Portugal
2006
We started our trip in style with
business class seats upstairs in the Boeing 747 where it’s private and
peaceful. The Sheraton in Oporto is very new, very young, with sleek glass
elevators, and a humongous breakfast buffet that includes chocolate truffles!
Our first day was sunny, but cool.
We walked to town enjoying the park along the Douro River. Several peacocks
greeted us. We passed one of Oporto’s famous bridges and admired the lovely
wrought iron railings along the paths and gardens. There is a lot of
construction. The new Metro is impressive.
Not knowing about the riverboat
tours, we hired a driver to take us through the Douro Region. He was a young
father, full of questions about parenting. We visited Amarante, a small quaint
hillside town on the Tamega River. The streets are narrow and lined with Vinho
verde vines.
On Sunday mornings, men gathered
in the city center to catch up on the news. Women touched the nearby statue of
Saint Goncalo asking him for a good man to marry. I took a photo next to him
with the good man I found. (Mike)
At Quinta Da Pacheca vineyard we
learned that Vintage Port is best, LBV contains vintage, Tawny is a blend and a
less expensive port. Due to little rain, 2004 and 2005 were not good port years.
A proper port glass is a goblet. We drove past Villa Real in a terraced valley.
It was fun to recognize Chateau
Mateus from the wine label. The owners live in one side of this graceful
chateau. We toured the other side plus the wonderful gardens with cedar trees
trimmed into a long tunnel. I didn’t need much time in a room containing
martyrs’ bones and a headless corpse. The carved wooden ceilings were worth
examining. Each room had a different pattern.
The railway station is bedecked
with tiles depicting the history of the region. We ate lunch in a small cafe,
talked to a tall young waiter about his enthusiasm for basketball and Michael
Jordon. The roasted kid (goat) and potatoes were delicious.
Casa Musica concert hall, designed
by Rem Koohaas, is impressive.
Teens skateboarded on its ramps.
St. Francis Church’s catacombs were oddly elegant black and white. The church
was closed to worship as St. Francis preached detachment from worldly goods.
His audience included wealthy locals who “bought” their way to heaven by
gilding the church.
Lunch came with a view of the
Douro River and laundry waving in the breeze from the nearby neighborhood:
shrimp, fried eggs, tomato and rice - perfect.
Minho
Region
Bracelos is famous for a rooster,
the legendary mascot of Portugal. A thief was released from a death sentence
because he said the rooster would crow if I’m innocent. It did and he was free.
This colorful rooster decorates pottery and other objects.
We visited Guillamea, the first
capitol of Portugal. The castle of Dad’s xgreat grandfather, the first King and
Duke of Burgundy, still stands. An adjacent palace is perfectly restored with
painted ceilings and gorgeous woods, stone, furniture, porcelain and
tapestries.
Contemporary
Art Museum and Gardens
We saw an angry exhibit decrying
the loss of innocents. The garden of camellias and magnolia trees soothed.
After miles of walking, we earned an al fresco lunch in view of a lighthouse.
The sun shone on my ham, sausage hero sandwich smothered in melted cheese and
floating on my tomato soup.
Don’t miss Boa Nova seafood
restaurant right at the ocean’s edge. It is built into the rocks.
Museu
Nacional de Soares Dos Reis ****
Housed in a perfectly restored
mansion with 17c sculpture by Soares.
The porcelain and ceramics were a
feast in blue. I ate lunch at Mesa Antiqua. It felt like I was eating in a
private home: caldo verte soup of cabbage, broth, and olive oil, grilled trout,
collard greens, red wine and homemade custard tart. Our host explained the
prevalence of custard. The nuns used many egg whites to starch church linens,
so they invented recipes to use up all those yolks.
I bought a silver and turquoise
necklace in a shop near our hotel. An interpretation of southwest Native
American jewelry with a Portuguese motif of silver leaves, Happy Birthday to
me.
A cab ride to a restaurant was
interrupted by the arrest of a handcuffed man in front of the Bento train
station. Two women begged the taxi driver to let them in, out of the fray. They
thanked us, and then assured me my destination restaurant was “Bom, Bom.”
Several times, when I asked locals
for directions, they escorted me rather than just pointing. So gracious and
practical, as I am definitely direction-challenged. I would say, “Por Favor”
then add my destination.
