mlgb

Those are typically "pollarded" but a leaf would have been nice, LOL.

If you could pinpoint the location in Google Maps, maybe street view would show them in leaf.

aulop

Hi
The tree is called Plátano in Portuguese.
It's leafs are very similar to Maple tree leafs.

Happy travels

martharap

Platanus is the Latin genus name for plane trees

KarenWoo

Love your photos of Guimares. It looks lovely! I love lemon gelato, too! We recently returned from Greece, and I had lemon gelato many times! So refreshing, especially on a hot day. The dessert with berries and whipped cream looks scrumptious!

Melnq8

Thanks Karen. That gelato was fabulous and I ate more than my share of desserts this trip.

And thanks for the info on the trees...so, they're pollarded Plátano/Platanus/Plane trees? Do they normally have leaves? I'll try to google the location as suggested by mlgb. If so, that square would be very inviting in the summer.

martharap

Were the trees on the square next to the Dukes of Braganza Palace? If So, Google “plane trees Guimares.”

aulop

Hi
Are you familiar with Maple 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁.
That's what they look like but in green.
It's the same leaf that's in the Canadian flag.

Happy travels

Melnq8

A mellow Sunday

Our day started at the lavanderia, a tiny place with three washers and two dryers (€4.90 to wash, €1.80 to dry).

Afterwards, we walked over the Dom Luis I Bridge and down those steep hills to Vila Nova de Gaia again, taking a different route than yesterday, this one snaking down many sets of stairs and alongside some interesting street art.


Near Dom Luis I Bridge Porto side

Near Dom Luis I Bridge Porto side

View from Dom Luis I Bridge Porto side

View from Dom Luis I Bridge Porto side

Crossing Dom Luis I Bridge

View from Dom Luis I Bridge looking down on Vila Nova de Gaia

Walking down to Vila Nova de Gaia

Walking down to Vila Nova de Gaia - street art

Walking down to Vila Nova de Gaia - street art

We passed right by Real Companhia Valha, tucked into a tiny storefront on a quiet narrow side street. We popped in for a port tasting, we the only customers. We thoroughly enjoyed this random find, where we shared a €10 port tasting (four ports) and then shared a 5 euro taste of a lovely 10 year old tawny.


Real Companhia Valha


Real Companhia Valha

Afterwards, we worked our way down to the riverside and made an encore visit to Mama and Papa at the Mercado, where we tucked into pizza while watching the seagulls attack some poor woman for her fish scraps. The place was busy, but not heaving, and we had no trouble finding a table outdoors.

We then walked along the very busy waterfront – lots of people out enjoying the Sunday sun, vendors hawking sunglasses and purses, food trucks selling churros, boats busy with customers, people at outdoor tables eating lunch and drinking jugs of beer and sangria, the gondola passing overhead.



Vila Nova de Gaia



Vila Nova de Gaia

We popped into Quevdo port cellar for another shared tasting (€11) enjoyed in their large warehouse-like cellar while being serenaded by a woman singing Fado. Nice atmosphere, quite enjoyable.

We then returned to Calem to purchase a bottle of their 10 year old tawny and some of those lovely port chocolates to take home.


Calem


Then it was back to Porto – under the Dom Luis I Bridge again - via a narrow pedestrian walkway alongside the bridge construction area. And then UP a series of steep steps and alleyways lined with street art, graffiti, crumbling buildings and repair works; this route filled with interesting views of the bridge high above us.

(Another off-the-beaten-path street Helena?)


Under Dom Luis I Bridge

Under Dom Luis I Bridge





Soon we were back in the center where we purchased a few gifts and mysteriously ended up back at VinoFino for yes, you guessed it, more sparkling Rose, the proprietor amused to see us for the third time. It’s here that we met two women from Arizona who had flown into Lisbon a few days prior – they said it took them five hours to get through Immigration and said ‘never again’.

We bought a print of the Porto skyline we’d been eyeballing at the shop next door, ate gelato, and then later returned to our corner kebab shop.


Porto print, now framed and on my living room wall

This was shaping up to be a serious eating and drinking trip. We only hoped that the miles of walking and hill climbing would offset at least a few of those calories.

So far, the temperature had been between 9-14 c – cool and comfortable. But the sun was intense and we still managed to get sunburned, even with our sunhats (which we noticed no one else was wearing). It must be fierce in the summer.

Our impressions of Porto -

Diverse. Colorful. Vibrant. We really enjoyed our stay and were a bit surprised at how much so. We were so busy just poking around that we didn’t seek out any historic sites or visit any churches, although we passed a few.

