Venice / Venezia

Sunday 9/17

We enjoyed two bottles of Port during the flight from Lisbon to Venice, granted they were small bottles but it sounds more significant without the detail of size.

Pat got a nice shot of Venice as we were landing. You can see the tower in San Marco Square in the left center of the photo.

We made our way through the airport to the water taxi stand for a ride to the police station, the nearest stop to our apartment in the Castello District. Along the way we had a nice sunset.

and our first views of the canals.

We were met by our host who guided us through the neighborhood to our rental apartment. We got directions to Coop, a local supermercato, where we bought an evening snack plus fruit and pastries for breakfast. It was an experience to wander through the maze of rooms / departments that had been tacked together to make a very reasonable grocery store.

Monday

For our fourth trip to Venice we decided to stay 10 days to get a better sense of the real Venice. We chose an apartment in Castello close to San Marco Square but off the beaten track to avoid the standard crowds on the direct route between San Marco, the Rialto Bridge and the train station.

Continuing the crowd avoidance strategy, we started with an Early Bird Tour (7AM). Our guide met us at our door. From our apartment we passed the San Zaccaria church, walked through a nearly deserted San Marco square and over the Rialto Bridge to the Rialto Market which was just getting going and on to the San Polo district.

At the Rialto Market we spotted fresh shell beans, a favorite of ours that we have never seen in Mexico. And artichoke hearts! So glad we had a kitchen. Sadly the market seems much smaller than in the past.

In San Polo we enjoyed being introduced to the small shops selling speciality foods, spices and wine as well as a significant number of cafes and restaurants. Our guide pointed out the following (not all are open before 9AM):

• Casa del Parmigiana (House of Parmigiano) plus ham, balsamic and other delights
• Dolce Vita Pasticceria (Sweet Life Pastries)
• Drogheria Mascari (I know it is tempting to think of this as a drug store, but a drogheria is a grocery store. This one has amazing spices and wines.)
• Cantina do Mori (Cicchetti)All' Arco - (Cicchetti)
• Mauro - (Bakery)
• Casa Cappellari (A very fine restaurant that we visited later and it was well worth it!)

Crossing back a now busy Rialto Bridge to San Marco District our guide pointed out: 

• Mille Vini (A thousand wines)
• Rosticceria Gilson (For a quick bite near Rialto Bridge)
• Venice Duck Store (Rubber duckies in costumes representative of various countries. Pat got a Venetian Gondolier. Actually this wasn't part of the tour, but a fun shop.)
• Suso Gelato Parlor (A "Gelatoteca")
• An amusing Gargoyle. 
• And a Garbage barge.

Returning to our apartment we found time to do a Laundry and have lunch before our Sunset cicchetti tour. Cicchetti is basically the Venetian version of tapas and the popular way to enjoy them is to go from stand to stand sampling the best of each. We wandered through the picturesque San Polo & Dorsoduro districts stopping at: 

• Trattoria S Toma for a selection of cicchetti (breads with different toppings –– white asparagus, shrimp, cheese, ... ) 
• along with a choice of Spritz drinks (3 parts Pro Secco, 2 parts Aperol or Select and a splash of sparkling water. Aperol and Select are botanical liqueurs. Aperol is a bit sweeter than Select). 
• Pat took photos of other cicchetti toppings including: salami with cheese and tapenade, ham with fruit, prosciutto with sun dried tomato, chicken with mustard sauce, and a chunk of brie with a balsamic reduction topped with nuts.

• Chiesa di San Pantalon (To see the largest oil painting in the world, said to measure around 443 square feet and made up of 40 canvases sewn together)
• Osteria alla Bifora for a selection of meats and cheeses)
• Osteria ai Pugni for some wine)
• A piece of street art, The Migrant Child, by Banksy.
• The Fruit & Vegetable Barge (a Venetian form of a farm stand) at Ponte dei Pugni. Ponte dei Pugni is known as the “bridge of fists”, as it was apparently a place for settling scores with your rivals 😟. The losers got thrown into the cold dirty canal.)
• Gelati Nico

Along the way we noted a boatyard, both a mask and a carnival dress shop, and a cute door knocker. As we wrapped up our ice cream we noticed it was starting to rain so we scurried home. Thank God for Google Maps which, although service is somewhat sketchy in Venice, delivered us home quickly despite a few wrong turns in the maze of walkways and canals.

