Twilight on the Douro

At about 8:30 PM (20:30) I am sitting at a small table watching the sunlight fade over the Douro River. I am in an Airbnb that I initially thought I would hate.  Yes, it looks like the pictures but I had mistakenly believed it had air conditioning when it in fact does not.  Luckily the temperatures for the next week to ten days are supposed to top out at 73 F.  The night lows are in the high 50s.  And the view…

 

Sitting on this balcony if I look to the west, I see the Dom Luis bridge.  If I look to the east I see two other bridges, one old and one new.   More importantly I see the flotilla of Douro Valley day trippers returning from 6 or 8 hours on the river absorbed in the scenery of the terraced vineyards, coupled with a lunch/wine tasting at a quinta that produces port.  It really is quite beautiful out here.  I am on a cliff and there are several roads below me.  I can’t see the road but I can hear what is going on down there. A street sweeper just went by, it goes by every night at this time. 

 

The oranges and reds from the sunset are fast fading and the sky above me, what I can see of it through large fully canopied trees is dusty but growing dark blue with the minute. The day is done and what have I done with it. I didn’t “accomplish” much today.  There was a strategic strike to get some items at a grocery story.  There was a trip through a cathedral and the cloisters attached to it. Great beauty was seen and savored. Coffee was had twice and a great deal of time was spent savoring those moments.  I have come to appreciate coffee culture, at least as it is practiced here.

 

Seagulls are screaming over the river.  A feral cat, and there are thousands of them here, walks by on a wall and then jumps onto a red tile roof. A friend asked me if I was relaxing.  The answer is not all the time, but when I hit moments like this one as I sit and watch the river flow, well, this is as relaxed as I ever get.

The Hour of Transition

There is a moment in the day we have been experiencing on this journey that is quite special.  Somewhere around 5:30 (17:30) the whole ambience of this place changes. The sun drops low in the sky and the temperature falls accordingly.  It was in the high 80s when we were out and about earlier, but now the temperature is a very comfortable 76 F.  A breeze has come up.  The sky is clear, nary a cloud to be found.  This transition has been the norm over the past 8 days.  No matter how hot the day has been, the evening is cooler and quite enjoyable.  A light sweater or jacket is almost required. Sitting at an outdoor table drinking a beer on these evenings is almost a religious experience.  The calming effect of the shift in temperature is extremely relaxing. 

 

We tried to go to Miramar today.  It is a little town with a chapel that sits on a rock out in the ocean.  Problem is we tried to take the eleven o’clock train.  Oh, my goodness, the train was packed with only standing room available.  No matter how high the vaccination rate and it is in the mid 70%s in Portugal, I am not going to stand side by side with sweating, panting people, not with the Delta variant running amok.  Instead, we went back to the beach at Matosinhos via the Porto metro.  The metro was busy, but not insane.  The beach was fairly packed, as it should be on a warm day.

 

Tomorrow we move to an Airbnb midafternoon here.  I am looking forward to this was great anticipation.  I want to eat food that is not restaurant food.  Desperately.  Mind you I like restaurant food, but I want to control the size of my portions and I want to have a salad that conforms to my idea of what a salad should be.  We will see how it goes.  

 

I wanted to mention something I experienced having stayed in (Vila Nova de) Gaia for the last eight nights.  It is one thing to stop in to a hotel for a night or two and take the recommendations of the concierge as to where to eat and what to do.  It is another to walk about the neighborhood and discover it, and to discover the place’s rhythms. Over the past eight days we have tried out a number of pastry/coffee spots and come to have a favorite.  We have discovered a park that is calming and pretty. We have tried several restaurants, some of which are clearly 99% local frequented, and the ones at a distance from the hotel hit the mark for us. Having the time to get the feel of a place is a luxury I have never had before.  I think I will savor it.

 

 

So Far

I had planned to be writing a post daily but that really has not been possible. We have packing so much activity into the days that by the time I get back to the room, writing just does not feel like an option.

 

Most days so far have involved little excursions around Porto.  We went up to the area where we first stayed in Porto several years ago on Friday.  We went searching for a restaurant we really liked, but it was gone.  Don’t know if it just didn’t make it or if the pandemic killed it, either way the store was absent.