Neither of us had ever seen so many deserted crumbling buildings in one place. I was fascinated at the sheer number of abandoned buildings that had fallen into ruin and was curious as to the backstory. Evidently, I’m not alone and here are a few theories (perhaps Helena could chime in too):

https://www.travelwithwinny.com/port...ned-buildings/

https://www.timetravelturtle.com/vis...rtugal-unesco/

https://www.auraree.com/portugal/rea...-homes-europe/

The city was busy, but not so much that we felt smothered (other than in a few narrow spots through those construction areas).

Everyone we encountered was friendly and helpful and language was a non-issue.

Our phone GPS had proven pretty useless in Porto. We had trouble finding street names, especially at first. Mask compliance indoors and on transportation was excellent, which impressed both of us. Hand sanitizer was everywhere – on every table in the hotel, at the entrance to every elevator, at the entrance to every shop.

The toilets in train stations and other public areas were a bit dire. No toilet seats, often no TP, no soap and towels. Guimarães too.

The 516 Arouca Bridge (supposedly the world’s longest suspension bridge) had piqued my interest during my research, and remains on my wish list should we ever find ourselves in Porto again (and with a car).

To be continued...

Melnq8

Yes, I'm familiar with maples. Thanks for that aulop!

Adelaidean

Wonderful photos, so interesting.

I’m more accustomed to your remote alpine hiking photos, so your urban city photography is quite the contrast!

Melnq8

Adelaidean - it certainly is a contrast. More grit, no snow-covered Alps...but nonetheless I found the subject matter interesting and took a gazillion photos.

mlgb

Yes that is a pruning technique, they must have just done it. You have seen these trees in Europe, they are popular street and plaza trees because they hold up to air pollution.

Most likely they are the "London Plane Tree" which looks like this when leafed out

Melnq8

That square in Guimarães must be quite the sight in the summer. Not that I'd want to visit in a Portugal summer

Seamus

Ah, Mel, your lovely posts freshen memories of our Porto visits. Agree it is an eating and drinking and walking intense experience, with so many friendly people. I'm glad we visited before it became so popular and crowded!

Melnq8

Thank you Seamus!

HelenaFatima

Melqn: "another off-the-beaten-path street, Helena?" - Well, yes. I gave you tips of where to stay, indicating the new renovated area, among the best 5 stars Hotels, 2 steps from Av. dos Aliados that even has a Burberrys and a Hard Rock, and then you decide to go to these not mentionable streets!

Quoting Melqn:

"(perhaps Helena could chime in too):"

I liked reading those articles whose links you left here. They all mention true things. But I can only give my example: I'd love to live in Porto, but not in the city center. Where would I park my car? And what about groceries, buildings don't have a lift! And the size of the sidewalks are ridiculous! Etc. So I would love to live in Porto, in the squirts, for instance where my parents moved (from the heart of the city) 50 something years ago. They moved from a brand new building (they were 1st tenants) but in a narrow street (Rua de São Miguel), surrounded by other narrow streets. They moved to Ramalde neighbourhood, to a big house, with a garden, a lateral garden, a backyard, and things like a supermarket (instead of markets or grocerie shops), large sidewalks, new schools for the children... and the tram, in those days the tram was not a touristic thing, it was a public transport, took 30 minutes to get into the city center.

There are of course other reasons, but center of Porto got into ruins because people from Porto found better places where to live. And these were social choices, not economical ones.

But you can think about other things:

Porto industrial center moved to larger spaces;
Porto airport is not in Porto, it is in Maia;
Porto Port is not in Porto, it is in Matosinhos;
Porto terminal cruise is not in Porto, it is also in Matosinhos;
Porto wine production is not in Porto, it's in Gaia.

Porto has the name, but is not earning the money.

Melnq8

Well, yes. I gave you tips of where to stay, indicating the new renovated area, among the best 5 stars Hotels, 2 steps from Av. dos Aliados that even has a Burberrys and a Hard Rock, and then you decide to go to these not mentionable streets!

Helena - We did discuss hotels (and I booked one you recommended), but don't recall you and I discussing a new renovated area or Av. dos Aliados (perhaps progol or another Fodorite?), but it doesn't matter as I have no interest in Burberry's, Hard Rock or upscale shopping/dining.

We didn't plan to visit any of these 'not mentionable' streets, it just happened. We set out to explore - with only a plan to walk to/from the river - and that's where we ended up. I thought these hilly alleys were interesting and rather enjoyed poking through them (and we weren't the only tourists doing so). And I'm now curious as to how we missed the main street to the bridge!

