
Vibrant crape myrtle trees with a backdrop of the nearby hills and vineyards made for a very pleasant interlude.
Although there were a number of people visiting the gardens, the grounds are large enough to offer moments of solitude.
We could have walked around longer, but our tour awaited.
Our tour started with a glimpse into a small art gallery, and a look at where they offer wine tastings with some of the tours (not ours).
Next we visited The Brick Room, which has portraits of King João V and D. Maria Ana de Áustria, among others.
The woodwork, of course, caught Tracy’s keen eye. Cherubs were the order of the day, as they are throughout Portugal.
The carved wooden ceilings in each room were remarkable, and whenever the tour headed to the next room, Tracy would sneak back to the previous one to get a photo of it. This was the elegant Entrance Hall, which is much more lovely when devoid of people.
There were numerous colorful cabinets throughout the casa. This one is located in The Rich (or Visitor’s) Room.
I assumed in this room we could order a blue plate special.
One good thing about all these old houses is I can always identify the Dining Room. This one is actually still used today. As long as the house is occupied for at least two months a year, and if they hold regular tours, the owners do not have to pay taxes.
We visited the Sacred Art Room and Room of Garments …
… and its collection of relics.
Speaking of old relics, I asked the tour group if they could take me around on this, however they declined.
The most beautiful room was The Library, which contains more than 6,000 volumes.
Once again on this trip we were told bats are employed to keep insects from destroying the books. Now, I really have to delve into some fact-finding as I was told earlier that the only two libraries who utilize bats are at Mafra Palace and the Biblioteca Joanina in Coimbra.
The library houses a famous piece of literature, an 1817 edition of Os Lusíadas.
We thought the tour was wonderful. Our guide was friendly and informative. The cost was €13. There is a longer tour that takes you to the onsite chapel and includes wine tasting, but we figured we would have a glass of wine at lunch instead.
Speaking of which, very near the entrance to the Casa Mateus grounds, sits Vinho & Tretas (Largo dos Condes Mateus, Vila Real 5000-290). The entrance is through a grocery store, which was certainly unique. We were seated upstairs at the last available table, and for the next hour thoroughly enjoyed each of our meals, starting with some house made bread with a pesto drizzle.
Mary enjoyed her duck rice.
Tracy’s salad with walnuts and apples was spectacular, and I really enjoyed my steak and chips. Our server was top notch, and if you go to Casa de Mateus, this would be a great stop for lunch afterward.
We drove back to the Quinta do Pego, and by now I had become an expert at traversing the driveway, although my passengers still had the look of fear on their faces.
Kim was feeling a little under the weather, so he and Mary went off to nap-land, while Tracy and I went to wine-land on the hotel courtyard.
While enjoying the lush expanse under the olive trees with great views of the Douro …
… we encountered a cute new feline friend, who we learned later was named Fiona.
Since Kim was not feeling well, Tracy and I dined alone on the terrace at Quinta do Pego. Before dining we walked up to the Infinity Pool with its amazing view.
You’re never far from wine implements when in the Douro.
One last look from outside our room, and Tracy and I headed to the patio for dinner on a very comfortable evening.
We had been told when the Danish owner was on-site, you could expect a very good meal. Since we had seen him holding court during our afternoon wine tasting, we hoped we’d be in for a treat. We were not disappointed.
We started with an amuse bouche of a crayfish wonton with old mustard (something might have been lost in translation) and also enjoyed our “welcome drink,” white port tonic spritzer with a slice of lime. That was a keeper.
I guess I had not filled up with steak at lunch, because I ordered the five-course meal (somehow I did not gain a pound on this trip). My two appetizers (yes, two), were pumpkin ravioli, caramelized onion and puttanesca sauce, followed by olive and tomato focaccia served with salad and tomato sorbet (Tracy had this for her only one appetizer … slacker)
When I saw my main course, my first thought was, “I hope it’s dead or it will kill me.” He seemed to be giving me the evil eyes.
As I was dining on my sautéed sea bass, served with sweet potato cream, crustacean and salicornia, a little face popped up at the end of the table. It seemed little Fiona wanted a crustacean nightcap. Tracy asked our really friendly server if we could adopt her (the cat, not our server), and she explained Fiona was an actual staff member who is beloved by everyone there.
In talking with our server, conversation came around to the high temperatures and she told us that during one day in July, the temperature reached 47 degrees Celsius (116 degrees Fahrenheit). That seemed crazy, but sure enough when I returned home I saw that on July 14, 2022, the temperature reached 47C in Pinhão.