Tour
and Dinner at the Ferreira Wine Caves in Gaia
This 250-year-old winery came with
a charming guide, very cold rooms, and a huge multi-course dinner to walk off
tomorrow. We danced to the Bossa Nova in the hotel lounge. The guitarist and
chanteuse were from Brazil. She sang the sad fava laments. We left at midnight
strolling in the golden light emitting from the stone buildings and towers.
Porto
City Tour
We rode along Boa Vista Blvd (with
a Portuguese guide, a Welsh social worker and a Greek accountant!), past
mansion after mansion. It’s too hard to see the gardens behind tall stone
walls. We past the sea and reached Old Town Porto via a 12c Cathedral, a Port
Wine Museum and a waterfront conference center housed in a stately granite
building. Then, down famous Caterina Street of Shops to the artful Majestic
Cafe where the Press (TV) were interviewing a famous local author, Agustina
Bessa Luis.
Silver covers everything in the
12c cathedral. When Napoleon’s troops arrived, one man quickly made a plaster
wall to hide this treasure. They were fooled. The bedazzling silver remains to
this day.
How
to Open a Bottle of 1983 Vintage Port
1.
Keep the wine
horizontal for several years if you wish. Otherwise, drink it within 2 days of
opening. Within 24 hours is better (and more fun?)
2.
Open and let air
by removing the cork.
3.
Stand the bottle
upright the day before opening so sediment falls to the bottom.
4.
Before drinking,
decant.
5.
Serve with ham or
yummy, soft, smooth Serra cheese-not sweets!
Mike’s
Scientific Meeting Venue
The lecture hall is in the Palácio
da Bolsa Porto. This is the most elaborate and beautiful decor for a meeting
room. There are ornate parquet floors plus gilded walls & ceiling painted
Moorish style. Dinner is in the elegant atrium downstairs near the entrance. We
moved from one elegant room to another for appetizers, then for dinner where we
saw a sommelier open a 1997 Vintage Port by putting the bottle in a rack tilt
it, hitting the neck with a tool, breaking the glass then removing the cork.
Decanted with a flourish, of course.
UNESCO
Recognition
In the mid 1990’s parts of Porto
were designated historical districts and given some money to begin restoration.
5,000 buildings are in need of renovation partly due to a lack of funds.
Saturday morning we saw hoards of
people at the local Puce (flea) market. They scrutinized used household items,
some recent, some vintage. While at the coffeehouse near the U of Porto, we
discussed politics with our host. She had been in university when the country
was freed from Salazar’s dictatorship. She said it was the happiest day of her
life. He kept Portugal primitive and subservient. Now the EU affiliation brings
UN money and hope for the future. There is universal healthcare. Most elders
live with their children.
We stopped at Lello Bookstore.
What a beauty! This librarian was impressed with the fine wood, twisting
staircase, stained glass and gleaming wooden shelves. A whimsical display
included a bottle of Port in the wine book section.
VA (Viva & Allegria) sells
Portuguese-made delicate porcelain, ceramics and jewelry. Some are
reproductions. The public library is near Crystal Garden Park. It was improved
with a mix of Portuguese and UN money. It has state of the art computers, shiny
new books, and an elaborate menu of weekly children’s programs. Parents
interacted with their children sharing books, writing together, playing with
toys together. A very nice scene!
Embroidered
Love Letters
Shepherd girls made colorful
squares of cloth by embroidering available materials with simple poems, hearts,
and flowers. They would give these to their heart’s desire. If he wore it in
his pocket, they would know the fondness was reciprocal. The shops sell them today.
Grand
Finale
We joined a small group from the
meetings: George and Matila (Portuguese), Gerard (Armenian living in London),
Charles (Belgian), and Jean-Claude Faber (Luxembourg) for viewing the sunset
over the ocean, then dining royally at a neighborhood restaurant. We watched
them grill sardines out front, then listened as the menu offered many versions
of sardines. Grilled with roasted potatoes, and served with green salad with a
heavenly version of creme brûlée (touch of lemon), it was delicious.
Oporto is…relaxing, sunny,
cordial, and proud of its heritage, open to new ways, humble, earnest,
un-crowded, and recovering from 40 years of Salazar’s rule.
No comments:
Post a Comment