Tour Day 9
It was scenic sailing all morning – as we headed to Porto – so it was a lazy morning. A few of us scored a visit to the bridge where the Captain explained his role and the workings of the bridge. The ship is powered by two 1600 HP diesel engines. While we were on the bridge the depth of the water varied between 15 and 55 metres – not an issue as the ship needs less than two metres.
Pastel de Nata
Around 10:45 John the chef gave us a cooking lesson in how to prepare the locally famous Pastel de Nata, a delicious tart. We know it is delicious because we ate the results of his efforts. We now privy to a long held secret – re the recipe
Soon after we passed through the last lock on the Douro. The vegetation on both sides was very dense with the occasional house (or varying size and standard) being seen.
Our Last Lock on the Douro
A Big Change in Vegetation from Terraced Grape Vines (note the trees in the background)
The River Side Café Strip of Porto
However the most important thing about Guimaraes is that it known as “The Birthplace of Portugal”. It was founded in the 10th century when the Christians defeated the Moors.
It was a 50 minute drive north of Porto, and we noticed many eucalypts along the way. Laura, our guide for the day, mentioned that 30% of Portuguese forests are eucalypts. These are used for eucalyptus oil and paper manufacture.
We had two hours strolling around the old part of Guimaraes and took photos of the 11th century chapel of St Michael, the castle, the Palace, the convent and St James’s square. Many old buildings have been rebuilt or repaired so that Guimaraes can retain its heritage.
Guimaraes Castle
My last photo was of some beautiful gardens in front of another church.
Back in Porto we all got dressed up and enjoyed ourselves at the Gala Dinner. During dinner the Captain took the Queen Isabel for a one hour cruise to the head of the Douro river. After dinner we were treated to some operetta singing.
Head of the Douro
Good Friends, Great Food, Fine Wines, Top Location
Day 39 – Saturday 11 June 2016 – Porto
Tour Day 10
The feature of the morning was a three hour “Do as the locals do” walking tour. This took us to the original part of Porto, most of which is world heritage listed.
Ceramic Tiles in the Foyer of Porto Train Station
After lunch a select group of us had a bus ride to Croft & Co, the oldest port wine maker in the world. They have a new creation in Rose Port. It was excellent.
Port Barrels in the Croft Cellars
Day 40 – Sunday 12 June 2016 – Porto to Lisboa
Tour Day 11
It was an early start as the bags had to be packed by 6:30 am for a bus departure at 8am. We said goodbye to the very friendly, helpful and (often) humorous staff. It had been an absolute pleasure to have spent a week on the Queen Isabel in the care of these lovely people – from the Captain and Hotel Manager down to the most junior staff members.
We had 300 km to travel to Lisboa (pronounced Lishboa) the Portuguese name for the capital Lisbon.
Our first stop was Coimbra, the home of the first university in Portugal (circa 1308) and the only university until 1911. Coimbra follows the usual historical pattern of Iberian towns – established by the Romans, expanded by Jews and the Moors, and completely established by the Catholics.
The Main Square in Coimbra
The 18th century provided one of the most famous university libraries in the world and a magnificent chapel, that originally formed part of the King’s palace. The chapel has an Iberian organ, different from traditional organs in that it also has horizontal pipes – apparently not seen outside of the Iberian peninsula.
Cameras were not allowed so we have no photos of the memorable sights.
We were soon back on the bus and heading south on an excellent motorway. The countryside was mainly rolling plains of forests, most of it either pine or eucalypt.
Lunch was at Quinta do Paul, a magnificent resort style place with accommodation and a huge restaurant. As usual we ate too much and drank too little.
Our drive took us along a fertile-looking valley that seemed to have more market gardens and fruit trees than anything else. It was a pretty drive. From time to time we could see the sea.
Medieval Walled City of Obidos
We then moved on to Obidos, a medieval village that is famous for its attachment to Queen Isabel, who was given the village when she married King Diniz. This gave her the right to charge decapitation taxes on the inhabitants. She did this, but returned most of it to the people in the form of services and support – sort of a Portuguese Robin Hood.
A Street of Obidos
Incidentally, King Diniz is also known for his role in renaming the Knights Templar, when the Pope of the day ordered their disbandment, and hence created the Order of Christ. The history of the Knights Templar is an interesting read.
Obidos provides a pretty village atmosphere with plenty of capability to peruse/buy various craft products and port wine. It was an enjoyable 90 minutes.
It was 5pm when we got to Lisboa and checked into our Hotel Intercontinental. We did not need a big meal so after our luggage arrived we walked.
We found some sort of book festival that had food stalls and so we tried a sort of Portuguese hot-dog. It was excellent.
Part of the Parade
As it was June 12 and the eve of St Anthony’s Day, there was an annual parade, with people dressed up in beautiful costumes. Each group apparently represents a Lisbon neighbourhood and there was a winner for the best song and costumes. We took a few photos.