Somehow, still not full, I had a dessert of Pavlova (the meringue not the ballerina), passion fruit curd, raspberry and chocolate ice cream. Sure, I could have opted for the sliced fruit instead, but if I was going to have a coronary, I thought I’d go out in style.
Tracy rolled me up to our room, where we got a good night’s sleep with visions of thousands of calories dancing in my head. On our final day in the Douro, Tracy and I would take a wine boat cruise, and staying with that theme would meet back up with Mary for some hotel wine tasting plus one last good Douro dinner. That, and a surprise encounter at our hotel culminated our visit to this lovely portion of Portugal.
Chapter Fifteen: Relaxing On The Douro
Day Seventeen: Won’t You Take Me On A Sea Cruise, Rolling On The River, The Ugly American, Don’t Worry We’re Canadian, Port Side, Bus Route, A (Sorta) Rick Steves’ Moment and Gluttony Strikes Again
This would be our hottest day in the Douro, but not to worry because I had reserved a rabelo ride on the Douro, which I figured would be magnificent since I had booked it through Magnifico Douro. Rabelos have been utilized since about the 9th century to transport wine downriver to Porto.
We learned Kim was still not feeling all that well, so Dr. Mary stayed behind with him, while after breakfast Tracy and I headed into Pinhão for our two hour River Douro tour.
People arrived by all means of transportation.
There was an audio guide that was supposed to work on our cell phones, although several of us were not able to get it to work.
I was not particularly concerned, because it was relaxing and the views were splendid.
Enjoying the surrounding scenery, this made for a prefect last day in the Douro region. I think that two full days and three nights would have been perfect, but because Kim was tired, the extra day worked for us.
After an hour, the boat started back toward Pinhão. Suddenly, the peacefulness of this relaxing early afternoon was interrupted by the piercing voice of one of the passengers. She was yelling (loud enough that the entire boat could hear) that she couldn’t get the audio guide to work, and she was mad as hell and couldn’t take it anymore.
She did have a point about the audio guide, but could have just pulled the guide to the side to complain. Instead we heard a rant that, as they say on boats, really went overboard, to the point of just being absolutely rude. People attempted not to stare.. I turned and joked to the gentleman next to me, “I’m from Canada,” which piqued his curiosity because he REALLY was from Canada (Calgary, as we’d find out).
He was a really nice guy, and I chatted with him and his wife for the better part of the hour. Meanwhile, Tracy was talking with a lovely couple from Hexham, England. They were interested in our thoughts about the abbey that we had visited earlier in spring 2022.
Having finally escaped the screaming American woman, the boat’s man in charge, asked anyone if they would like a glass of port. Sitting on the port side of the vessel, that seemed a natural. All my bills were too large for him to give change, but my new friend from Calgary (seen here) said not to worry, he’d buy Tracy and me a glass. If he reads this, I owe you and your wife a glass of port next time we meet.
The rest of the voyage went back to peaceful drifting, and although many travelers say these trips are not worth it, there’s something about a couple of hours of tranquility (except for the screaming lady) that is very nice after all our scurrying around for the past two weeks.
Safely back on shore …
… on our short drive back to Quinta do Pego, we looked across to see the Towering Inferno from yesterday.
By now, I told Tracy, I could make this winding drive up to our lodging with my eyes closed. The look I received in reply told me that was not a good idea.
We met back up with Mary, and in the middle of the afternoon, the three of us partook in day drinking, ahem, a wine-tasting session of the Quinta do Pego wines, which was informative as well as very tasty.
Back in our room, Mary called from the lobby to tell me, “some people want to meet you.” Afraid it might be the Favaios police who witnessed my driving on their square the previous day, I hesitated. She assured me these people were friendly.
In the lobby, I was greeted by two very nice couples. One of the ladies said (not her exact words), “So you’re Mai Tai Tom. Thanks for all your travel suggestions. We’ve used a number of them.” It seems she “lurks” on the Fodor’s Travel Board where I post travel stuff, and fortunately I hadn’t let them down with some of my suggestions.
Unfortunately, although she gave me her moniker, by the time I reached the room to tell Tracy about our encounter I had forgotten it (I think I should look into that Prevagen drug for old people’s memory deficiency). In any case, should you be “lurking” on this post, it was nice to meet you all, and I have to admit, that meeting made my day! My goal is that if I screw up anyone’s trip, it had better be my own.
Mary did join for us for dinner this night. The very cool start amuse bouche on this evening was flaming fresh burrata with lettuce and walnuts. I’m a sucker for any food that is lit on fire.