Tuesday

The next morning we had an Art Tour back in San Polo. Guess we should have just picked an apartment over there. Anyway, we truly love wandering around Venice just looking at things but we wanted to dive into a bit of the art scene.

Officially our tour featured 15C Venetian artists (Giovanni Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto) and wrapped up with 18C works of Giovanni Tiepolo. We also encountered great sculptures (notably by Canova) and amazing carved wood pieces by Pianta.

Our first stop was at the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari⁩ with the paintings by Titian and Giovanni Bellini. After Titian's death, they hired Canova to create a suitable tomb. See the elegant pyramid piece below. Canova was a bit ahead of his time with the sleek design so they had a more "suitable" one sculpted (see ornate one on the bottom left) for Titian. Canova now rests in the one he created.

Next up, the Scuola Grande di San Rocco where Tintoretto painted a complete cycle on canvas of histories from the Old and New Testament.

Some background: In 1478, a group of well-to-do Venetians banded together to establish a confraternity (think: a gentleman’s club with a charitable twist) dedicated to San Rocco – a saint believed to protect against the plague. They erected their meeting hall next to the church that housed the remains of the saint and commissioned Tintoretto to decorate the new building. The masterful Italian painter produced more than 60 works for the Scuola based on the Old and New Testaments. The result is a series of salons that hold some of Tintoretto’s best work, as well as masterpieces by Titian and Tiepolo, among others. The ornate ceiling is considered to be one of Titian's finest works. Pianta got to show off his woodwork skills here as well.

CW from top left: 

• The Adoration of the Shepherds byTintoretto
• Wood carved portrait of Tintoretto by Francesco Pianta
• Wall carving by Pianta
• Ceiling of the upper hall of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco with paintings by Tintoretto

We then walked through some hidden and charming alleyways to arrive in Campo Santa Margherita, a lively area and hangout for the local university students (who were in class so it was quiet).

Heading into Dorsoduro our tour continued to Scuola Grande dei Carmini with the paintings of Tiepolo.

CW from top left: 

• Scuola Grande dei Carmini chapel altar
• Madonna of Carmel giving the scapular/cloak to Saint Simon by Tiepolo
• Stairway with ornate ceiling
• Angels with lilies and scapulars by Tiepolo, surrounded by Putti.

After the tour we returned to Campo Santa Margherita for lunch at Bar Samurai. Pat had tagliatelle with porcini, and Bill had penne with arrabbiata topped with extra crushed fresh chili pepper - very hot but he ate every bit.

We explored the area a bit after lunch and then crossed the Academia Bridge, passed through San Marco Square and returned to our apartment .

That evening we had a very special tour, after hours visits to the Doge's Palace and San Marco Basilica. We had a little rain while waiting to enter the Palace, but not too bad and we were more or less under cover. On previous visits, no photos were allowed. Now photos without flash are fine Yay!

We started with the Doge’s Palace / Palazzo Ducale which, in the day, housed the Doge’s apartments, the government seat, the city’s courtrooms, and the prisons. We entered via the Giants Staircase, stopped for pictures from the Loggia (covered terrace) and caught a photo of San Georgio Maggiore Island across the San Marco Basin. We continued up the Golden Staircase to the Institutional Chambers. Along the way we saw the Mouth of Truth, open to everyone to lodge anonymous complaints.

We visited several grand halls each amazingly decorated with detailed paintings and a myriad of ornate gold frames. We honestly lost track of which is which. We asked google to help us identify them but she was totally baffled as well:

• The Chamber of the Inquisitors has a ceiling decorated with paintings by Tintoretto. 
• The Chamber of the Three Head Magistrates has a secret passageway leading to 
• The Chamber of the Council of Ten. 
• The Chamber of the Great Council is not only the largest and most majestic chamber in the Doge’s Palace, it is also one of the largest rooms in Europe.

