• Melissa Blondeau

Portugal

Pengembaraan 12hari oleh Melissa Baca lagi
  • Permulaan perjalanan
    1 September 2025

    Estevan to Portugal

    2 September, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    After 3 flights , we arrived in Porto Portugal! The flight from Regina to Toronto had a little excitement when an announcement was made asking if there were any medical professionals on board....once we landed, we were ask to stay seated to allow the EMS to come aboard. Thankfully, it appeared the patient was doing OK, and although we were delayed, we made it to our second flight. This experience was definitely a first for us! A quick flight to Montreal before an overnight flight into Porto arriving at 9:30 am local time.

    After checking into Hotel HF Fenix Porto, we did a bit of a walk about before heading to a local "Food Court"
    You could find all kinds of food and beverages.

    We had a Welcome Supper in the evening at a restaurant called Escondidinho.
    Baca lagi

  • Porto City Tour

    3 September, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    In the morning, we had a local guide with us on the bus giving us information as we made our way through the business area to get to the largest Avenue in the country that is called Boa Vista. It is 3 miles long and takes you to the oceanside. We also got to see the Douro River that flows into the Altantic Ocean.

    Other points of info...
    - Porto's population is 220,000
    - the University is the most renowned school of Architecture worldwide
    - trolley system was inspired from San Francisco

    We then got dropped off to do a walking guided tour of the City Centre. There is a lot of construction going on, and with the sidewalks being narrow in some places, it did make it challenging to get around. We walked by the Majestic Cafe (built in 1905), where JK Rawlings visited while living in Porto and wrote some of her early drafts of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. We checked out the Central Marketplace and then stopped for a coffee/tea and a piece of cake called "4th of May" as that was the day the cake was originally made 🤷‍♀️

    We then checked out the Sao Bento Train Station. It was constructed over a number of years starting in 1904 and opening in 1916. It has around 20,000 ceramic tiles, murals representing moments in the country's history, and shows the people of the various regions.

    Next up is the most beautiful McDonald's in the world! The Imperial Cafe was purchased by the franchise and was renovated in the historic building from the 1930's

    We walked past the Lello Bookstore, which is famous for its architecture and is considered the world's most beautiful bookstore. There is a popular rumor that links Harry Potters author to it, but it is not true, and the line-up was huge to get in!
    Baca lagi

  • Matosinhos & Pinhais Canning Factory

    3 September, Portugal ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    In the afternoon, we made our way to Matosinhos to visit the Municipal Fish Market. Home to Portuguals best seafood market where fisherman deliver their fresh catch daily. You can hand pick anything from octopus to sardines straight from one of the many stalls and take it to a nearby restaurant to have it cooked for you.
    For anyone who is not a seafood lover, the smell was very overwhelming, so we headed out into the rain and found a bakery/small cafe for a treat. Once we bought some beers and had them dig out some vodka from "Grandma's" cupboard, the hospitality kicked in, and Darrell got his sardines! 😂

    Next, we headed for a tour of the Pinhas Canning Factory. Founded in 1920 and known for its hand prepared canned fish, primarily sardines. This includes hand-gutting and preparing sardines and hand-wrapping each can. We got to go onto the factory floor and watch the process before taking a turn at hand wrapping our own cans. The tour concluded with a tasting of their products...4 different sardines, 3 different mackerel and a pate` for those that wished to try them along with a glass of wine.

    In the evening, we walked to The Hard Rock for supper.
    Baca lagi

  • Cooking class in Riberia

    4 September, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today, we did a 4 hour cooking class in Riberia with Vitor & Jorge. We had to split into 4 groups, and each was tasked with one of the menu items...
    The menu....
    Appetizers - Prawns & Mushrooms
    First Dish - Squash Soup
    Main Dish - Cod with potatoe sticks
    Desert - Almond Pie & Choc Salami Roll

    Our group chose the desert option! And of course, it wouldn't be a Porteguese cooking class without unlimited wine 🙃. No one's glass was empty for very long!
    Baca lagi

  • Gaia

    4 September, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Once we were done cooking and eating, we walked over to Gaia for the Six Bridges River cruise. This was a 50-minute cruise on the Douro River. It starts and ends at the Cais da Ribeira. During the journey, we got to see the city's most iconic landmarks..
    Luis I Bridge, Ribeira, mouth of the Duoro River and the Mana Pia Bridge.