Mary joined us for dinner on our final evening in the Douro. We started with a flaming amuse bouche on this evening of fresh burrata with lettuce and walnuts. I’m a sucker for any food that is lit on fire.
My “wow” dinner dish was ahi tuna with champagne foam and citrus segments, saffron and paprika.
Also good were the Pepper Cream of Tomato Soup with quail and peanuts, along with Black pork shank with mashed potatoes, sautéed grapes and red wine reduction. (The pork in Portugal is delicious!)
The chef went for broke on dessert, and although it was a good try, the flavors didn’t really mesh. It was a deconstructed Crème brûlée with green tea matcha cake, vanilla ice cream, chocolate disk with dried raspberries.There were just too many competing flavors, although that didn’t mean I didn’t finish it.
Our relaxing time in the Douro was up. As for the Quinta de la Rosa - Quinta do Pego debate, I don’t think you can go wrong at either. I did enjoy the Quinta de la Rosa’s restaurant that overlooked the river, but truthfully if you can reserve either of these places, I think you’ll be happy. Both lodgings have fantastic helpful and nice personnel.
Tomorrow we would take one last drive to what would become our favorite city in Portugal, Porto. On our first afternoon, we’d check into our cute lodging that had waited three years for our arrival. Right around the corner, we visited a recently renovated 18th century market that had reopened a few weeks before. Then, we’d walk along to one of Porto’s slick shopping streets and over to an incredibly tiled church.
Speaking of tiles, next we’d meander to Porto’s ajulejo-laden train station. We’d scope out a little more of Porto’s center, and then we’d pull out our defibrillators and enjoy what our hotel host called, “the best Francesinha in Porto.” To finish our first night in this vibrant city, Tracy and I would sip a couple of glasses of wine at a gorgeous Art Nouveau cafe that dates back more than 100 years and where a famous author worked on the draft of her first book.
Next: Chapter Sixteen: Enjoying Energizing Porto
Day Eighteen: You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, It’s Almost Like I Know You, Garden Setting, The Surprise Around The Corner, Ildefonso, On Track For Tiles, You Can’t Fight City Hall, Heart Attack On A Plate and a Majestic Cafe
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...-on-the-douro/
Chapter Fifteen: Rolling On The Douro
Day Sixteen: To Everything Turn Turn Turn, Any Port In A Heatwave, Glorious Gardens, Casa Tour, More Bats?!, Getting Supplies, This Is The Way To Live, An “Appetizing” Dinner and The Cat’s Meow
A quick breakfast at Quinta de la Rosa …
and, on a beautiful Sunday morning, we hopped in the car for the 12-minute drive across the river to our next lodging, Quinta do Pego. I had wanted to stay a total of three nights at either one of them, however both only had two night stays available, and since there had been so much discussion as to which quinta was best, I thought I’d just throw in that extra day.
Getting to Quinta do Pego presented a minor driving challenge (especially for the driving challenged). A twisting one lane private road for Pego guests takes you up from the Karen Valentine Highway to the hotel. At either end of the driveway is a light that either displays green or red to alert you if another car has already started in the opposite direction. As my travel board friend Maribel warned me before our trip, “Sometimes they don’t work.” Hey, what could go wrong?
The light showed green, so I carefully navigated the pretzel-like drive up the hill, not wanting to either (1) scrape the retaining wall on one side or (2) plummet to our ultimate demise on the other. While the others huddled in prayer, I slowly made the hairpin turns, and somehow reached the top with no problem. “See,” I told everyone, “sometimes those church visits come in handy.”
Since it was early our rooms were not ready yet, but we did scope out the vista from outside our room. Beautiful, it was.
More confidently, but still a tad concerned, back down the driveway I drove, and in a few minutes we were safely on the road toward Peso da Régua and its Museu do Douro, where would learn a little about the history of wine production in the Douro Valley.
Just a little outside of town, dozens of cars were parked alongside the river, and soon we passed the Barragem da Régua (Régua Dam), which obviously is a tourist attraction. Why, I don’t know. There’s nothing that stands out about it, plus, outside of Hoover Dam, I don’t find them very interesting, but I’ll be dammed if others do.
We checked out the nearly 300-foot tall Miguel Torga Bridge as we approached Peso da Régua.
Unlike the towns from the prior day, there was lots of traffic in Peso da Régua, so we parked a few blocks from the museum. The walk was interesting as we passed a number of hand-painted picture azulejos on the way.