We liked the clocks, one for the Zodiac and one with 18:00 on top in the typical Venetian fashion. We passed through the Armory. We visted prisons, both the original ones but the ones accessed via the famous Bridge of Sighs (where prisoners got their last view of freedom).

Then it was time for a cicchetti & spritz break at Ai do Leoni, near San Marco quite a selection of spritzes including Select (we liked this herby one), and lemoncello (did not try).

Roughly 1.5 hr later our After Dark San Marco tour was waiting for us. There are a max of 4 groups of 25 plus the guides. Not a bad way to see this amazing place. So happy to see the place and take photos and without the crowds.

Considered one of the best examples of Byzantine architecture in the world, the Basilica di San Marco is known for its opulent design and gilded interior mosaics. It is nicknamed Chiesa d'Oro, "Church of Gold". Its design is a mixture of eastern and western architecture styles resulting in a unique architecture typical for Venice. The interior is completely covered with bright mosaics containing gold, bronze, and a vast variety of stones.

It seems we've missed seeing Saint Mark's Tomb on previous visits. Yes, it's a crypt and honestly I haven't been impressed with most. Yet with the artwork and the extensive use of glitter and gold it is hard not to be impressed.

Wednesday

We took a day off. We wandered around ending up at the train station. We took the Cannaregio route going over. It was like a wide road of humanity sweltering in the sun. Why didn't we take another route, who knows? However we found a much cooler route back through the alleyways of Santa Croce and San Polo. The sun didn't penetrate there and there were cute shops along the way. We stopped for lunch at Osteria Ai Storti having Caprese, Calamari Friti, Fegato (Liver) a la Veneziana and Nero D'Avola.

We wandered some more making our way back over the Rialto Bridge to our apartment. Later we had a light evening meal of cheese, focaccia, and sautéd artichoke hearts!

Thursday

Being big sparkling wine fans, we had arranged a tour to Prosecco territory.with Chiara, a guide and sommelier. Prosecco is sparkling wine that comes from the Veneto or Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, a short drive from Venice. There are two DOC levels, the basic very good sparkling and the even better DOCG of which there are 4 types. 

• Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG
• Asolo Prosecco DOCG
• Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore Rive DOCG
• Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze DOCG

The key differences of Champagne & Prosecco are:

• Prosecco tends to have more pronounced fruit and aromas (a product of the Glera grape!).
• Champagne is from the Champagne region of France.With Prosecco the second fermentation is done in a tank rather than bottles as is the case with Champagne. This makes Prosecco less expensive to produce ...so good Prosecco is much less expensive than good Champagne. 
• Having the second fermentation in a tank makes lighter, with frothy bubbles that don’t last as long. 

Prosecco is made from Glera grapes (85% or more for best) and other varieties from the area (Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera, and Glera Lunga). As with other sparkling wines it is available as brut, extra dry, and dry. We prefer the brut (driest) but the Extra Dry isn't bad.

We visited 3 small charming family owned wineries, Svolta, Toffoli Vincenzo, and Gli Allori (cousins). All are focused on DOCG wines. All were great.

Talking to these great producers of Prosecco and realizing they are simply small family businesses made me wonder if they worry about having the next generation take over the farm. The answer shouldn't have been surprising. I learned that it is pretty easy to get family to come back to the farm when it is located in a great climate, 50 minutes from Venice and with nearly infinite nearby options from big city to mountains. Duh.

Friday

We were on our own and decided to visit the Academia Museum (focused on pre-19th century art of northern Italy) and Ca'Rezonnico an 18C palazzo and art museum on the Grand Canal.

At the Academia we saw works by Titian, Veronese, Tiepolo, Canova. And by some lesser known artists. Having kind of OD'd on the big names, we enjoyed the wall piece marble carving by Canova, the detailed landscapes depicting Venice and the countryside, the sculpted wooden wall piece of apostles, the sculpted woodwork of more everyday characters on the ceiling and even a lovely painted door.

We enjoyed lunch of Fish & Prosecco at nearby Osteria Enoteca Ai Artisti.