    On our way to Ferreira Wine Cellars, we walked by a sculpture called "Half Rabbit" Created by Bordale II, known for his "Big Trash Animals" series. This piece is made from recycled materials and trash, including metal, plastic, and street signs. He called it this because it's positioned on the building in such a way that it looks like it's folded in two. His sculptures are to warn about pollution and to highlight endangered species.

    Ferreira Wine Cellars was founded in 1751. In the 19th century, Dona Antonia took over the family business, and it reached a unique level, making it the leading Port wine brand. It currently has 4 million litres of wine aging. The quality of the wine depends on the temperatures of the year. Just last week, they sold their oldest bottle from 1863 for $4000 euros, and now their oldest bottle is 1973. We tasted 3 different wines aged 3, 7 & 4 years.

    Before heading for supper, we visited a huge interesting cemetery. It had a lot of very old tombs and family vaults. Most vaults can hold 6 caskets, and although they are locked, it appears family members can enter to put flowers, etc in.
    Baca lagi

  • Casa Mateus Mansion

    5 September, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We left Porto today with our first stop at the Casa Mateus Mansion. The three primary buildings are the manor, the winery, and the chapel, constructed in the 18th century by Antonio Jose Botelho Mauruo. Although the family still lives there today, we were allowed to explore a few of the rooms. The gardens were beautiful, with many many workers tending to the different areas.Baca lagi

  • Quinta Do Paco & Quinto Do Seixo

    5 September, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    The next stop was a traditional lunch at Quinto Do Paco Hotel & Restaurant with the menu consisting of...

    Appetizers-Typical Meat Cake, Beef Patties, Shrimp Patties, Beef Croquettes, Typical Smoked Bread & Meat Sausage.
    1st dish - Vegetable Soup
    Main dish - Rice with Duck
    Dessert - Chocolate Cake 👌

    Then we headed up the never-ending windy road (we were warned and told to take gravol if needed, thankfully our bus driver Pedro is a great driver) to the Quinto Do Seixo winery for a tour and tastings of some regional wines. It has the most impressive view of the Douro Valley and vineyards, some of which are over 100 years old. It became Sandeman's calling card in the Douro with the image of Sandmeman Don, the mysterious figure with the Portuguese Students cape & the Jerez sombrero created by Scotman George Massiot Brown in 1928. Renovated in 2007, cutting edge technology took over from the hoppers the robotic presses, where a large portion of the grapes are pressed in a rhythmic movement that mimics the human foot.

    Then it was time to check into Lamego Hotel & Life, enjoy a little pool time, and drinks and try to order some grilled cheese sandwiches, which we ended up with a couple of charcuterie boards. I'm not sure if it was Burts Vodka language or the language barrier 😄
    Baca lagi

  • Lamego

    6 September, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    This morning, we headed to the famous Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies. Located at the top of Monte de Santo Estevao, it's an integral part of the panorama view of the city. It has a small chapel that was built in 1750. The staircase that leads down to the city (686 steps) began being built in 1777 and was completely in 1905.

    After making our way down the stairs, we toured around before sitting for a drink and a snack. They sure aren't stingy on their pours!

    Every year from the last Thursday of August to September 9th, they have a celebration called The Nossa Senhora do Remedios, known as "The Pilgramage of Portugal"
    Thousands enjoy 3 weeks of shows, exhibitions, concerts, parades, festivals, cultural & sporting events. In the days leading up to the pilgrimage, festivities include a luminous parade, which happens to be tonight.
    Baca lagi

  • Quinta Da Pacheca

    6 September, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Mid afternoon, we headed to a small city called Regua, where we stopped at an old train station that had been converted into a wine bar. Here we had a traditional Portuguese pastry, Pastel de Nata, a creamy custard filling baked inside a flaky, multi- layered crust and, of course, a glass of wine.

