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Europe 2023

April - June 2023
A 62-day adventure by Nancy and Doug Trips Read more
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  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 5

    Carmo Church

    April 26, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    There are two churches here side-by-side with a 3 foot wide house connecting them. The left side is Igreja dos Carmelitas for the nuns. We toured the monks' Igreja do Carmo on the right side of the church as it was open. It was similar to the Sao Franciscan church and the brothers could choose to be buried below the church. Of particular interest was a room of a lot of relics including ones said to contain the bones of particular saints and one that had a certificate of authenticity from the 1700s said that it contained a tiny wooden cross made from the original Cross of Jesus. Also a room of vestments which outlined which colour of robe would be worn on which occasions (eg green was the everyday robe colour).Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 5

    Chapel of Souls Curch

    April 26, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    This church is noteworthy for its external Portuguese tile work called “azulejo” (from the Arabic word azzelij meaning “little polished stone”. The tilework dates back to the late 13th century when King Manuel I bought this from Seville in Spain to decorate the walls of his castle at Sintra. there is an entire museum dedicated to this beautiful decorating form and it is used extensively on both the inside and outside of buildings (we did not have time to visit). The most classical are the scenes of blue on white that we would soon see in the central rail station. Nancy found the inside of the chapel very pleasant. As this church is smaller and in active use it has been maintained well and does not have the “heavy feeling” of he churches that are large and feel very old inside.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 5

    Mercado Bolhao

    April 26, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    This area of the metro station “Balhao” was very pleasant and active and Nancy would consider staying in this area if she was to return for a longer visit. The recently renovated market had lovely looking produce and snacks, seating for enjoying on site could be added and many of the restaurants still had “opening soon” signs on the upper level.

    We favoured a site down “cafeteria” right across from the market and were not disappointed by the cod dumpling snack called “ that you see everywhere in Portugal and the egg custard tart Pastei Da Nata.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 5

    Sao Bento Station

    April 26, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Porto São Bento Station is one of the most beautiful train stations in the world. It is just off the Avenida dos Aliados, in the center of Porto. The hall is decorated twenty thousand hand-illustrated tiles both pastural scenes (so called Romance Style) and some of the historical battles and other scenes of important moments in Portuguese history, such as the battle of Valdevez, the conquest of Ceuta in 1415 or the visit of King John I with his wife Felipa of Lancaster to Porto.

    The building is made of granite and was created by the architect José Marques da Silva. The tiles are the work of the artist Jorge Colaço. The first train to arrive at São Bento was 1896, when the building wasn’t even finished. It was officially inaugurated in 1916, but its tiles were manufactured as early as 1905.

    We thought we would scout out our departure for the morning, but the ticket office won't be open when we have to leave, the ticket machines were not available in English and the departure boards were confusing so think Uber would be an easier plan.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 5

    Port Institute

    April 26, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    The Port Institute is a building very near the Palacio Bolsa that ensures that the quality of Port leaving Porto is “up to snuff”. If has a laboratory for testing and a seal of quality. It has a small wing for tourists wishing to visit and learn about the Douro Valley where the grapes for making Port have grown for X years and a testing area. We arrived during the lunch break so took a break ourselves and had a beer on the patio overlooking the nearby square. Then we came back and a lady helped us figure out how to use the self serve port dispenser machine. You get a card and decide which of the ports you would like to try (ranging from 3.50 to 19.50 Euros per serving). You insert the card in the machine and out comes your port. We tried 3 types and decided we liked thd 10 year old tawny the best; the ruby was fruitier but not as complex in the taste (we didn’t try the 19.50 Euro port, stuck to our price range!).Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 5

    Dom Luis Bridge

    April 26, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    After our 3 samplings of Port (which we shared!) we walked up over 100 steps to the upper level of this Bridge offering nice views of the Douro River. Pedestrians and street cars are on the upper level, autos and pedestrians on the lower. Lots of tour boats going up and down the river

    If the Clerigos Tower isn't the iconic image of Porto, this bridge is. The Dom Luís I Bridge is a double-deck metal arch bridge that spans the River Douro between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. At its construction, its 172m span was the longest of its type in the world.

    In 1879, Gustave Eiffel presented a project to construct a new bridge over the Douro, with a high single deck in order to facilitate ship navigation. This project was rejected due to dramatic growth of the urban population, which required a re-thinking of the limits of a single-deck platform.

