A Few Days in Porto

Our winter here in Cascais was quiet. Unlike last year, which was cool and rainy, most of our days have been mild and sunny, with temperatures steadily in the 50s. Unfortunately, Will has once again been plagued with sciatica. So most of our winter schedule revolved around his physical therapy sessions. Progress this time is slow. We are hoping that the coming of spring will bring improvements.

We were finally able to squeeze in a quick visit to Porto, in the north of Portugal, for a few days last week. Porto is known for being cold and rainy in the winter but we picked the right days based on weather forecasts. We had four perfectly sunny and warm days in Portugal's second largest city.

Our travel was completed using public transportation. That entailed taking the train from Cascais to Lisbon. From there we used the Lisbon metro for the first time to go to the another train station is Lisbon to take the train on to Porto. It was a comfortable and relaxing three hour train ride. Happily, our first class fares were only 19 euros per person (about $22). Our senior discount got us a 50% discount. The Oriente Train station in Lisbon is notable because it was designed by Santiago Calatrava, whose work we admired in Valencia, Spain. It has some lovely features.

Once we arrived in Porto, we met up with neighbors from our building who just happened to be in Porto with their kids. We joined them later for dinner.

Pro tip: It is fun to drink with friends when their kids are glued to screens.

Porto is an extremely hilly city with the Douro River running between it and the city of Gaia. We were happy that we chose a hotel down by the river (in the Ribeiro section) because it is fairly flat. We found it very, very challenging to deal with the hills. Uber was our savior. It is a beautiful city characterized by several bridges over the Douro, some very old and some very modern. We took the double decker sightseeing bus and got a good overview of the city. It also included a nice boat ride going under all six Porto bridges.

One of the bridges, the Maria Pia, was designed by Gustav Eiffel. The Dom Luis bridge was designed by one of his students evidently.

We always laugh about the laundry hung out of windows. In fact, we refer to it at the Portuguese flag.

The next day we took a full day tour to the Douro valley. We were in a small group of seven (including two children). We traveled in a van with a driver/guide who seemed to be auditioning for Fast and Furious. Much of the time in the van, I have the distinct feeling I was going to die. He was actually a good guide and seamlessly alternated between English and Spanish. Our first stop was a small town at the beginning of the Douro valley where we enjoyed coffee and cake. Then we were off again.

Our next stop was for a tour and lunch at the Barros House winery. We learned about the production of port and enjoyed tastes of a few of them. The winery itself was very scenic and our lunch of sea bass was excellent. They also taught us how to infuse cake with port. I expect this to skill to come in handy in the future.

The scenery in the Douro valley is astounding. We had a photo stop at the top of a mountain looking down on the valley and all the terraced vineyards. We particularly enjoyed a one hour boat ride on the Douro -- so peaceful and serene. One note: Because of the hilly terrain, all of the work in the vineyards and terraces is done by hand. Machines don't work for it. Sometimes they can use horses or donkeys for the original building of the terraces.

One of the other travelers on our tour was a lovely young woman from Russia. Her English was very good and we enjoyed spending the day with her. She was very reserved and made it clear that she did not like to talk about politics. Fine with us. I was finally able to get her to tell me that her work is modeling and media. When we were on the boat I asked her to pose.

Before heading back to Porto, we stopped at the Croft winery for another tour and wine tasting. More beautiful scenery.

After a full day of touring, we spent the next day just chilling. We went to a great store which specializes in azulejos (Portuguese tiles). We also spent some quality time at a cafe on the river in Porto listening to some really good musicians and enjoying the lively atmosphere. There was a group of about 20 young women who were dancing and singing along. It was entertaining to watch. Our last stop that day was the Immersive Monet and Klimt exhibit. It is an interesting experience. I liked it more than Will but we were both glad we went. We look forward to returning to Porto -- next time, hopefully with friends,

Our next stop, we hope, is in mid-March when we will go on a tour of central Europe. We got our travel documents last week and felt very confident. But after the news of the past few days, we have our fingers crossed that the tour will take place.