Portugal Days 5-10

 So I was very negligent at doing this blog, but in my defense, it wasn’t always easy to get on to Wi-Fi.  

Day 5 we went to Braga.  Another one hour bus ride from our river boat home,  Another pretty Medieval town with an ornate church.  Very beautiful tile work on the building facades.  Great Super Bock beer at the sidewalk cafes.  Wish we had room for more dessert.  Spent the night back in Porto.  

Day 6 in Guimaraes another 1 hour bus ride from Porto.  Quirky ceramics of the nativity (one of the holy family on a Vespa).  Found a sidewalk cafe with 20 kinds of gin and a dashing on the menu that read “I don’t know what time it is, but it is gin o’clock”.  

Day 7.  Off the bus and on to Lisbon.  Stopped at a highway rest stop where they had the inevitable bachalhaul or salt cod. Yah, that’s my idea of highway snacks! There was a bus with it’s hood up, drying soccer jerseys.  Then stopped for lunch at Obidos.  A very charming small town more geared to tourists, booth foreign and local.  I had clams and pork which sounds weird, but it works. They have a lovely liquor made with sour cherries they serve in a dark chocolate shot glass called Gina.  Yum.   The countryside is rolling hills, lush and green.  The trees are mostly eucalyptus which were introduced in the 1700s.  THey are over half of the trees in this area and burn like crazy during forest fires, but recover due to their deep roots at the expense of the oaks and pines.  

Lisbon is a big city, again very hilly with interesting neighborhoods.  We went on a “foodie” out of tapas restaurants in Miseracordia (the party part of town). One bar advertises free shots for your bra.  We had the most delicious grilled chicken with a peanut butter, ginger and coconut oil sauce.  Another place with a charcuterie plate and a third with sardines.  Yes I tried them (they are as ubiquitous as the salt cod) and equally nasty,   

Day 8 a bus tour of Lisbon to the Belem neighborhood on the river.  Monuments to the navigators and sailors abound.  Very upscale homes and the factory where they makes Natas - the famous custard tart with 12 egg yolks and a pound of sugar.  Amazing fresh from the oven with a cappucino. In the afternoon we walked to a large plaza by the river, enjoyed more beer and charcuterie and just soaked up the sights.  Dinner was at a meh seafood restaurant where I had shrimp with potatoes and egg.  OK but not the best meal.

Day 9.  We are staying at the Tivoli Hotel in the swanky part of town,  Fantastic breakfast buffet, comparable to what we were having on the boat.  What will I do without my morning smoked salmon? We took a cab to the Castle of St Jorge, but the line for tickets was too,one, so we walked around and enjoyed the view.  There was a guy outside of a church playing an accordion with a chihuahua perched on his shoulder.  Wished I had gotten a photo.  Then to the flea market - lots of typical flea market junk and then to the food market.  Beautiful fish and produce.  The strawberries smelled like strawberries.  Around the sides of the market, many Lisbon chefs have little windows and sell food to be eaten at the communal tables inside.  Had wonderful tuna with a sweet sauce and mashed sweet potatoes and Dean had a pulled pork sandwich which he pronounced delicious.  I walked home and did a little shopping.

Tonight we are off to a nice neighborhood seafood restaurant that has pickled lamprey and whole roasted lamprey on the menu.  Um No.  

Tomorrow an early trip to the airport, then home.  will try to add photos ex post facto.  

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Portugal Day 3and 4

 Well, got thrown a curve ball.  The river is too high for us to go all the way to Spain as planned (can’t fit under the bridges).  So our trip to Salamanca was cancelled.  On day 3 we went to a winery in Adorigo which is a beautiful winery on the mid Duoro. Tasted a white and tawny port.  We came back to the boat and watched a sabering of a Champaigne bottle, then another dinner (I had squid ink pasta with dried fruit and nuts which worked really well with a side of salmon).  Then we watched the opening of a vintage port bottle using the “fire and ice” technique.  In all, my alcohol count for the day was 1. Mimosa, 2. White and tawny port tasting at the winery 3. Paper plane at happy hour , 4 Champagne at the sabering., 5. Red wine at dinner. 6. Vintage port tasting after dinner.  Enough!

Today, we went to Viseu, a city about 1 hour’s drive south of the River in the middle of the country.  It is an old medieval town built on Roman ruins.  This was as far Southeast as the Romans came in Europe. There was a museum dedicated to an artist who was the first Renaissance painter in Portugal.  We also went to a very ornate church, walked around the town a bit then went to lunch at an old hospital that has been converted into a hotel.  Duck confit on the menu and another famous Portuguese dessert.  Overall, a good day.  

Portugal Day 2 2024

 Interesting day on the river.  First stop Peso de Regis Par Museum where we had an introductory lecture on the flora, geography and history of the Duoro River.  The gift shop was mostly bottles of wine and port.  In the afternoon we went to Lemego where there is a large cathedral to the Virgin Des Remedios.  Dean unable to go due to knee pain, so I walked down the 400+ stairs from the church to the little town where we drank more port and had little had little cheese sandwiches (Bolas).  In the evening we went to Quinta de Pacheco, a local winery where we had port, wine and a lovely dinner with a huge dessert selection. The weather was intermittent showers but not an issue for this northwesterener.  On up river tomorrow.

