Author: marionvermazen

Our hotel in Porto was right on the river. It consisted of two buildings, a palace and a factory built by one of the former owners of the palace. Of course they are completely renovated now.

Since we were staying in Porto it seemed appropriate to visit one of the many Port wine cellars near where we were staying. The hotel made us a reservation at Graham’s Port Wine Cellar. It was only a few miles from the hotel but finding it turned out to be a bit of an adventure. Eventually we made it and enjoyed a tour and tasting.

Duke is not really a fan of port. It is not my favorite either but I thought these ports were wonderful.

From Porto we drove north to the Pausada Mosteiro de Amores. It is a hotel in a wonderful old Monestary.

We played bridge.

Then we had dinner in the Pausada restaurant.

After breakfast Thursday morning Duke talked to the helpful front desk staff at the Pausada in Viseu about what we should see in the area. They suggested the old village of Santar which is in the middle of a transformation to become “The Garden Village”. The owners of one of the local grand houses have worked with other garden owners in the village and with a famous landscape architect to connect their gardens and create marvelous spaces. We took a tour and saw one of the wonderful old houses and all 5 public gardens. Even though they are undoubtedly more beautiful at other times of the year when there would be more color, the gardens were still really beautiful.

The owners are also growing grapes and have created a small winery in the former stables

Next we got on the road to Porto. We stopped at a grocery store and bought picnic supplies. We found a lovely spot to picnic. It is interesting that a lot of people are burning wood, probably for heat. The smoke in the air was pretty thick.

The short route to Porto would have been just over an hour but of course we took the ‘scenic route’. it turned about to be a bit longer than we might have liked but the drive through the mountains was certainly scenic!

I navigated our way to what I thought was the location of our hotel in central Porto. There was lots of traffic but no hotel! After much consulting from the whole team we figured out that in Google maps Hotél Pestana Palácio do Freixo is a 30 minute drive from Pestana Palácio do Freixo. Argh!! We finally got to the hotel in Portu on the Duoro River about six.

Dinner in the hotel restaurant was fabulous. Our waiter was concerned that Linda might not like the tripe but she said it was very good.

This morning we had a wonderful breakfast at our hotel. We are staying at the Pestano Pousada Lisboa. It is right on Praça do Comércio, the central square.

After breakfast we took the trolley to Belem where we saw the Monument to the Discoveries.

We visited the cathedral of Jerónimos Monastery. One little thing I like about churches is that they give me an opportunity to sit!

We saw Vasco da Gama’s tomb. He found the sea route to India around the southern tip of Africa.

We had to make a stop at Pastéis de Belém to have the Portuguese famous custard tarts. The story is that the tarts were made here first. The monks in the monestary used egg whites to starch their laundry. They had lots of leftover egg yolks so they used them to make the tarts. The concierge in our hotel said there are better tarts elsewhere but agreed that tourists have to stop at Pastéis de Belém at least once. I thought my tart was flakey, eggy and yummy!

By this time jet lag was hitting so we took the trolley back to the hotel. I had an excellent nap. Later we walked around the square some then stopped for a snack.

Apparently on Wednesday there will be a big Holland versus Portugal football match here. So while we ate we were treated to duelling songs. Although we couldn’t understand them I assume they were national football songs.

Lots of people including us savored the sunset from the riverfront.

For dinner we went to Restaurant 1° de Maio which was recommended by Linda’s sister Elizabeth. Our waiter translated the menu and entertained us with jokes. We had a wonderful meal.

All in all it was a perfect first day.