    A competition was initiated in November 1880, in order to construct a double-deck metal bridge, the public work was awarded to the Belgian Société de Willebroek, from Brussels, administrated by Théophile Seyrig, a disciple of Gustave Eiffel.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 5

    Porto Calém

    April 26, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Then we walked down a hill to the Port House called Calém where Doug had pre arranged a tour for us to go on. The house was busy but we noted there were open spots for the next English tour. The displays were excellent, the tour worthwhile and the cellars were impressive with the oak barrels holding about 15,000 bottles of port wine each.

    We enjoyed the tour and tried to sort out the differences between types of port (its complicated!). Basically White (white grapes only, Rose, used as an aperitif and for cocktails), Ruby (blended, oak or stainless vats; does not age after bottling), and Tawny (keeps aging in the bottle indefinitely getting lighter as it goes) and then one that is produced from one grape only if there is an exceptional year for that. The oldest bottles they have date to 1870 (not for sale!).

    After the tour we did the “chocolate and port tasting” and again decided of the three offered we liked the 10 year old tawny the best and paired with milk chocolate in particular. We bought a ½ bottle to enjoy during our four night stay upcoming in Lisbon.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 5

    Miradouro Vittoria

    April 26, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    This viewpoint is just at the end of our street and Porto is reduced to postcard format at this viewpoint, The view over the Ribeira from here takes in some of the main sights of the city; the Dom Luis bridge, the Se and Bishop's Palace all standing out above the patchwork of terracotta roofs below. It's a highly atmospheric spot at dusk, when landmarks are illuminated and the lights on flick on one by one.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 5

    Day 5 Overview

    April 26, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Explored the north side of the river again in the morning and walked over the bridge in the afternoon. A lot of walking up and down the steep hills, but Porto is quite compact. We covered a total of 14,974 steps or 10.1km.

    Dinner at Taberna d'Avo. Nancy had noted this cute restaurant very near our accommodation and it had good reviews. Run by a couple, no reservations, come 10 minutes early if you want a table when they open at 1900 hrs as there are only 10 tables. We were first in line and were quickly seated with the other three groups waiting and it quickly filled up. One waiter managed all the tables efficiently and we enjoyed our appetizers of Portuguese sausage, bread and sardine pate followed by cod fish cakes served with rice and beans. It looked like a soup but you strained the rice and beans out and it was very tasty, the food in Portugal is not overly salty despite the extensive use of "salt cod" which requires soaking for a day or two to desalt and reconstitute it. We plan to learn more about the history of cod at a specialty museum in Lisbon.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 6

    Coimbra University

    April 27, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Doug planned a detailed itinerary today starting with an Uber ride direct to the bus station with our luggage. Bus trip to Coimbra was 1.5 hrs, then put luggage into storage at the station, Uber to the university to meet our guide Renan Souza (RM Tours booked through Trip Advisor) at 10am for a two hour walking tour of the Coimbra University and the old town. Renan has his Bachelors and Masters in Portuguese History and is working on a PhD in Museology. To say he is passionate about his work is an understatement ; he knew so many dates and intertwined events off the top of his head. He came here to study from Brazil, he is the first in his family to go to university and his favourite place in Europe and where he'd like to work is the Borghese Gallery in Rome.

    Coimbra is between Porto and Lisbon and the site of a Roman town and the home of a public research university. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university is among the oldest universities in continuous operation in the world, the oldest in Portugal. In 2013, UNESCO declared the university a World Heritage Site, noting its architecture, unique culture and traditions, and historical role.

    As mentioned many times by our guide, the reviled dictator Antonio de Salazar, was a prof here. He was the the PM of Portugal from 1932-1968 - authoritarian govt rule until the revolution of 1974. Mentioned numerous times was the Marques de Pombau who remains a controversial figure. On the one hand, this reformer who believed in rationality and science, ousted the power of the religious orders (Renan says the Dominican monks in particular were "bad") and brought reform, he was so paternalistic that he himself was exiled by "Maria the Mad" i.e. mad at him for his criticism of her father. Note "dungeon" where members of the university could be imprisoned up to six months (being allowed under university guard - to attend classes only) for any "misbehavior" ranging from not meeting the curfew time to political opinion. The organ is in the Royal Chapel as the impressive building on the square was once the Royal Palace of the King of Portugal.    Read more

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