Then we were off to visit Ca'Rezonico. It is a notable example of the 18th century Venetian baroque and rococo architecture, Among other things, we enjoyed the oriental guards, an ornate chair, the glass exhibit with works by Lino Taglispietra (a Venetian master of glassworks who 1979 traveled to Seattle where he trained the students of the Pilchuck Glass School in the finest techniques of Venetian glass blowing), a porcelain dog, and a veiled virgin (it is so amazing how the sculpture shows so clearly her features beneath the gauzy veil).

We wrapped up the day at the renowned Harry's Bar for Bellini's (Prosecco and white peach juice.) The bar was crowded. The service was basic. the Bellini's small and expensive. Memorable, but not for the right reasons. But being Venice there is always beauty to be seen where ever you walk.

Saturday

Pat had been interested in taking a tour of the villas along the Benta Canal since our first visit to Venice. The Canal, constructed along the Brenta River in 16C, connects Padua and Venice. In 18C Palladian Villas were built along the canal as summer homes for aristocratic families. The tour floats by 9 swing bridges and through 5 locks to navigate an almost 33 foot drop from Padua to Venice. It passes more than 70 villas of which we visited 3.

The ride is tranquil. The rural scenery is picturesque.

We visited Villa Foscari, aka La Malcontenta, built for a young bride who was forced to live a lonely existence there in luxury but with little to do and no significant companionship.

In the early afternoon, we stopped in Oriago for lunch. We opted to pass up "the famous restaurant" Il Burchiello to have buratta caprese and pizza instead at Eden, a simpler place. 

We cruised on to Villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari. Our final visit was to Villa Pisani. Here artists were not allowed to sign their works. However Tiepolo's signature in many works, is the parrot, thereby circumventing the rules.

As we wrapped up our visit at Villa Pisani the previously beautiful day turned to a downpour for our last leg. In Padua we waited a bit for a taxi but, as you likely know, taxis are not reliable when it is raining. We finally decided to hoof it to the train station. The ferry from the Venice train station was seriously crowded and we could not see the stops or track our progress along the way. Finally we got up to check and found we'd skipped many stops and were at our stop! Phew!

Our evening repast was at Agli Artisti near our apartment. We had a very fine Veronese wine (Sengia Rossa Aldegheri 2018) and pastas (Taglatelle with Duck ragù with cocoa and wild berries for Bill and Spaghettoni carbonara with guanciale and pecorino cheese for Pat.)

Sunday 9/24

We decided on another quiet day. Our first stop (after a late start) was a site often used to highlight "hidden" Venice. Scala Contarini del Bovolo has a dainty seeming spiral staircase. Lovely. It's hidden off a small alleyway not so far from San Marco. We needed a photo of our own. Our choice for lunch, Casa Cappellari in San Polo (recommended by our early morning guide). It took a little effort to find, but it was worth it. (Another hidden gem.)

Along the way we ran into a couple interesting characters, we got a somewhat arty shot of a gondola trhough a grating, and could't resist a couple more shots of San Marco. This time Bill got a closeup of the towers and it turns out the sculpture on the top isn't all white. The angels' wings are gold covered, as is much of the lion.

Monday

Today was Islands day and we made it all the way to Murano, the first stop on the ferry. We wandered the streets, shopped in every open store, and visited the glass museum. The number of glass items is still immense and seeing their history in glass styles and colors is fascinating. We had a seafood lunch before taking the vaporetto back.

Stopped for cicchetti in Campo Santa Maria Formosa before returning to our apartment and packing for our journey to Milan. Then we were ready for another snack so we went just down the alleyway to the quiet family restaurant, Agli Artisti. WE got a couple glasses of wine (Stocco Cabernet Sauvignon Dal Morar and Merlot Sant' Antoni) plus fries.

Some neighborhood shots. Cicchetti in Campo Santa Maria Formosa. Pasta and wine from Agli Artist. Our alleyway. Gondolas passing under our window.

Onwards to MIlan.

A 10 day stopover in Portugal

Thursday

Our TAP (Air Portugal) flight from Boston to Venice had a flexible free stopover in Lisbon, anything from a few hours to 10 days. Although we visited Portugal in 2016 there was much that we had missed and places we wanted to return to, so we chose 10 days.  

We landed on time in Lisbon but had a 30 minute wait for our gate. We were using a new data service (Ubigi) for our phones and it was ready when we wanted to message our driver that we might be a bit late due to the gate delay. 

