Tag: portugal

Douro, Evora and the Algarve

On Wednesday, October 16th we arrived at the Douro Suites, our hotel in the Douro River Valley. It was a very small and wonderful place to stay with a killer view from our room.

They allowed us to eat in the dining room, but normally they deliver dinner in the above picnic baskets.


Another pretty day followed, but we opted to go to the large hotel next to us and get massages. It was time.

The next day was cloudy and sometimes rainy, but off we went anyway. We didn’t get that far as the views were covered in fog and not any better than at our hotel. We did drive through the town of Paco and took the picture because that is the name of our good friend’s dog — except this one did have a sedilla….so pacho.

We really enjoyed the Douro River Valley, but it was time to head south. It was another long (4 hour) drive to the city of Evora. Our first stop was at the Cathedral of Évora, a massive Gothic structure begun in the 12th century.

More of those beautiful blue tiles!

We next went to the Chapel of Bones next door– spooky! Bones Chapel is one of the most popular monuments in Evora. We can even say it is one of its trademarks. Located on 1º de maio square, it is part of the also popular St Francis Church (Igreja de São Francisco).

The chapel was built in the 17th century on the initiative of three Franciscan friars. Their goal: to convey the message of temporariness and fragility of human life. This message clearly comes across to visitors of Bones Chapel right at its entrance through the sign “We bones that are here, for yours we wait”. In fact, it shows Baroque’s men macabre taste for necrophilia.

We were running out of time, so we did not go past the Temple of Diana, but I want to include a stock photo picture so your visit is complete. We would have liked it! Well, that was not as easy as I thought. If you want to see it, just google it — lots of pix online 🙂

We headed to our stop for that night at the Convento do Espinheiro. The history and origin of the Convento do Espinheiro is linked to a legend that tells of the apparition of an image of the Virgin on a thorn bush, around 1400. In 1412, a chapel was built in honour of Our Lady and given the growing importance of this place as a pilgrimage site, in 1458, during the reign of D. Afonso V, the church was founded and later the convent, which was populated by monks of the Order of St. Jerome.

And more pics the next morning. It really was a beautiful place!

So then we were off for another 2+ hours to reach the Algarve, the southern coast of Portugal that is filled with all its beaches. The weather there is, reputedly, most always sunny and mild. It definitely was during our stay, but a little too cool for Texans in the pools or beach!!

Our hotel, the Algarve Dome Hotel, was great — the room was wonderful, the view great and there were three pools — one unheated (where the kids played), one heated (sorta) and the last one with a sand beach (the bottom was concrete but it was all covered with sand –pretty neat idea!).

On the afternoon that we arrived we did lie out by the pool. That night we went to an Indian restaurant that I had read great things about, Natraj Indian Tandoori. It truly was wonderful; we had the best Rogan Josh there that I have ever had!!!

We had signed up to take a cruise along the coast on the next day. It was so pretty.

It was great going into a cave — and one with an opening at the top! Our boat was too large to go very far, but it was still fun.

And the drinks were fun as well….

We went back to the Indian restaurant again that night — so good! But John really didn’t want his picture taken again — I cropped out the part you shouldn’t see!!!!

On our last day there we were just lazy; I think we were worn out from going so hard and we needed to pack everything that we would not need on our last night at the Lisbon airport. We needed a little “down time”.

We drove to the Melia Lisbon Airport, spent the night and had a noonish departure the next day — a nice and easy agenda!

Loved the trip and loved telling you all about it.

Beth

Porto & on to Guimarães

We loved Porto. Our location was amazing; we could watch the happenings on the riverwalk and the river and listen to the music as well.

Play the music

We ate across the alley from our hotel at a place the bellman had recommended. The day had been so beautiful and the evening was mild as well. The food was good too!

Our first stop the next day was the Churches and Museum of St. Francis.

We stopped to shop and eat lunch at the Bolhao Market.

Followed by some ice cream then a stop at the Majestic Cafe for coffee….and wine!

