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Portugal - Mandy and Jo
  • Johanne Brookes
  • Mandy Ross

Portugal - Mandy and Jo

Walking and city break... Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 31, 2018
    Portugal - Mandy and Jo

    Starting Out

    May 31, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    So a slightly edgy start as we hadn't got properly sorted. Adam the house sitter was due at 10am and we were still sorting stuff. We got away by about 11 am (via Mandy's to collect a waterproof and leave some Dreamies for Everest). Up to Manchester to park the car at Dad's and go for lunch.
    We went to Worsley Old Hall which was really busy for a weekday lunchtime but the food was good (and Northern, Inc. Bury black pudding nibbles to start and Bakewell Tart to finish). Dad ran us to terminal 1 where we had a short queue but a long wait for bag drop.... No separate desk so in with all the general check in. Then on to the joy of security which was very thorough... We got the line with body scanners.. And Mandy still got hauled out for a patdown. Baggage checking was really keen almost bags ended up in the hand check queue which took ages (not helped when people couldn't recognise their own bags) mine got stopped because of the hat in the tube and Mandy's had a mint induced check!
    Finally through to discover that the plane was running an hour late. We mooched, Mandy wrote cards, we mooched some more then we got a window seat and waited in the noise and chaos until the flight was finally called. We left around an hour late and the flight was fairly uneventful. We did watch with interest as a very glamorous Brazilian tried to get on the plane during business boarding and was stopped, then she tried during the first row call and was stopped... I don't think she was pleased (we saw her near the front later).
    At Lisbon we found the metro and rode out to the Baixa area to the Lis'bon Hostel. In the dark we could seen grand architecture and steep roads also quite a lot of rather drunk people. A quirky hostel with a fabulous tiny lift and a nice guy on reception who SD us a couple of bottles of beer and lent me a charger cable.... And so to bed.    Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo

    Day 1Lisbon to Porto and beyond

    June 1, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We woke early as we needed to get to the station for the 9:30 train to Porto. Blue skies and breakfast on the roof terrace with views out across the rooftops to the river. Also an ambitious pigeon who tried to peck my orange.
    We navigated the easy Lisbon metro to St Apollonia Station and found our comfortable window seats. We had enough time for Mandy to hop off and grab a coffee before we departed. The journey was about three hours along rivers and through small towns until finally we started to see the sea and we knew we were nearing Porto.
    After some wandering about we found left luggage (we'd been distracted by the women selling cherries on the platform) and deposited our stuff so we could head into Porto. First stop lunch at a cafe by the station where we had a hotdog (sliced in two and put in white sliced with a slice of cheese!) and a local speciality called bifana; sliced pork in a bun with a spicy sauce. Then we spent a while trying to work out how to get to the city centre; the station was out in the suburbs. Eventually we worked out that there was a discretely hidden metro station so we hopped on that for three stops and hoped we were in roughly the right area. We emerged in front of one of those blue and white tiled portuguese churches in the heart of Porto. From there we ambled vaguely looking for the Church of San Francisco or the famous bookshop but we had no maps, minimal phone battery and there were no street signs /maps. So navigationally challenged and distracted by the copious quantities of cherries for sale everywhere we drifted until Mandy rose to the challenge and blagged a map from a big hotel.
    Armed with this we set off to find the world's most beautiful bookshop (apparently... According to some survey) we knew they charged 3e to enter redeemable against purchases but we weren't prepared for a grumpy bouncer, a huge queue and a entrance charge of 5e so we will never know if it really is so beautiful... We carried on wandering up and down the hills (Porto seems to be as hilly as Lisbon) and ended at the São Bento Station (apparently the world's most beautiful station... I might be spotting a theme here) but does have a magnificent tiled entrance hall.
    We then hunted around for the again rather discreet metro station - outside, round the corner, no signs in the station to direct you and not much signage above ground. Back on it and with a line change, back to our original station where we were to meet our taxi.