We collected our bags and met our driver (Carlos) and were off to the walled city of Évora. The Roman era city and 14C home of the Portuguese Kings is noted for its intact walls, medieval buildings and 16C aqueduct  (11 miles long and probably built over a Roman aqueduct).

Our first stop was at Enoteca Cartuxa for a wine & cheese tasting and some lunch. We especially enjoyed the sautéed shrimp with garlic, pork cheeks, red pepper spread & mushrooms with fries on the side. We topped it off with a delightful mousse accompanied by some Port.

We made a short walk around the city with a photo stop at the Temple of Évora, also called the Temple of Diana as it was mistakenly believed to be dedicated to the Roman goddess Diana.

At the Royal Church of St. Francis we visited the 16C Chapel of Bones, and the Nativity Scene Collection.

The Chapel of Bones is decorated with skeletal parts (arms & legs, skulls) of 5000 or so corpses from as many as 43 cemeteries. Aside from freeing up valuable land it was thought to offer a helpful place to meditate on the transience of material things. There is a thought-provoking message above the chapel door “We bones, are here, waiting for yours.”

In the Canha da Silva Nativity Scene Collection there are hundreds of nativity sets with nearly as many styles and compositions.

After the city tour we visited a nearby cork factory. We admired an old cork tree and stacks of  curvy bark fresh from the trees along side stacks that had been flattened, all waiting for processing into many products including wine corks, cork boards, chairs, hats, handbags, belts, ...

Our evening repast: a regional cheese, a home cured Alentejo ham and a bottle of wine at Restaurante Cervejaria 1/4 para as 9. (1/4 to 9:00). Strange name. Good food. The Serra de Estrella cheese was especially tasty, the rind was hard but the inside was soft, almost crumbly.

Friday

We headed off through fields of cork, olives, grapes and pine nuts! on our way to some wine tasting and fine dining. 

Fita Preta winery was founded in 1306. The current young winemaker was winemaker of the year in 2015. Our wine tasting was accompanied by a spread of cheeses, quince paste, nuts and dried fruit. One cheese was a young Serra de Estrella (round with a very soft center, delightful. We enjoyed a tour of their wine making facilities. Lots of stainless steel. A few wooden casks--they use French Oak only for a few months. Even terracotta pots but they stressed that they do not make "talha" wine since they don't follow the rules. As a result they think their wine is a finer wine. 

We tasted 3 whites. The first was very light. The next two had more character. The first red was a blend of alentejo grapes. This was followed by an even nicer but slightly different blend with more aging. The winery has facilities in Maderia, the Azores, and the Douro valley.

We moved on to visit Monsaraz and its Castle/Fortress, just across the Guadiana River from Spain. We had a nice walk around the small village and then visited the fortress with views of the countryside and the River/Reservoir formed by the Alqueva Dam. We enjoyed a sign with an intriguing question.   

At Herdade do Esporão (a Michelin 1 star restaurant) we had a 5 Moments feast with wine pairing. By moments they seem to refer to courses but by my count there were actually 7 courses. What with savoring the food and wine, it took around 3 hours to complete. 

The meal began with great breads. Then there was an interesting but not special amuse bouche. The next moment was an amazing heirloom tomato salad, wedges of different tomatoes topped with a lightly seasoned granita. It was as beautiful as it was tasty. It was followed by a chocolate crust with foam filling, a pop in your mouth palate cleanser. The crust was more notable for the feel & texture than for the taste. The mains were black perch (one pate'ish, one filet) and lamb (quite good but would have been better if medium rare as ordered). Dessert was a nice combination of ice cream, chocolate and caramelized sugar. The wines all paired well and we got photos of the bottles but the labels shared few significant details. 

Saturday

It was time to move on to the Douro Valley. Of course we scheduled in some touring along with the drive. We had stopped in Conimbriga and Coimbra. It rained quite heavily during part of our drive but the worst rain was while we were at a rest stop and under cover. No problem. The rain politely abated for our touring stops.