Housed in a former wine warehouse on the riverfront, the Museu do Douro costs €6 (€3 for seniors), but if we paid full boat (Douro humor) we could have a glass of ten-year old port. We did just that, admiring the views from the terrace onto the River Douro.
The museum, celebrating its 25th birthday in 2022, has a number of wine making exhibits. As we climbed the stairs we changed the lyrics of 99 Bottles of Beer On The Wall to something more suitable.
We gazed at implements used in the growing of grapes on those steep hillsides that we traversed the day before at the Val de Inferno.
There were also short films about the people who do all the hard labor,
Also on display were some paintings from Portuguese celebrated contemporary artist Armanda Passos. In February 2022, the museum honored her with the Armanda Passos Room.
All in all, the museum was mildly interesting, but I think I’ve now seen as many wine museums as I need to go to. I still remain more interested in drinking wine.
Our next stop would be a mystery for me. I had read conflicting reviews abut visiting Fundação da Casa de Mateus. Some people raved about the house and gardens, while others said the tour was rather boring. I’m glad I listened to the positive reviews, because it was an interesting, fun and enlightening experience.
Casa de Mateus, an 18th-century Baroque-influenced palace (more like a manor house), is located a little less than half an hour from Peso do Régua. If you happened to have a bottle of Mateus Rosé in your life (I think I had one glass in the 80s), you might remember it had a palace on the label. This is that palace, although Mateus wine is not produced here.
We had a half hour tour scheduled at 1 p.m. and got there about a half hour early so we could explore the expansive gardens that surround the palace..
On another hot October day, we were surprised at the amount of color still seen in the garden.
The arches of the cypress trees provided some much-needed shade.
Vibrant crape myrtle trees with a backdrop of the nearby hills and vineyards made for a very pleasant interlude.
Although there were a number of people visiting the gardens, the grounds are large enough to offer moments of solitude.
We could have walked around longer, but our tour awaited.
Our tour started with a glimpse into a small art gallery, and a look at where they offer wine tastings with some of the tours (not ours).
Next we visited The Brick Room, which has portraits of King João V and D. Maria Ana de Áustria, among others.
The woodwork, of course, caught Tracy’s keen eye. Cherubs were the order of the day, as they are throughout Portugal.
The carved wooden ceilings in each room were remarkable, and whenever the tour headed to the next room, Tracy would sneak back to the previous one to get a photo of it. This was the elegant Entrance Hall, which is much more lovely when devoid of people.
There were numerous colorful cabinets throughout the casa. This one is located in The Rich (or Visitor’s) Room.
I assumed in this room we could order a blue plate special.
One good thing about all these old houses is I can always identify the Dining Room. This one is actually still used today. As long as the house is occupied for at least two months a year, and if they hold regular tours, the owners do not have to pay taxes.
We visited the Sacred Art Room and Room of Garments …
… and its collection of relics.
Speaking of old relics, I asked the tour group if they could take me around on this, however they declined.
The most beautiful room was The Library, which contains more than 6,000 volumes.
Once again on this trip we were told bats are employed to keep insects from destroying the books. Now, I really have to delve into some fact-finding as I was told earlier that the only two libraries who utilize bats are at Mafra Palace and the Biblioteca Joanina in Coimbra.
The library houses a famous piece of literature, an 1817 edition of Os Lusíadas.
We thought the tour was wonderful. Our guide was friendly and informative. The cost was €13. There is a longer tour that takes you to the onsite chapel and includes wine tasting, but we figured we would have a glass of wine at lunch instead.
Speaking of which, very near the entrance to the Casa Mateus grounds, sits Vinho & Tretas (Largo dos Condes Mateus, Vila Real 5000-290). The entrance is through a grocery store, which was certainly unique. We were seated upstairs at the last available table, and for the next hour thoroughly enjoyed each of our meals, starting with some house made bread with a pesto drizzle.
Mary enjoyed her duck rice.
Tracy’s salad with walnuts and apples was spectacular, and I really enjoyed my steak and chips. Our server was top notch, and if you go to Casa de Mateus, this would be a great stop for lunch afterward.
We drove back to the Quinta do Pego, and by now I had become an expert at traversing the driveway, although my passengers still had the look of fear on their faces.
Kim was feeling a little under the weather, so he and Mary went off to nap-land, while Tracy and I went to wine-land on the hotel courtyard.
While enjoying the lush expanse under the olive trees with great views of the Douro …
… we encountered a cute new feline friend, who we learned later was named Fiona.