    Then we were off to Quinta Da Pacheca. A very fancy hotel/restaurant/ winery. After touring the facility, we went for our wine tasting with one of the bottles being an 85 Euro's (dollars) of Port and got to witness a wedding!

    Once we were done our tasting, it was time to do some grape stomping. After crushing in a traditional crusher, the grapes are taken to the lagare room for foot treading for 3hrs on the 1st day. They do this because they are able to extract with the greatest delicacy everything that exists in the skin to have the highest quality wines.
    An example is Pacheca Lagar No.1

    We then had our supper in an 18th-century cellar...

    Starters:
    - Harvest soup (pasta, red beans, and cabbage)
    - Petingas (pickled sardines)
    - Rojoes (pork meat)
    - Smoked sausages (ham and loin)
    - Simple salad (lettuce, tomato, carrot, corn and cucumber)

    Main dishes (2 dishes served)
    -Grilled octopus with punched potatoes and sautéed turnip greens
    -Veal cheek cooked at low temperature with masked potatoes

    Desserts:
    -Traditional mil cream
    -Portuguese sweet rice
    -Aletria (sweet pasta)
    Baca lagi

  • Quinta do Soito

    7 September, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    This morning, we left Lamego and headed to the Dao Region and Sierra da Estrela. Here, we went to the Quinto Do Soito Wines winery. A quick tour of the facility before heading to a beautiful area to have our lunch
    MENU....
    STARTERS:
    Regional cheese and smoked sausages boards, fresh bread, and fruit
    MAIN:
    Homemade cod fish with cream baked in the oven (fried potatoes, béchamel sauce, and cream)
    DESSERT:
    Homemade egg pudding, fruit, and “requeijão” with pumpkin jam.


    Then we started to make our way south...5 hours later, we arrived in Evora. The city is enclosed by several layers of walls, with the oldest sections dating back to the 3rd-century Roman Era. After checking into the Hilton Garden Inn, we ventured into the city center and found a nice little restaurant to have some supper.
    Baca lagi

  • Evora

    8 September, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    This morning, we did a walking tour of Evora. Evora is one of the few Portuguese cities that, through times, has maintained its old medieval walls. These walls surround the city center.

    We started by going through the Public Garden that has The Palace of King Manuel and The Ruinas Fingidas "fake ruins" that were designed to mimic ancient Roman structures.
    Peacocks live and roam freely.

    We then went to the Chapel Of Bones, built in the 17th century. It gets its name because the interior walls are covered and decorated with human skulls and bones of all ages. Monks exhumed an estimated 5000 corpses. The bones, which came from ordinarily people who were buried in common cemeteries, where arranged in a variety of patterns with a message to tell people that in the end we are all going to look the same whether you were rich or poor.

    Beside it is the Church of St. Francis. It has 6 chapels on each side to have private burials to show they were rich and had a better chance of going to heaven.

    As we were making our way to the Roman Temple, we happened to come upon the Archbishop of Evora, D. Francisco Jose Senra Coelho. He was leading the Clergy Jubilee celebration to start the new Pastoral Year and a celebration of the 2025 "Pilgrims of Hope"

    The Roman Temple, often mistakenly called the Temple of Diana, dates back to the 1st century AD and was likely dedicated to the Roman Emperor Augustus.
    Baca lagi

  • Love Is Blind

    8 September, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    This afternoon we headed to a traditional organic 3rd generation olive oil farm now run by Joao Rosado and his wife. His grandfather originally bought the land and planted olives as a way to supplement the family income. Over 3 generations, the family had simply farmed olives until Joao and his wife, both local school teachers, decided to venture into olive oil production.

    The farm has 231 trees, including a few thousand year old ones, with the oldest being 2000 years old. Their annual production is 2000 bottles (400 litres) per year. They deliberately keep the number of trees low and rely on mother nature to increase the quality of the olives. The olives are harvested early (early Oct & still green) before they fully mature to produce the highest quality raw olive oil. They rely on family and friends during harvest to pick everything by hand. It does present some difficulty as they only have 8 hours between the picking of the olives and the time they are pressed.