The Roman ruins of Conímbriga include a number of structures but most notable to us were the many elaborate floor mosaics in and around the garden of fountains. Many of the objects discovered during the excavations are on display in the visitors center.

We moved on to Coimbra and had lunch at Solar do Bacalhau. Bacalhau is dried and salted cod fish. It comes in large, dried slabs. These are prepared to eat by a range of methods, all involve soaking in water. It can be a simple soak for several days It can be an overnight soak followed by boiling in water for 20-30 minutes, or boiling in water for 3 hours or more. Or many other variants. Once properly prepared, you would swear it is the freshest sweetest flakey fish ever. 

It is not sold on the fresh fish counter, it is stacked nearby in piles and often sold as a whole fish rather than cut up into smaller sizes. Not only that, they have their own names for the various cuts. 

We chose Coimbra style bacalhau (with olives, onions, fried potatoes and egg) and a breaded version (with eggplant and broccoli). Both were great and it was hard to believe they had spent much of their life as salted, dried slabs.

Coimbra is famous for its University, the oldest in Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe, but it is also noted for its charming old town, ancient churches, parks and gardens (including the 32 acre Botanic Garden). We didn't have time to do it justice. But we did catch sight of a few students in their traditional black capes.

Our primary target was to visit the Joanina Library with its rich baroque architecture. It has more than 300,000 works dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries arranged in beautiful gilt-covered bookcases. They are under strict environmental controls so no photos and you mainly only get to see the closed bookcases.

Arriving late in the day to the Vintage House Hotel in Pinhão and without dinner reservations, we went to the bar and ordered a very fine charcuterie (cheeses, sausages, homemade jams, olives, bread & toast) and two glasses of wine. After our dinner we were treated to a complimentary port.

Sunday

Pinhão is a very small village in the Duoro Valley, east of Porto. It is surrounded by acres of mountainside vineyards on steep slopes from the top down to the river. Many of these grapes are destined to go into Port wine. But a few will yield fine white and red wines. We were mainly visiting the area for the latter although most wineries include their ports in the tastings. Fine with us!

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SIDEBAR: A primer on Port wine. It is OK to skip ahead if you are not a wine lover.

There are White Ports, Ruby Ports and Tawny Ports, as well as, several styles of each, including:

• White (Fine white, Extra Dry)
• Ruby (Fine Ruby, LBV, Vintage) 
• Tawny (Fine Tawny, Colheita, Aged -10, 20, 30, 40 years)

Ruby Port is aged in big oak casks. This limits the contact with the wood so that the wine retains a youthful ruby color and fruity flavors ...good with chocolate & berries, and soft ripened cheese.

Tawny Port is aged in small barrels. With more contact with the wood, the wine changes to a browner color and rich flavor. Good with apple pie, hard dry or salty cheeses

Vintage Port (a ruby port) is at the top of the pile as far as price, aging potential and prestige are concerned. It’s made only from the best grapes of a single vintage, and only in years that have been “declared” vintage-worthy. It is bottled at 2 years and if vintage worthy it is tucked away to mellow and mature for 18+ more years before being released.

LBV (Late-Bottled Vintage) Ports are Ruby ports that aren’t bottled until four to six years from the vintage date. This means they spend about twice as long in wood as Vintage Ports.

Colheita Port is a single vintage Tawny Port that is aged in wood for at least seven years (often as long as 20), giving it a nutty, oxidized character. Being the product of a single vintage it can show considerable variation from year to year. Colheita years must be "declared" by the Institute of Douro and Porto Wine Board. Both the vintage year and the date of bottling are included on front and back labels respectively, and generally, Colheita Port should be consumed within a year of bottling.

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A stop at Ventozelo winery got us off to a great start in our exploration of the Douro. The winery has a great view down to the river with Pinhão  in the distance. 

During our  walk around the grounds we discovered a slightly warped (drunk?) ladder and a vintage truck. 

We tasted several wines and had an excellent meal at the Cantina. Checkout the dishes below.

Back in Pinhão  we (and a few other tour groups) had a very crass, commercial wine and olive oil tasting at d'Origem. The highlight was the host. He actually managed the crowd amusingly well.