After the parade there is a huge street party with dancing, singing, eating sardines, wine and beer. We were in bed by then.
Day 41 – Monday 13 June 2016 – Lisboa
Tour Day 12
It was a public holiday in Porto on Friday and a public holiday today in Lisboa.
After the usual splendid breakfast we boarded the bus for the city tour. The first stop was the Belem Tower which was constructed around 1515 to help protect the city. It is now an icon of Lisboa, like the Eiffel Tower is to Paris.
Belem Tower
After that we visited the 1960 memorial to the Portuguese discovery period when it ruled the waves of discovery. The lead figure on the monument is Henry the Navigator, the person accepted as being responsible for leading Portugal into the Age of Discovery – when it developed its empire.
The Memorial to the Age of Discovery
It was interesting to see a (marble) map of the (known) Portuguese world where the southern parts of Australia did not exist. I assured our American friends that the dot below Australia was our home town.
Early Portuguese Map of the World
Pastel de Belem
Luis explained, on yet another cobble street, that the use of cobbles was started by a prison warden who had the prisoners shape rocks by hand for paving roads and the creation of patterns. The same technique is still used to shape the rocks.
Morning tea was at the home of the lovely pastries that we made on the ship a few days ago – Pasteis de Belem. It was well worth the visit. The name of the tart is different as copies are not allowed to use the original name.
The bus continued on to St Jeronimo’s monastery where the famous sea explorer, Vasco Da Gama, is buried.
We then walked a few of the narrow street of the old part of Lisboa where the previous night’s party was being cleaned up.
Monastery of St Jeronimo
We rested for a couple of hours before heading out again. This time we visited downtown Lisboa. We wandered far and wide and saw some great sights. A few appear below.
Left – Great view from great dining location. Right – My favourite sign.
Foreground – Lisboa beach. Background – Longest bridge in Europe.
We spent the last evening of the tour dining with four people from the US in a local restaurant. They are wonderful people and we had lots of laughs – probably to the discomfort of a few other patrons. It was not my fault – I was the quiet one.
As the local festival also included sardines that was my choice for dinner. Lovely.
Day 42 – Tuesday 14 June 2016 – Lisboa
Tour Ends
Our Uniworld Jewels of Spain, Portugal and the Douro River is now over. Luis has provided heaps of information on Portuguese history, Kings, Queens, culture and lots of other details. We have heard about the Romans, the Moors, the Spanish and (of course) the Portuguese.
We have visited churches/cathedrals, castles, other historical monuments, wineries and many other places. We have tasted local food and local wines. We have sailed and driven through some very scenic parts of Spain and Portugal. We met some lovely people. We had great accommodation. The staff of the Queen Isabel were extraordinary.
We loved every minute.
Now the three musketeers have two days to explore Lisboa at a different pace. Today I started with a 4 km walk soon after sunrise – to justify a hearty breakfast. The most impressive part was the local prison – not far from our hotel.
Lisboa Prison
After a slow start Shirley, Fay and I walked around 2 km into downtown Lisboa, where we bought an all day travel pass. We eventually found the 737 bus and wound our way up to the Lisboa Castle. It was a majestic affair and well worth the effort. The road up was so tight that the 737 bus is probably only a 20 seater.
11th Century Lisboa Castle
View from the Castle (note the long bridge in the background)
On the way down the hill we achieved another milestone with a ride on a Lisboa tram – a very rickety and rocky affair.
Funicular
Our next adventure was an equally rickety and rocky trip on the funicular up to another high spot in Lisboa. The end result was more great photos and a cold beer. All in all very successfully.
Our next trip was totally unsuccessful as we tried to use the Metro (underground) to visit the Lisboa bull ring. We gave up on that one and returned to the hotel around 4:45.
I wandered off about 6pm to find a suitable place for dinner. I arrived home about 40 minutes later with a plan in mind, plus some wine, beer, coke and nuts. The success of the happy hour in room 626 was ensured. We were definitely “happy” by the time we headed out to eat.
We dined on pizza at one of my findings. The Portuguese pizza was excellent. So was the wine. Some mates of mine in Oz would have approved.
Day 43 – Wednesday 15 June 2016 – Lisboa
It was a slow start. I had time to take the hazy photo below through the window of our hotel room.
View from Our Hotel Window
When departing the Queen Isabel a few days ago I jokingly complained that I could not buy a “Porto” t-shirt in Porto. So the senior staff member on the Queen Isabel requested that I buy a t-shirt in Lisboa and put it on the blog. So xxx (name omitted for privacy reasons) here is my Lisboa t-shirt. The bulge in the front of the t-shirt was caused by your staff on the Queen Isabel.
My Lisboa T-shirt
I also took a photo of a Lisboa tram.
Lisboa Tram
We took a taxi downtown for dinner and had our last taste of Portuguese food. We all had different paellas.
*** This Post is Complete ***
Post Updated 8 am Thursday 15 June 2016
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