The Museum of Modern Art somewhat scandalized me; it was way more graphic than any other modern museum we had been to.

We ate that night at Ribera Square, across the square from our window, on yet another mild night. So wonderful! John had the franschina sandwich that Portugal is famous for and I had vegetable pasta –both quite good!

The view of the river and bridge at night was really beautiful!

The next day we set out for our port tasting tour at Graham’s. We stopped to take a look when we were at the top of the bridge crossing to the other side of the Douro River.

The mustard colored building is our hotel and we were on the fourth floor, the level with the balcony railings.

And then on to Graham’s. Lots of history there as well as a delicious tasting afterward.

Of course we liked the oldest, the Tawny Port, the best!

The home and vineyards in the Douro Valley:

John got out of the car to go see the stock exchange. These are his pictures of it.

Yes, it’s the same one that designed the tower in Paris. His brother designed the iconic bridge across the Duoro River (visible from the square and our balcony) and Gustave designed another bridge across the Duoro River (not pictured).

We next stopped in Guimarães. Guimarães is a city in northern Portugal. It’s known for well-preserved medieval buildings like the hilltop, 10th-century Guimarães Castle, with its sweeping city views. The restored Dukes of Bragança Palace, built in the style of a French chateau, has a museum showcasing furniture, tapestries and weapons. (Google). We first went to a church.

Guimarães Castle:

And the palace:

That ends this blog. We drove on that afternoon to the Douro River Valley, where the next blog will start.

Beth

Beautiful Portugal

Hi All,

On Wednesday we flew to Lisbon by way of JFK, four hours to JFK and another 5 1/2 to Lisbon. I did sleep a solid four with a sleeping pill — thankfully. I still felt like you-know-what by late afternoon Thursday. Anyway, we landed, got our SUV and took off for points west, but with a stop at the beloved Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon. We had been there about ten years ago with Melissa and Karl and remembered it with love!

After feeding our faces we headed to the west coast town of Cabo do Roc and the Atlantic.

After reading sign below, I had to have a pina colada; however they lied!

On the way to Sintra I was crowded by another car on a narrow road in heavy traffic so I pulled to the right hitting something and, as a result, managed to create a slow leak in the sidewall of my front passenger tire. John noticed it that night and arranged with roadside assistance and the car rental company to have the car picked up and returned to the car rental company. However, the next morning we had to go back to the car rental company in Lisbon to get a replacement car – a major hassle.

In the afternoon we returned to Sintra and visited the Park and Palace of Monserrate.

Our first stop the next day was the National Palace of Mafra built by King Joao V. It was stunning, especially the central courtyard.

We stopped for a quick late lunch at a local Burger King which we shared with these newlyweds!

We then stopped in the town of Alcobaca. Due to its artistic, cultural and historical relevance, the Monastery of Alcobaça was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage site list in 1989. It was really beautiful inside! I especially loved the architecture of the courtyard.

We ended our day by driving to Tomar for a one night stay at the Estalagem de Santa Iria Hotel. It was located in the middle of a park surrounded by water on three sides. Despite guidance by Waze we missed the only entrance to the hotel several times because it looks like a unpaved walkway over water into a park. We finally went to the desk of a competing hotel and were told many people had come to them not realizing the walkway was, in fact, the only access to our hotel. Once there, it was quite nice.

Our first stop the next day was at the Tomar Castle, which only John could enter.

Clergy out for archery practice.

Our second stop was in Coimbra – a former capital of Portugal and the home of the oldest continuously operating university in the world- the University of Coimbra founded in 1290 (not a typo). We toured the cathedral, the museum and the library. The library was spectacular…but no pictures were allowed! Sorry! Pictures of the facade of the museum and the inside of the cathedral follow.

This was all his palace, chapel, library and square.

That’s all for now. I’m having a hard time getting this all done on this trip. Too much to do and too much driving time too! But it is all wonderful to see.

Beth