Monday

Every day rain was in the forecast. Usually it didn't come or it didn't interfere with our day. We had rain Sunday night and Monday started off quite gray. By noon it was much nicer and delightfully balmy. 

To get to Crasto for our wine tasting we had to drive up one mountainside and back down and then up another. We and the driver were happy to do this without the rain. Actually Bill was thrilled to not be driving at all. Our tasting was excellent. Early on we caught the master winemaker and an assistant checking the 4 day old juice from one of their two top vineyards. We chatted a bit and he gave us samples. It shows great promise. Wait for those 2023's!

The tasting was excellent, 5 wines (one white, three reds, and a port). They were great examples of what can be done with the local grape varietals.

We returned to Pinhao for a relaxing river cruise on a traditional Rabelo boat, a very laidback experience. Previously these craft were used to transport Port wine down river to Vila Nova de Gaia (across the river from Porto) for aging. 

Our final tasting of the day was at Cavalhas. An intense thunder storm made the driving tour of the vineyards impossible. We traded that for a couple additional tastes, including a great Port, not a "Vintage" but a Colheita (harvested in1976 and bottled in 2016 - a mere 40 years in wood). As noted in the Sidebar above, the vintage year is on the front label and the bottling year is on the back,

For dinner at the hotel we shared grouper on a bed of barley and leeks. We treated ourselves to some special desserts (one with sabayon and one with pistachio ice cream) and port.

Tuesday

We began our trip to Porto with a stop at a view point overlooking much of the Douro Valley that we had been visiting. We then continued on to Amarante. 

The Amarante bridge perpetuates the memory of the heroic resistance of the population to the forces of Napoleon who, at the beginning of the 20th century, invaded Portugal. The city was besieged. The Amarantes bravely resisted the siege, guarding the bridge for 14 days but then they finally surrendered.

After a brief tour of the city, we wandered across the bridge (Ponte de São Gonçalo) to have lunch at Le da Calçada. We had a wide selection of appetizers to pick from. We chose Arroz de Tamboril e Camarão for 2 (rice with monk fish and shrimp) for our mains. It was very good and complemented nicely by the owner's Vino Verde (Quinta do Outiero de Baixo).

We arrived in Porto in the late afternoon and headed out to meet with friends (Amy and Tim) that evening at Mercado Bomm Successo (an upscale food court) for a little food and drink. They are founders of the facebook group "Go With Less". They were in Porto bird sitting for a month, I think. They had invited a bunch of local travel buddies for a meet up. There were folks who had moved or were moving to Porto and others who were traveling through. A interesting and fun bunch

Wednesday

We started the day with a Port Tasting at Burmester. We had a private tasting that ended up in a tasting room with an amazing view of the Luis Bridge  (which Pat fell  in love with on our previous visit).  

We tasted two white ports (a Fine and an Extra Dry), an LBV, a 10 Yr Tawny and a 30 year Tawny). We liked all except the Extra Dry white. We now know we like a range of ports and have a growing appreciation of the styles, but aren't quite up to judging the quality in detail.

Next up: Pat got to return to the upper deck of the Luis Bridge. The upper deck is only open to pedestrians and the metro. The bridge connects Porto with neighboring Vila Nova de Gaia – the area where the Port wines are stored and aged. Why does Pat love being on the Upper Deck of the Luis Bridge so much? Well, it is high above the river (150'), and standing in the middle of the bridge it is 650' from either side with no structures noticeable, not even the edges or base of the bridge (if you are looking straight ahead or up.) She feels like a bird up there gazing around. Simple delightful.

View of Vila Nova de Gaia from Luis Bridge

After crossing the Luis bridge our food and drink tour of Porto continued with stops at:

• Leitaria do Quinto Cervejaria Gazelle, an institution in Porto. We werer there for "Hot Dogs" (grilled thinly sliced meat), fries, and Super Bock Beer. 

• Casa Louro for homemade codfish fritters, fried  sardines, and brown bread (made with molasses, rye, & wheat).

• Cafe Santiago. (Not). We passed this up but it is noted for Francesinha á Lupa (Francesinha is a sandwich made from thick slices of bread stuffed with sausage, cheese, steak and more cheese and then put in the oven til the cheese melts. It is then topped with a slightly spicy sauce and served with egg either in the sandwich or on the side. That was just too much for us. 