Since Kim was not feeling well, Tracy and I dined alone on the terrace at Quinta do Pego. Before dining we walked up to the Infinity Pool with its amazing view.
You’re never far from wine implements when in the Douro.
One last look from outside our room, and Tracy and I headed to the patio for dinner on a very comfortable evening.
We had been told when the Danish owner was on-site, you could expect a very good meal. Since we had seen him holding court during our afternoon wine tasting, we hoped we’d be in for a treat. We were not disappointed.
We started with an amuse bouche of a crayfish wonton with old mustard (something might have been lost in translation) and also enjoyed our “welcome drink,” white port tonic spritzer with a slice of lime. That was a keeper.
I guess I had not filled up with steak at lunch, because I ordered the five-course meal (somehow I did not gain a pound on this trip). My two appetizers (yes, two), were pumpkin ravioli, caramelized onion and puttanesca sauce, followed by olive and tomato focaccia served with salad and tomato sorbet (Tracy had this for her only one appetizer … slacker)
When I saw my main course, my first thought was, “I hope it’s dead or it will kill me.” He seemed to be giving me the evil eyes.
As I was dining on my sautéed sea bass, served with sweet potato cream, crustacean and salicornia, a little face popped up at the end of the table. It seemed little Fiona wanted a crustacean nightcap. Tracy asked our really friendly server if we could adopt her (the cat, not our server), and she explained Fiona was an actual staff member who is beloved by everyone there.
In talking with our server, conversation came around to the high temperatures and she told us that during one day in July, the temperature reached 47 degrees Celsius (116 degrees Fahrenheit). That seemed crazy, but sure enough when I returned home I saw that on July 14, 2022, the temperature reached 47C in Pinhão.
Somehow, still not full, I had a dessert of Pavlova (the meringue not the ballerina), passion fruit curd, raspberry and chocolate ice cream. Sure, I could have opted for the sliced fruit instead, but if I was going to have a coronary, I thought I’d go out in style.
Tracy rolled me up to our room, where we got a good night’s sleep with visions of thousands of calories dancing in my head. On our final day in the Douro, Tracy and I would take a wine boat cruise, and staying with that theme would meet back up with Mary for some hotel wine tasting plus one last good Douro dinner. That, and a surprise encounter at our hotel culminated our visit to this lovely portion of Portugal.
Chapter Fifteen: Relaxing On The Douro
Day Seventeen: Won’t You Take Me On A Sea Cruise, Rolling On The River, The Ugly American, Don’t Worry We’re Canadian, Port Side, Bus Route, A (Sorta) Rick Steves’ Moment and Gluttony Strikes Again
This would be our hottest day in the Douro, but not to worry because I had reserved a rabelo ride on the Douro, which I figured would be magnificent since I had booked it through Magnifico Douro. Rabelos have been utilized since about the 9th century to transport wine downriver to Porto.
We learned Kim was still not feeling all that well, so Dr. Mary stayed behind with him, while after breakfast Tracy and I headed into Pinhão for our two hour River Douro tour.
People arrived by all means of transportation.
There was an audio guide that was supposed to work on our cell phones, although several of us were not able to get it to work.
I was not particularly concerned, because it was relaxing and the views were splendid.
Enjoying the surrounding scenery, this made for a prefect last day in the Douro region. I think that two full days and three nights would have been perfect, but because Kim was tired, the extra day worked for us.
After an hour, the boat started back toward Pinhão. Suddenly, the peacefulness of this relaxing early afternoon was interrupted by the piercing voice of one of the passengers. She was yelling (loud enough that the entire boat could hear) that she couldn’t get the audio guide to work, and she was mad as hell and couldn’t take it anymore.
She did have a point about the audio guide, but could have just pulled the guide to the side to complain. Instead we heard a rant that, as they say on boats, really went overboard, to the point of just being absolutely rude. People attempted not to stare.. I turned and joked to the gentleman next to me, “I’m from Canada,” which piqued his curiosity because he REALLY was from Canada (Calgary, as we’d find out).
He was a really nice guy, and I chatted with him and his wife for the better part of the hour. Meanwhile, Tracy was talking with a lovely couple from Hexham, England. They were interested in our thoughts about the abbey that we had visited earlier in spring 2022.
Having finally escaped the screaming American woman, the boat’s man in charge, asked anyone if they would like a glass of port. Sitting on the port side of the vessel, that seemed a natural. All my bills were too large for him to give change, but my new friend from Calgary (seen here) said not to worry, he’d buy Tracy and me a glass. If he reads this, I owe you and your wife a glass of port next time we meet.