    We were presented with a homemade lunch prepared by his wife and then served by Joao and his daughters. We did a tasting of his olive oil, which is called "Love Is Blind"

    This is not a regular tourist attraction as they only do limited tours that fit into their teaching schedule, so we all felt very lucky to have had this experience. We also got to meet their family dog "Olive" who greeted us, zipping around wanting pets from everyone 😊

    The last stop of the day was the Cork Factory, where we got to see how cork is processed and manufactured into various products. We learned about the harvesting, boiling, and the pressing stages of cork.
    Baca lagi

  • Corktrekking at Maroteira Vinhos

    9 September, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    This morning, we headed to Maroteira Vinhas to do some corktrekking. A quick look at their wine factory before getting into jeeps to tour and learn all about the cork farm. Our driver was Daniel.

    This 6 generation cork farm is run by water wells and solar panels. To fill in the gap of cork harvesting, they have the vineyard, pigs, and cattle.

    The Holm oak trees on the property drop acorns to feed black Iberian pigs. The pigs are shipped to them to be fed from November to February, where they will double in weight. They get paid by the difference in the weight and make good money. These trees are protected by law and have to be inspected to confirm they are dead before cutting down. The hard wood from the trees can be made into furniture.

    The vineyards are a "dry" vineyard as they rely on the rainy season for quality, not quantity. Their grape harvest is from the end of July to the end of September.

    The cork trees, on average, take 25 years before harvesting them, then gaps of 9-12 years before subsequent harvests. The common cork screw is not made until the 3rd harvest as they need the thickness for them, which could be up to 65 years' worth of growing. Extraction is from May to August, and the tree starts to sweat, which makes the bark easier to remove. Skilled workers are called "strippers" as they use a tool called a "stripper" (ax) to remove manually. They cut into the tree like a zipper, then pry off. They try to have the bark come off in one piece. The bigger the piece, the more money. Harvesting bark allows the tree to regrow, making cork a renewable, sustainable resource. It is also non-flammable.
    Baca lagi

  • Fita Preta Winery

    9 September, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Next stop was at Fita Preta Winery, where we had some lunch and some wine tasting in a 14th-century chapel. We then took a tour of the winery. They were in the midst of getting ready for a wedding that was happening later in the day. The couple would be getting married in front of some old Roman ruins.Baca lagi

  • Arraiolos

    9 September, Portugal ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    An impromptu stop was made at a small town called Arraiolos, where it is famous for handmade embroidered rugs. We were not allowed to take any pictures or videos for fear of duplicating their designs.

    We got to go into a 500 year old church that our tour guide was quite excited about because normally it is locked right up.

    We did a quick tour of their museum that used to be their hospital. Then it was back to Evora for a free evening.
    Baca lagi

  • Pastry Cooking Class In Lisbon

    10 September, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    This morning, we left Evora and made our way to Lisbon (2hrs), the capital of the country with a population of 3.6 million. Our first stop was at the Lisbon Cooking Academy, where we made our own Pasta de Nata's with Chefs Rita & Anna. We made the traditional Pasta de Nata. Made with a regular all-purpose flour dough and a "dry" butter. Each coin is 20 grams, then spread to fill the iron tins, filled with custard and baked for 14-16 mins. You can tell by the swirl on the bottom if they are handmade as the ones made by machine will be flat.

    After our pastry class, we checked into The Editory Riverside Hotel that is located at the St. Apolonia train station, one of the oldest train stations in the country. It is also located in the oldest neighborhood in Lisbon and survived the largest documented earthquake in the world (8.7) in 1755
    Baca lagi

  • Culinary Theme Walking Tour

    10 September, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Before our evening culinary walking tour, we walked around the neighborhood for a bit stopping to have a Ginjinha shot, a traditional Portuguese sour cherry liqueur served in an edible chocolate cup. This is very popular in Lisbon. Everything is so colorful with lots of ceramic tile, murals, steps and oh boy, the cobblestone...now that's cobblestone!

