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13 to 19 June 2022
Bruce and I had visited Portugal in 1974, while we were living in Manchester. We had driven our VW combi to Portsmouth and boarded an overnight ferry to Lisbon. It was an interesting journey – Nixon resigned.
We drove south and beached on the Algarve, then meandered into Spain and caught a car ferry to Morocco. No planning just going. When I returned to work 4 weeks later, they were wondering if I would in fact come back. If only!
This journey was better planned – it had to be, we were travelling with an 18 month old. How will we cope? Steph, of course, had created an amazing itinerary. All the research was done, we just had to go and enjoy.
Fortunately A knew us well, as we had taken her out many times – playgrounds, parks, ice cream shops. We had even done a mini sightseeing tour around Victoria Market while Ev and Steph packed their bags. They had already been to Hawaii, USA and France. They had even managed a quarantine in New York with COVID.
We met in Porto. A great, roomy AirBnB. Bruce and I arrived first and went shopping. We really had to guess what food we needed, but the beer and wine were easy, well nearly. Portugal is the home of corks. There are no screw top wines in Portugal. We needed to add a corkscrew to our shopping list.
There was an excellent café nearby, perfect for a coffee and croissant, and right next to the station, so off we went.
Bruce continued his excellent pram pushing exercises and carried baby, food, cameras, rain coats, hats, sun screen, water, …
Between heat and rain we explored the beautiful city on Porto on the Duoro River. We stopped to try some exotic foods, of courses Nata (Portuguese tart) was a favourite.
We took time to visit playgrounds and smell the flowers. We walked back and forth over the River Duoro and even caught the tram there. We tried the funicular and had a wonderful view of the old city.
After feeling very washed out we chose a restaurant on the Marginal de Gaia and ate Portuguese style, well into the late afternoon. A enjoyed her chocolate mousse most of all.
We had planned to pick up a hire car in the afternoon of our third day, so stayed close by and explored the amazing Casa da Música and a quaint market place – up market with food stalls.
Bruce, Evan and A went off to pick up the car. They needed to know that the car seat we had ordered for A was there and properly installed.
We spent the next couple of days exploring near by.
Morning coffee at the quaint town of Amarante, an ancient settlement in northern Portugal, founded in 360 BC as Turdetanos. There is an interesting church there and a quaint bridge over the Tâmega River. It is a stopping off point for the Portuguese camino which makes its way to San Diego de Compostela in Spain.
From there we found Pinhão and its magnificent views over the Douro River. This is where you would take a cruise in Portugal, but we found the quaint railway station and a wonderful lunch at the Writer’s Place café. It was hot, we enjoyed sheltering under the trees, with a breeze blowing up from the river.
We finished the afternoon at the famous House of Sandeman where Ev and Steph enjoyed a port tasting paddle. Bruce was driving but we brought a bottle back for him.
Another wet day loomed as we drove to Braga. There was the Festival of John the Baptist there, and the town had been decorated. A particularly enjoyed the playground here and we sat and people watched. There are advantages of travelling with a little one – a need to go slow.
Sardines – tinned, salted, smoked, fresh are a Portuguese delicacy. The tourist shops were brightly decorated with tins of them. They didn’t like us photographing without buying. Can’t say I blame them – COVID has tightened so many pockets.
The garden of Santa Barbara and the Archbishops Palace were on display for the festival, so colourful.
Near Braga is the must visit the baroque Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte – a UNESCO site. It is described as a cultural landscape that evokes Christian Jerusalem, recreating a sacred mount crowned with a church on the UNESCO site, that was developed over a period of 600 years.
The pilgrimage Baroque stairway climbs 116 meters and created a fitting entry to the sanctuary.
And the rain came down, so our sightseeing was under umbrellas with cameras tucked into our bags.
Crazy that the rest of Europe is in a serious heatwave and we have cool, wet weather, rugged up in jumpers and raincoats.
A dull drive back to Porto for our last evening. The rain was easing but I was troubled by the Portuguese tollways, not sure if they were covered in our rental agreement. As it happened, they were. Phew!