The rest of the voyage went back to peaceful drifting, and although many travelers say these trips are not worth it, there’s something about a couple of hours of tranquility (except for the screaming lady) that is very nice after all our scurrying around for the past two weeks.
Safely back on shore …
… on our short drive back to Quinta do Pego, we looked across to see the Towering Inferno from yesterday.
By now, I told Tracy, I could make this winding drive up to our lodging with my eyes closed. The look I received in reply told me that was not a good idea.
We met back up with Mary, and in the middle of the afternoon, the three of us partook in day drinking, ahem, a wine-tasting session of the Quinta do Pego wines, which was informative as well as very tasty.
Back in our room, Mary called from the lobby to tell me, “some people want to meet you.” Afraid it might be the Favaios police who witnessed my driving on their square the previous day, I hesitated. She assured me these people were friendly.
In the lobby, I was greeted by two very nice couples. One of the ladies said (not her exact words), “So you’re Mai Tai Tom. Thanks for all your travel suggestions. We’ve used a number of them.” It seems she “lurks” on the Fodor’s Travel Board where I post travel stuff, and fortunately I hadn’t let them down with some of my suggestions.
Unfortunately, although she gave me her moniker, by the time I reached the room to tell Tracy about our encounter I had forgotten it (I think I should look into that Prevagen drug for old people’s memory deficiency). In any case, should you be “lurking” on this post, it was nice to meet you all, and I have to admit, that meeting made my day! My goal is that if I screw up anyone’s trip, it had better be my own.
Mary did join for us for dinner this night. The very cool start amuse bouche on this evening was flaming fresh burrata with lettuce and walnuts. I’m a sucker for any food that is lit on fire.
Mary joined us for dinner on our final evening in the Douro. We started with a flaming amuse bouche on this evening of fresh burrata with lettuce and walnuts. I’m a sucker for any food that is lit on fire.
My “wow” dinner dish was ahi tuna with champagne foam and citrus segments, saffron and paprika.
Also good were the Pepper Cream of Tomato Soup with quail and peanuts, along with Black pork shank with mashed potatoes, sautéed grapes and red wine reduction. (The pork in Portugal is delicious!)
The chef went for broke on dessert, and although it was a good try, the flavors didn’t really mesh. It was a deconstructed Crème brûlée with green tea matcha cake, vanilla ice cream, chocolate disk with dried raspberries.There were just too many competing flavors, although that didn’t mean I didn’t finish it.
Our relaxing time in the Douro was up. As for the Quinta de la Rosa - Quinta do Pego debate, I don’t think you can go wrong at either. I did enjoy the Quinta de la Rosa’s restaurant that overlooked the river, but truthfully if you can reserve either of these places, I think you’ll be happy. Both lodgings have fantastic helpful and nice personnel.
Tomorrow we would take one last drive to what would become our favorite city in Portugal, Porto. On our first afternoon, we’d check into our cute lodging that had waited three years for our arrival. Right around the corner, we visited a recently renovated 18th century market that had reopened a few weeks before. Then, we’d walk along to one of Porto’s slick shopping streets and over to an incredibly tiled church.
Speaking of tiles, next we’d meander to Porto’s ajulejo-laden train station. We’d scope out a little more of Porto’s center, and then we’d pull out our defibrillators and enjoy what our hotel host called, “the best Francesinha in Porto.” To finish our first night in this vibrant city, Tracy and I would sip a couple of glasses of wine at a gorgeous Art Nouveau cafe that dates back more than 100 years and where a famous author worked on the draft of her first book.
Next: Chapter Sixteen: Enjoying Energizing Porto
Day Eighteen: You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, It’s Almost Like I Know You, Garden Setting, The Surprise Around The Corner, Ildefonso, On Track For Tiles, You Can’t Fight City Hall, Heart Attack On A Plate and a Majestic Cafe
Mar 8th, 2023, 06:54 AM
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Tom,
Reservations are available at both Quintas in Douro Valley where you stayed. I know you said they were both great BUT if you had to choose one after visiting in both which would you choose~please!? After some experience driving in the Douro Valley would you drive at night for dinner if you stayed at Quinta di Pego and chef was not on premises?
As always your trip reports are very informative and just down right fun to read!
Reservations are available at both Quintas in Douro Valley where you stayed. I know you said they were both great BUT if you had to choose one after visiting in both which would you choose~please!? After some experience driving in the Douro Valley would you drive at night for dinner if you stayed at Quinta di Pego and chef was not on premises?
As always your trip reports are very informative and just down right fun to read!