    Our evening was filled with a culinary walking tour with Sophia. Our stops were...
    1. A Ginjinha - cherry shot, this one had a sour cherry in it
    2. Mac-Mahon Restaurant - Samosa's, a fried or baked pastry beef filled with spicy dip
    3. MSM Solar Da Madalena Restaurant for soup & bifanas (thinly sliced pork sandwich)
    4. Casa do Alentejo Restaurant - Chourico a Bombeiro, sausage, pour brandy into the dish & light the alcohol
    Baca lagi

  • Lisbon City Tour

    11 September, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Our last day was spent doing a Lisbon city tour in the morning with Cristina.
    First, we headed to the Belem district. This area is a well-known historical and cultural site. While there we saw...

    Monument to Overseas Combatants - a memorial dedicated to the soldiers that died during the Portuguese Colonial War from 1961-1974. It features a central flame, symbolizing eternal remembrance and a memorial wall with about 10,000 names on it.

    Belem Tower, located on the Tagus River, a landmark in Lisbon, was built as a ceremonial gateway to the city. We didn't get to see it fully as it was being cleaned, hence all the scaffolding, so I did a Google search picture to show what it actually looks like.

    Lusitania biplane, first seaplane flown by Gago Coutinho & Sacadura Cabral to fly across the South Atlantic Ocean. 8400kms, left March 24, 1922, and arrived June 6, 1922.

    The World Map, 50 meters in diameter and made out of marble, is located in front of the Monument to the Discoveries. It was created to celebrate the age of discovery and depicts the routes and voyages of Portuguese navigators in the 15th-16th centuries.

    Monument to the Discoveries features 32 men and 1 woman (16 aside) on the caraval with Prince Henry the Navigator leading the procession. The figures represent Portuguese historical figures. It was inaugurated in 1960 on the 500th anniversary of Prince Henry's death. The caravan design symbolizes the ships used to discover new sea routes and lands in the 15th & 16th centuries.

    Pasteis de Beleim Pastry shop. In 1837, they began making the original egg custard tart pastry following an ancient recipe made by the Monks at the Jeronimos Monastery. That secret recipe handed down to generation after generation makes 20,000/day by hand. The family will not travel together in case anything should happen to them and in order to work at the shop one must sign a non-disclosure. We all agreed that the version we made in our pastry class tasted better 🤷‍♀️

    We then made our way to Baixa, city center. Here we saw the Monument to the Paver, depicts 2 figures of pavers at work, one cutting stones and the other tamping them into place. It highlights the craftsmanship involved in the intricate designs that adorn the city's sidewalks. We then walked through Rossio Square and made our way to the Terraco Editorial on the top floor of the Pollux Building, which offers one of the best views of the city. While here we had a light lunch and did some wine tasting...shocker!
    From here, you got a great view of the Carmo Convent, a church that had its roof collapse in the 1755 earthquake and was never fixed. It is still used for events, including weddings.
    Baca lagi

  • Lisbon Cooking Class & Farewell Dinner

    11 September, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    After lunch, we toured around, walking past the Santa Just Lift that has the "pink lady" on it. Sofia, the fearless woman by Portuguese artist Superlinox, appeared mysteriously and is a well-known piece of public art. Making our way to downtown Lisbon, we made a quick stop at the Hard Rock for our shirts before crossing the street to place a Canadian pin and acknowledging the lives lost, including 3 Canadian tourists, on September 3rd when the Elevador da Gloria funicular derailed and crashed into a building. It is the most popular of the three cable cars in Lisbon and provides a convenient method of going up and down the city's steep, hilly streets.

    In the evening, we headed to the Compadre Cooking School to prepare and eat our farewell supper.
    Baca lagi

  • The Trek Home

    12 September, Kanada ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We left the hotel at 6 a.m. (11 pm Thursday night at home) to start our journey home. Our first flight was from Lisbon to Zurich, Switzerland 🇨🇭
    We found the Lisbon airport to be very confusing and once we got to our gate it sure seemed no one was in a rush to get going. After an hour delay we were off. It was a little nerve wracking to think our next flight was boarding while we were still in the air but thankfully (for once) our flight from Zurich to Vancouver was delayed so after rushing through the airport once again we were able to breathe a sigh of relief. It was nice to be back on Canadian soil even if we had a 5hr layover before departing Vancouver to Regina. At last, home sweet home at 3 a.m.Baca lagi

    Tamat perjalanan
    12 September 2025