    The taxi ride was around 50minutes taking us north into the hills where we were deposited a a large house on a quiet side street in Ponte de Lima. Our host seemed friendly, very fond of hunting judging by the number of heads and tusks around the place.
    We wandered down towards the river to find dinner. It seemed to be prom season and the restaurant we were aiming for seemed to be a key location so we wandered on and ended up a restaurant with only one other party in it.... And then they left so it was us and the waiter.! We decided to go with traditional Portuguese food... It arrived: big chunks of pork, with black pudding, and other chunks of meat... Inc intestines... Not recommended.
    But the pork was good and the wine inexpensive and drinkable and we finished up with a port: one white and one red.    Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo
    Some kind of fern?
    DunnoDunnoSpot the nearly invisible lizard on the post.Like those tropical sensitive leaves

    Help please

    June 2, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Lots of unidentified flowers and trees - help please! Mostly in the swampy eucalyptus forest wetlands, which were lovely, shady, with wild roses and vines scrambling up any available support. It was hot in the sun!Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo
    Wild rambling rosesVines planted round the edge of fields, leaving room for crops inside

    In the eucalyptus forest

    June 2, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    I thought eucalyptus was native to Australia - is that right? But clearly thriving here. Obviously not the bird season in the wetlands, but lovely walking on land and boardwalks.

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo
    Abandoned mill
    A round house?Wtf... This is a shop window display

    Wetlands walk

    June 2, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    So after a slightly awkward communal breakfast (but with compensatory good cake) we took a taxi out into the countryside to the wetland. We had detailed notes provided by Inntravel and a map and off we went into the forest. All went well although the notes weren't quite as good as on previous trips and so we took a wrong turning at one point. We had a picnic lunch purchased from the hotel so we knew we wouldn't starve and we soon sorted ourselves out. A good walk probably far enough for me (about 9.5km) and finished with a walk over the bridge and a stop to buy custard tarts... Back to the hotel to shower, read and recoverRead more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo
    I hope this was deliberately retro, I haven't seen a pack of C90 tapes on sale since about 2000
    Very pleased to see that this ancient tower is still occupiedYum camel drool

    Post recovery

    June 2, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    So after our wetland walk we ambled back to spend some time in recovery, sitting in the garden of our hotel and reading. We then wandered back out into Ponte de Lima, we stopped for a quick beer and then a look around the town. There were races going on in the town and a course had been taped off. We watched very briefly and then continued on we settled on what had seemed the most popular restaurant in town last night for dinner. It was good and thankfully tonight we weren't overwhelmed with dodgy cooked innards.... Back to our hotel a short read and then bedRead more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo
    Just a pool....
    View from a terraceCoach houseDear deerGuinea fowlMandy getting into the spirit of things

    On to the Count's place.

    June 3, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    So after a rather less awkward breakfast (where we discovered that two other guests were from Moseley... And we had an acquaintance in common (Fiona)) we pack up rather hurriedly as the taxi was early to move our luggage on.
    We set off a little behind following todays route notes which started us off following the camino, which was very clearly marked. No need for maps for pilgrims. The weather was much more iffy and the temperatures around 5 degrees cooler so we dressed for the climate and we're sweating before we were half way. The skies got darker and greyer as we climbed so we ended up with our waterproofs on sweating up hill to the Parco de Calheiros. Which is magnificent, we have a little cottage with a living area and bedroom and free run of the estate. We met the Count who was very engaging in an aristocratic way. He suggested we went and met his roe deer 🦌. We had already wandered around past poultry, pools and groves of orange and lemon trees.
    The deer were fabulous and we the wandered past a coach house, and along more terraces before ending up here in a large room furnished with comfy sofas, a huge fire place and an array of hunting trophies...    Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo

    A Count, some Colombians and other Europ

    June 3, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    When we spoke with the count he said that some riders would be arriving later, on their way to Santiago de Compostela. They duly arrived in a clatter of hooves. Also apparently a clatter of whisky bottles, we saw the bomberio (sp?) emergency services vehicle this was due to one of the riders falling down the stairs. According to the count "his eyes were rolled up in his head and he was completely inanimate" they thought he'd had a heart attack but actually he was dead drunk!
    Dinner was preceded by a drinks reception in a room with a grand fireplace; vinho Verde for most of us though some of the Columbians seemed to have found (more) whisky. Mandy got chatting to a bloke who described himself as a farmer (though a friend reckons it the Bogota polo club people... Not farmers). He made some dubious comments about Feminism... He was against it, Mandy handled it with aplomb leading him into a discussion about machismo. Then we were led off for a tour of the house (which has been in the family since the fifteenth century), stuffed full of antiques but also lots of family photos too. It feels like a home (albeit rather grand) rather than a hotel.
    Then we went into dinner, the long table was filled with Columbians so we were on a side table with a French/Dutch couple who live in Belgium. They seemed pleasant enough until she bemoaned the number of Arabs in Marseille (her home town)..
    then continued about the Muslims in Belgium. Again Mandy was in there but this time with a forceful rejoinder that pointed out that most Muslims rejected the actions of the militants.
    Fortunately the arrival of dinner (bacalhau) a salt cod dish distracted her with a discussion about that was her favourite and how the younger generation didn't bother to make it.... Dinner was otherwise good generously accompanied by more vinho Verde, then port and some pasties de nata.    Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo

    A Final Dinner with the count.

    June 4, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We dried off, read and played Othello until dinner time came around. We were somewhat peckish as lunch had been a rather scratch affair. We tootled up towards the sitting room at about seven and found many of the Italians in the outer sitting room, the Belgians were there but not making eye contact with anyone. We were chatting with a nice elderly woman was born in Venice and lived in Milan. She told us that they were a long standing group of friends (the confraternity of?? a wine anyway). Then we headed to the other sitting room with the humongous fireplace. The staff came and brought snacks and the Italians pounced; apparently they had missed lunch and were ravenous. Ian (of the Moseleyites) opened the Count's wine and the festivities started, when the count (& Mrs Count) turned up they seemed slightly startled to fi d that things had started without them. The count did the tour in English today so we learnt that in the 17th c version of the house that room had been the kitchen, thus the huge fireplace, the family Arms - everywhere Inc the fireplace incorporated the scallop shell of Compostela. There was limoges China, a huge wall hanging of Mrs counts family coat of arms, ancient books and antiques everywhere. Then down to dinner where there seemed to be some sort of seating miscalculation. We were directed to the small table again with the Moseleyites but there was also a Dutch couple and the Belgians. The Belgians suggested that as we could all speak English we should sit together... I think they just wanted their own space they could manage in English just as well as the Dutch). It was a nice evening, much laughter, cod again for dinner but followed by an excellent chocolate mousse. Another surreal night. Back to our room to pack as the taxi was due at 10am sharp.Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo
    Mandy at the half way point
    Love the post boxAn old village laundryMisty view down the valleyPortuguese hobbit?

    A soggy day in the Minho

    June 4, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Up late and hoping that breakfast would be quiet. Nobody there when we arrived, although we were joined by the count later. He told us that there would be 17 Italians arriving later and he hoped we wouldn't mind if we had bacalhau for dinner again!

    After breakfast we decided that despite the grim weather forecast we would do the walk suggested in the Inntravel notes. We had barely got started when it transpired that a whole new terrace of vines had Ben planted right across the route. We tried various paths but couldn't find a way through. We retraced our steps back to the road and wandered along trying to work out where the path would have taken us. We had been walking for around twenty minutes when we met a grumpy dog guarding the road. Fortunately after a retreat and stop to consult the map the dog trotted off into the fields. We kept on plodding and then the rain poured down...
    I was beginning to lose heart but we kept going and. Google maps gave us enough of a position that we could compare with the map so we felt optimistic we might reach a recognisable point. Finally after an hour - hour&half we finally picked up a path that seemed to tally with the route notes. The path was cobbled, leading up through eucalyptus woods and the hill was strewn with large boulders. The rain poured intermittently but sometimes we got a glimpse of the Lima valley and the bridges at Ponte de Lima. Eventually we reached a saddle where if the cloud wasn't so low we'd have been able to see across two valleys. Ho hum. The path started to descend and we sustained ourselves with a sandwich left from yesterday's picnic before tramping on. The path showed evidence of recent flood damage and was very rough at points, there was also a fallen tree. Eventually we came back to paved roads past old houses and an old stone laundry before bring us back to Paco de Calheiros.    Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo

