Friday 3 November 2017

The End

Yes, we did get up at an ungodly hour of the morning to catch a bus in the dark. The bus, however, was too big for the parking lot. To exit through the gate, the driver had to jiggle at least a dozen times.  It seemed that he would not escape without damaging the bus or another vehicle. Eventually he gave up and did a circuit of the parking lot to come at it from a different angle.

Wouldn't it be amusing if we missed our flight because the bus was stuck?

When we did get home, after two very long flights, we found that Lily was coping with her broken bones. She was still not very mobile, but she was very positive.

The Barcelos Rooster

Everywhere we have been in Portugal, they are selling sardines and brightly coloured roosters. We understood about the sardines, but had no idea about the roosters until I read a little sign in Sintra. From then on, I have wanted to buy one to take home. Deb thought I was being silly. Then, onboard ship, we were given this explanation.


Here in Porto, I bought a little rooster at the same time as I bought the table runner. I did not show it to Deb, but instead just packed it away to bring home. I put it in a display case at home where Deb finally found it about a week later.


Prowling in Porto

For a while, we are free to wander. We did some roaming and some shopping. Some knickknacks were necessary and this was our last chance.

The red building was built to be a market.
Obviously, I was enthralled by the tiled buildings.
The colours are varied and darker than the buildings in Lisbon.
Down by the water, we found many outdoor restaurants.
A stone wall separated the homes from the street.

Two streets come down from the city centre to join in a square. Here we bought a table runner made of cork and cloth. The ends of the runner are coloured like the houses in the neighbourhood. Four cork sardines are sewn near the corners.
Sardines are a traditional dish in Portugal. One evening on the ship, a barbecue dinner was served on the sundeck. Sardines were included on the menu. Deb and I had both been wanting to sample this dish, even though we both knew that we would never choose to eat sardines at home. We honestly expected that these would be different.

I put one sardine on my plate and shared it with Deb. Deb tasted first, then very discreetly spit the taste back into a napkin. I tried second, managing to swallow my first bite. I then carefully placed every trace of the remaining sardine in a napkin and set the napkin beside my plate. It was awful.

Later, as we were leaving the sundeck, our waiter explained that this was a very bad season for the sardines. At this time of year, they are all awful.

Along the shore, the homes are behind a very old stone wall.
The colours are wonderful.
Umbrellas identify small cafes.

Taylor's Port

The bus took us across the river to a neighbourhood where most of the buildings are used to store port. We visited Taylor's Winery for a tour and to sample some white port.

Apparently this winery has some bragging rights.
Many very good ports are aged for a very long time. Unfortunately, some of these begin to deteriorate as soon as they are opened. In such cases, the entire bottle must be used within four hours.

The best way to open such a port is not to remove the cork. Instead, a set of tongs is used. The tongs are heated over a ver hot flame and then are clamped upon the bottle below the cork. After a moment, ice cold water is poured over the bottle. The neck of the bottle breaks off cleanly.

Opening the bottle this way ensures that no cork fragments get into the bottle.


The Store and Tasting Room
Narrow streets make driving difficult.
In some places, walking is the only possibility.

Bus and Walking Tour of Porto

As promised, we did eventually get back to Porto. The first order of business was a bus ride to the centre of the old town.


The fronts of many buildings were covered with ceramic tiles.

Even some rocks were tiled. This was to be our gathering place after some free time.

The Railway Station

Tiled murals are on all of the walls.

They tell the history of the region.

The stories are told at three distinct levels.

Narrow patios are everywhere. They are only wide enough to stand on.
Amazing Buildings

Beautiful Street Scenes
More Ceramic Tiles

Tiles and Patios


Thursday 2 November 2017

Farewell Dinner

24 hours later and we have another wonderful dinner in front of us. Yes, a filet is a great cut of meat and it was extremely well done, but where is the famous Portuguese cuisine?

The farewell dinner was actually on our second last night. For this, our little group can be blamed. On the last night we were encouraged to go to bed early. Our airport shuttle was to pick us up at something like 3 A.M.

A+ For Presentation

The captain tells us that we are a wonderful group.

The staff sang for us.

These two gentlemen were excellent musicians.

Elizabeth and Carla were our regular guides.





Winery Dinner

This was a time for our crowd. The facility was beautiful. Dinner was filet mignon. Nothing was wrong, but I could have cooked the same dinner just as well on my patio at home. Where is the famous Portuguese food?

Anna and Pat

Jill and Bill

Entertainment

Debby and Shirley

Colette and Casey

Jill, Pat, and Elizabeth

Patti and Deb

Deb and Jim

Côa Valley Archeological Park

The Côa Valley is the site of a very famous prehistoric rock-art site. Deb had a bad reaction just as we arrived at the museum so we didn't actually take the tour, but we did get get to enjoy some amazing views of the Douro River Valley.

Rock Carving

Looking down on the Douro River


Black Olives

Looking down on the vineyards

The museum itself is a large block of concrete.



This is an almond tree and the almonds are ready for picking.

Back on the River