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.