    Leaving Calheiros

    June 5, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    In the morning the rain wasn't bouncing on the roof but the clouds were low and there was a slow persistent drizzle. We headed to breakfast, where a few of the Italians were finishing up and the delights included a large quantity of strawberries. We had a last fix of the Count's fresh orange juice and it looked like being a solitary breakfast as the Italians departed for their trip to Vigo. But the Moseleyites and the count appeared (himself only briefly as he was leading the trip). He kissed us as if we were friends and instructed us to see his son Luis before we left.
    We left the Moseleyites to it but not before Mandy had been entertained by the sight of Geraldine poking bacon into a hole in a roll. We went for a last soggy walk around the estate to get a souvenir lemon and have a last look at the deer. We saw more of them today including a pregnant female and some fawns.
    Back to wait for the taxi, Luis appeared with a brochure about the place and a little water colour postcard signed by the count.
    Our taxi came and we headed through the rain to Porto.    Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo

    Lisbon first look

    June 5, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Off the train, two stops on the metro and a short walk to our hotel in the heart of Baixa. Nice room, helpful staff and a perfect location. We set off towards the river, wandered into the Lisbon Story where we skipped the story but bought a book. (the siege of Lisbon). We then wandered across the rua Augusta Square and rode the lift to the viewpoint. Lisbon is a lovely city, Terracotta roofs, tiled frontages, and pleasing sense of not being all about the tourists,it feels lived in. From the arch we wandered towards Rossia and found a cherry brandy bar: gingha (sp?) a quick shot and we continued up steps and a steep street to a little square by the Carmo museum where a band was busking and the jacarandas were in full bloom.
    After a sit and gawp we walked down the side of the ruined church to the lift designed by Eiffel's apprentice. There was only one lift operating so the queue was long but made shorter when a party of tourists decided not to wait. The lift was part of the transport system so we had to validate our tickets on entry.
    We drifted back to the hotel where we picked up warmer clothing and a recommendation for where to eat and off we went again. The restaurant was only round the corner, but just enough off the tourist track. Good food, friendly staff and we got bonus sherry from our Nepalese server. Afterwards we took a lift and wandered up towards the castle and had a drink in a bar behind a shop up there. Mandy also bought enamelled heart earrings. We headed back but the lift exit was closed at the bottom now and we had a little excitement trying to find our way out. But eventually we got back to the hotel.    Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo
    The map
    Vasco and his assistantsEast meets westDodgy facesTurtlesPart of the panorama