Portugal 2024

 Here we are on our long postponed due to Covid cruise on the Douro River in Portugal,  We flew in on Lufthansa from SEA to Frankfurt, then to Porto.  The overseas portion of the flight was miserable as we were in the bulkhead seats and could not access our carryon luggage. My feet didn’t reach the floor and the foot rest really didn’t provide much help. And then there is the misery of Frankfurt Airport with the shuttle busses from the plane to the terminal.  The flight from Frankfurt to Porto was only 3 hours and much more pleasant, 

First impression of Porto was - WOW what a lot of graffiti!  There is a stunning mix of old and new buildings and some of the old ones are in horrible shape.  Overall though, a charming city on the Atlantic. Our boat is very nice and the staff is wonderful,  Our cabin is tiny with a small upper window so we spend most of our tine in the lounge.  Dinner was fabulous.  I had gyozia with”Chinese sweet chilly sauce”.  As Matt would say, you know what they meant.  Desserts are a forte and the Portuguese love their bread.   The bar is wonderful with anything you can imagine.  I had a port Negroni which was yummy.  

The next day (Monday) we did a brief tour of Porto with a guided tour of the ornate Chamber of Commerce building, a trip to the seashore and a ride around town with it’s multiple bridges.  Porto is on one side of the Duoro and Gaia on the other.  In the afternoon we cruised up the river and saw a lot of homes, small farms but very few birds.  It is quite green here but the weather is in the 50s and overcast with occasional rain showers.  A lot like Port Angeles.  Dinner was lamb shank with was huge with red cabbage and crisp polenta.  Dessert banana splits.  Went through 2 locks on the river.  Tomorrow is Caldas de Aregos. 

Aloha Maui

Today we leave.  Night before last we went to the Lahaina Grill where spaghetti and meatballs will set you back $43!  The food was really good though and service impeccable.  I had a trio of seafood cakes, Dean had the veal chop and Georgia the lamb chops (Perry is sick).  No one ordered the meatballs.
Yesterday we took Dean to a different golf course a little north of here (Perry still on the injured reserve list).  The weather was really blustery and rainy, so Dean bailed out of the golf and we had a lovely breakfast at the Seaside Grill (reasonably priced too!).  I had a frittata made with local purple sweet potatoes and Dean had his 5th Loco Moko, this time with white gravy and a biscuit.  He said it was the best ever.  We dropped him off at the hotel and Georgia and I made our way to Maui Nui Botanical Gardens.  Free admission for geezers >65.  They have a lovely place full of native plants with an audio guide explaining how they grow and what they were used for by native Hawaiians.  Really worth the trip.  Many had medicinal uses including one that treats head lice.  Nothing for kidney stones or prostate issues so they still need urologists here.  We then headed to the Sugar Beach   Bakery that makes the best lime pie ever.
Dinner was again at the Taproom with hulk hulk chicken and mahi mahi.  I’m going to miss the fish.
Hope to get one more fish meal in before the plane leaves.
Aloha!

Whale watching and snorkeling

Yesterday, Georgia and I went whale watching while the guys golfed.  It was amazing to see the humpbacks blowing and breaching from the boat,  The naturalist on board was excellent and I could get really boring with all the details I learned about whales,  They are only here to breed and give birth (1 year gestation - yikes!),  The rest of the time they are up in Alaska eating,  They don’t eat here.  Apparently they are pretty emancipated when they get back north.  Taking photos was not easy.  Sort of like taking a photo of a shooting star.  By the time you  get your phone in place, they would be gone. Even binoculars weren’t of any value,
Today was hang out at the pool and snorkeling. I was the only one who wanted to go, but right off the hotel is superb snorkeling,  I saw at least a dozen different kinds of fish, brain coral, sea urchins and best of all - a turtle.  He was swimming around very near by,  Sadly some idiot with an underwater selfie stick was stalking him.  Some people are so annoying,
As far as food, we went back to Monkeypod  Kitchen for appys last night and the Paia Fish Company for lunch.  Their mahi mahi sandwich was to die for! Had a coconut porter that went down well,

Road to Hana

Sunday found us in a beach side bar watching the Seahawks beat the Eagles in the wild card game of the NFL playoffs.   Good food, tasty drinks and a win!  It doesn’t get much better.  Rested up for our big day Monday - the Road to Hana,
All the Maui guidebooks say this is a must see, preferably from someone else doing the driving.  We hired Kellen of Local Maui Tours for the day to drive us and show us around.  Full disclosure, it was NOT cheap, but so worth it.  He is charming and knowledgeable and an excellent driver.  The road is brutal and dangerous, very narrow, rutted and no guardrails, but what sights!  Mountains, prairies, beaches, waterfalls and quaint tiny towns.  The black sand beach and blow holes at.Waianapanapa State Park are awesome.  The coconut ice cream at Coconut Glen’s and the ubiquitous banana bread were delicious. The trip ended at a beach loaded with sea turtles.  A great Maui day.