 

That day we did find another little place that had soups and salads. Caldo verde was my choice.  The basic traditional ingredients for caldo verde soup are collard greens, potatoes, olive oil, black pepper and salt. Also thrown in are garlic and onion. I also had a shrimp puff pastry and a salad.  Got to say finding a real salad can be daunting. All of it was good.

 

While we were wandering around this neighborhood, we took a breather in a larger part in a traffic circle.  A huge monument sits in the center of the circle. The monument, and I put up picture the other day, was the Monument to the Heroes of the Peninsular War.  This memorial is in honor of the Portuguese and British victory against the Napoleon’s French forces in the 1808-1814 Peninsular War. Then lion represents the Portuguese and British, dominating an eagle, representing the forces of Napoleon.

 

Porto and Lisbon have lots of statues in the middle of traffic circles.  They also have many beautiful churches.  The shot I put up yesterday was from a church not in either of those cities, but in Aveiro.  

 

Aveiro is a short train ride from Porto south to the Atlantic coast.  (Being from New Jersey I am having a difficult time getting used to the sun setting over the Atlantic). People have lived around the area for millennia.  Celts and Romans populated the place, the Romans gathering salt there.  Later it was a trading center. 

 

I have been dogged over the last few days by an inflamed muscle in my foot.  As a result, today I stayed in town while Francie and John Lee headed up to the ancient town of Guimaraes. I walked a little but not much.  What I did do was take the metro to one of Porto’s beaches.  Loren and I sat on a wall that divided the town from the beach and just enjoyed the breeze.  It was wonderful.

 

This afternoon I am just going to rest my foot.  I know that with just a little rest I will be ready for another round of adventures.  I will try and post more often.

 

Oh, the bit about the horrible train ride, well because of track work it just took forever.  And there was this Belgian who was being obnoxious.  He was hitting on women, spitting on the floor, and constantly snaking out to the space between cars to vape. The conductor admonished him several times but to no avail. We believe he stole Loren’s ball cap.  So, it goes.  It is in the past and good things await.

Walking

17 August 2021

 

About and Around

 

Yesterday was the first day of the tourist marches.  In the course of the day, we went off to the trendy/ funky LX Factory, to the upscale Cortes Ingles, to coffee shops (here, there and everywhere-I live with caffeine junkies), up hills and down (I am sure we went down but all I remember were the uphill climbs) and to a Vodafone store sadly closed early due to the pandemic. A hat was purchased almost as much for amusement as utility. 

 

I should mention yesterday was a very warm day.  Apparently, there is a heat dome settled in over the Iberian Peninsula.  It was roughly 90 F yesterday and it will be 87 F today. Still, it did not stop our travel to the LX Factory.  

 

The LX is an old industrial site now converted to a mélange of shop, restaurants and creative spaces. The food at LX was good.  The beer was cold and tasty. It should be noted the beer was a mistake in the heat. Due a certain lack of understanding I ended up ordering what was in essence a doppelbock on a hot day.  Yes, there was a cost to this error, after the food and shopping came a nap.  If you want to read about LX, go here.  https://lxfactory.com/en/map/a nap

 

Today we take the train and head north to Vila Nova de Gaia, where the port wine caves are. The high temps there will be 79ish. Not planning to do much in Lisboa today because of the train trip.  Sorting and repacking are the main things.  ‘

 

I note when the sun went down yesterday, the wind really whipped up.  While most of the day was shorts’ weather the track pants, I threw on for the evening run to downtown were well appreciated. Oh yeah, the hat.  I had offered my youngest son a ball cap before we came.  He declined.  As soon as we got out and about yesterday my ball cap became his ball cap.  I knew I needed to buy another hat.  

 

While walking down a side street I saw the hat and tried it on. Surprisingly it fit.  Note I have a big hat size by even American standards.  Before I could put it down the shop owner was out with a mirror and a price.  I said no to his initial price and walked away.  Back and forth it went with him calling out a price to my back and me shouting a price over my shoulder.  In the end we came to terms.  My son kept muttering something about people could tell I was from New Jersey.

Oh yeah, my sons think the suit of armor looks like Grover from Sesame Street.