Center of Porto got into ruins because people from Porto found better places where to live. And these were social choices, not economical ones. Porto has the name, but is not earning the money.

That makes perfect sense. Thank you for your input! I fully appreciate that we as casual tourists barely scratched the surface of Porto and environs, and I now feel the need to go back to see what all we missed!

tripplanner001

Fantastic cityscapes and chocolate and wine to boot - awesome Mel. An awesome read and looking forward to more.

Melnq8

Thank you tripplanner!

Melnq8

Heading upstream

We had a short travel day ahead and didn’t need to check out until noon, so we spent the morning lazing about.

We’d hoped to find a café at the São Bento station to cool our heels between noon and our 1:20 train, but no such luck.

I left Bill with the luggage and went out to investigate, finding a small drinks/snacks place across the street. Here we awaited our train while sipping a massive glass of wine and eating Bugles (surprised they still make them), and marveling how even the plonk in Portugal is quite good (wine, €1.20 a glass!)

The train (€11.20) to Pinhão took about 2:20, but arrived late; the ride bumpy and noisy. The carriages were busy until about an hour into the trip when most people got off in Regua. The seats were straight backed bench style and my back was none too pleased.




We were both surprised at how developed Portugal is – so far we’d not seen much open space. We’d noticed this on the trip to Guimarães as well.

The scenery improved as we approached Pinhão, me noticing a lot of orange trees - although the landscape was very brown; not unexpected in April.


Pinhão train station

Pinhão train station


Our hotel, the Vintage House, was only two minutes from the train station as the crow flies, but it took much longer than that to get there, due to a safety fence.

We had to walk the length of the fence, cross the train tracks and then walk through the hotel’s parking lot to the front entrance. The terrain was a bit challenging, with sand and broken cobblestones, and my suitcase wheels chose this moment to rebel. Needless to say, I was a bit flustered by the time we arrived at the hotel.

The employee who checked us in told us that we needed to decide very soon where to book for dinner, as the few restaurants in town quickly filled up. We asked if any place might be still open for lunch - those Bugles were well and thoroughly digested – we were told no.

So we booked in for dinner at the hotel, got settled and headed out to explore, quickly learning that 1) the guy was incorrect, and 2) Pinhão is not a very attractive town. It felt rundown and much more developed than we expected. There was no good place to walk, so we alternated between hugging the buildings and walking in the street, trying not to get mowed down.



Pinhão

We located a few small bakeries and snack shops, choosing a random bakery for a slice of not-very-good cake and quite good coffee to tide us over until dinner. We then worked our way back to the hotel, stopping at a small grocery store to pick up a few snacks. Not surprising, we noticed a lot of small shops selling wine and port.

So far Pinhão did not impress.

Back at the hotel, we cracked open that wonderful bottle of red wine that came with our room - and tasted all the better thanks to the nice thin wine glasses provided by the hotel. I’ve since Googled that wine, Quinta Do Cotto Douro 2017 Vinho Tinto, and discovered it goes for $9-14 a bottle in the US, €7.30 in Europe! Once again we were amazed at the quality of inexpensive wine in Portugal.

We sat on our terrace and soaked up the views.


Vintage House

Views from our patio

Vintage House

We’d booked a double room with balcony and Douro river view ($750.33 for three nights). The room was comfortable, albeit a bit small; nice tile in the bathroom and a lovely patio. The grounds of the hotel were gorgeous and well-manicured, the pool enticing, but very cold. It probably feels wonderful in the summer.

The hotel itself was a bit of a labyrinth, consisting of several buildings on different levels. It used to house a former 19th century winery, and the overall feel was old world aristocracy.

Dinner that night in our hotel (Rabelo Restaurant) was disappointing. The service was excellent, the food, not-so-much. Bill had the salmon with tomato risotto and lime, which he said was extremely salty.

I had the only non-meat, non-fish, non-seafood option, pasta with cream, lentils, walnuts, and pine nuts, which sounded good, but was really bland and sat in my stomach like a brick for hours afterwards.

However, the olive oil we had with bread was excellent and tasted incredibly fresh (€54 with one glass of wine each).

We were both perplexed with the offering of ‘codfish swim bladder stew’, but Fodorite Helena has since explained that one to me.



Salmon with tomato risotto and lime

Pasta with cream, lentils, walnuts, and pine nuts

To be continued...