    Towers, Turtles, Tiles

    June 6, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    A bit of a lie in, a decent breakfast and then off to find a tram to take us to Belem. We walked down to the river front and picked up a (sadly modern) tram to Belem, we rode all the way out to the tower.. And a bit oast. Belem as a suburb looked middle class and prosperous, the first houses we've seen. The tram route took us past pastel de nata Belem where they were queuing out of the door. When we reached the tower it was impressive but again a long queue for a small building, we skipped going in and headed towards the mosterio dos jeronimos instead. On the way we came to the 1960s Salazar monument of the explorers with its ott crowd of crew and Vasco de gama. We'd seen it on the Janina /Alistair program and it is quite a sight. In front of it is a mosaic compass rose with a map of the Portuguese discoveries in the centre. At the monument there was a lift to the top which gave us great, if rather cloudy views across the river and across Lisbon. From there we schlepped over to the monesterio where the queues were stupendous. There were an awful lot of coaches parked outside. We decided that the smart move would be to come back at the end of the day today or tomorrow when the cruise crowds would probably be gone. Instead we hopped back on the tram heading for the Museum of the Oriente housed in an old bacalhau warehouse. This was a good if rather disturbing museum. We concluded that Japan / China stuff didn't seem too exploitative compared with say India or Africa where the damage was so great. There were some really good pieces. I was particularly taken by the trade prints of the tea trade and the screens showing encounters between the Europeans and the Japanese /Chinese.
    Next stop the tile museum Inc its panoramic view of pre-earthquake Lisbon. We had some minor transport difficulties but eventually found ourselves on a bus heading to the tile museum. When we arrived the first stop was the cafe which was lovely but had glacial service. We sat with our drinks in a shaded courtyard with turtle pond before heading into the museum proper. This was a converted convent which now houses an array of tile samples. I was very taken with some of the early ones with their rather grumpy looking faces. There was a restoration department with a vast array of tiles awaiting attention, it looked like professional jigsaw construction without a picture.
    On the way round we ended up in the convents original church which had sufficient gilt and art to reawaken all my Catholic Church prejudices... Poverty... Pah. The highlight has to be the 1755ish panorama which has a large space all to itself on the top floor.

    Then back via bus to the riverfront and the walk back to our hotel. A brief recharge of our batteries and we headed out for food. This times recommendation was to take the lift opposite the top of our street where we're would emerge near a taberna. Good food but doleful staff didnt make it feel like the most welcomeing experience.    Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo

    Tram 28

    June 7, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    A dodgy weather forecast had us planning for a damp day. After breakfast we headed to Martim Moniz Square to catch tram 28, the iconic Lisbon tram before the queues got too immense. We didn't make the first tram, as we turned down the chance to stand all the way, but the next tram reversed into place soon and off we went, rattling up narrow streets and steep inclines, occasionally obstructed by delivery vans parked on the tracks, traffic cones and road digging. We rode all the way to the end, passing viewpoints and interesting looking districts. At the terminus (a big cemetery) we hopped straight back on another crowded tram, even more packed than the first. This meant I (Jo) had my thigh clamped by a guy bracing himself round each corner. When we got back to the Alfama viewpoint, we hopped off to look for the street art we'd seen on the way up. We wandered back through narrow streets and steps as the rain increased, bobbing in for coffee and pastries, and then to a little supermarket for edible gifts.
    We then decided rather than get back on the tram to walk back. We came across unexpected viewpoints and street art by Vhili, and then back to the hotel to drop off our purchases.    Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo
    Lady shapes?Every city has different green manDouble jointed elephantThe Gulbenkian effect

    Damp

    June 7, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    After much debate we decided that given the weather we would go and look at some art. The Gulbenkian seemed like a good choice, a good chronological stretch and some interesting stuff. Hmmmm
    We got off the metro and the Gulbenkian was discreetly hidden away but we found it thanks to Google maps. When we arrived it was 10e and no student discount. We were a bit miffed at the price, but it had such a good write up in Lonely Planet that we coughed up.
    Pah... It just didn't do it for us, no free range wandering, there was a set order. We were looking forward to the Mesopotamian pots we'd been promised. Nope, one panel and that was it. We hit the cafe as consolation, which also felt unsatisfactory in a nebulous fashion. After a restorative tea and scone we tried again but it didn't feel good. We grumped off to the metro and headed for the Mosterio at Belem. A busy tram and the rain was more serious but we arrived just in time for last entry and no queue unlike earlier in the week. It is an impressive space with some informative displays, especially the time line that layered work events, Portuguese history and the monastery history into a single display. Afterwards we emerged into the by now fairly persistent rain and headed to the tram stop. It was rammed. We had to stand all the way back to the centre and mostly there wasn't enough room to fall over, the crush of bodies held you upright even as the tram lurched.
    Finally we made it back, a quick sit down and we headed back around the corner to Taberna Baixa for dinner. Very good and Mandy came away with the little thimble that the cherry brandy was served in.    Read more

  • Trip end
    June 8, 2018
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