• Mercado Bolhao, an upscale "local" market or maybe I should say former local market. Things are so beautiful and beautifully stacked that you know the true locals can no longer afford to do their daily shopping here. 

• Leitaria da Quinto do Paço / Porto Eclair Factory which speaks for itself. The 103 year old company serves 43 types of eclairs.

• Mantegaria for Pasteles de Nata (Pasteles de Nata are a small flan/custard pastry and typical local dessert), along with Espinheira Ginja (a fruit liqueur with a cherry flavor).

That evening we enjoyed wine & cheese with Amy & Tim at Wine Quay Bar. Coincidentally the next time we expect to see Amy & Tim is in Chiang Mai Thailand in January 2024. 

Thursday

The next day we drove north to Gerês National Park/Parque National Peneda-Gerês (shared by Portugal & Spain). We started by driving to the northern part (in Spain) and then down through the park to see:

• Espigueiros of Lindoso – traditional Grain storage containers made of granite (raised to keep the vermin out). The oldest date back to the 17C but some are still in use today. The side walls have vertical vents so the wind can blow through and dry the corn. The top consists of two slabs of granite.

• Fortress in Lindoso. Around it we noted chestnut trees like the one Pat's family had in Maine, green but ripe figs, and flowers (autumn crocuses). Later Pat even had a discussion with a Roman Centurion...

• Small cascades in the River/Rio Homem

• A collection of Roman mile markers

• Aguas termais de Riocaldo / Thermal Waters of the Hot River in Ourense Spain. Pat had to check. And yep the water coming out of the spigot was too hot to touch, but it cooled off as it spread out into a small shared pool. Folks were sitting in the pool and in the nearby stream to enjoy the waters. 

• Animal life: cows wandering down the road and lazing in a field, feral horses grazing,  and goats at the Pedra Bela viewpoint. The goats are there as a maintenance team. Their job is to keep the weeds down but weeds aren't enough and we saw them help themselves to one couple's lunch. 

• Rua da Cascata do Arado, a lovely ~2500' waterfall. 

• Lunch at  Lurdes Capella in Gerês. We had a veal cutlet that looked like a big pork chop (tasty but clearly not from a baby cow) and a plate with a selection of pork cuts. Shared with Carlos, our driver/guide

In the evening we went to Bacchus Vini under the Luis Bridge.for a wine tasting with: Dão, LBV, 10 year tawny, and a 30 year white accompanied by "a selection of cheeses platter"

Friday

We had a pretty intensive touring day on our way to Lisbon. We stopped at:

• Aviero: A coastal town known for its canals. Today working boats called Moliceiros, that formerly were used to harvest and transport algae for fertilizer, transport tourists (including us) around the lovely town (at least it seems lovely but much is hidden by the construction work intended to make it easier to manage the tourist traffic). They seem to decorate bridges with ribbons here (rather than weight them dow with padlocks). We stopped for a snack at a pastelleria.

• Nazare: Noted for its spectacular waves (in winter). One of the "big" waves for surfers. One surfer is recorded as having ridden a 100 footer. The surf was quite mild though for us. We enjoyed the outdoor museum on the beach with a selection of former working boats and lots of fish drying on racks The drying octopus were impressively displayed.

• We had a great lunch at Taberna D'Adelia. It has an amazing fish selection: Sardines, Squids, Red Mullets, White Seabream, Gilt-Head Bream, Golden Eye Snaper, Wild Seabass, Red Porgy, Red Seabream, Bluemouth Rockfish, Sole, Turbot,  Brill Fish, John Dory, Grouper, Wreckfish. That's 15 types of fish! We shared a John Dory. It was plenty for the 3 of us. John Dory is ugly looking but tasty and expensive. €60 per pound in this case...it has a "mild, slightly sweet flavor, pearly-white flesh and firm, succulent texture. It's a heavy-boned fish, and more expensive because of its low yield". But basically it is well worth every penny.

• Obidos: A fortified town with crenellated walls. Obviously very cute and touristy. It's Mediev:al Village has been repurposed into lodging and tourist shops but still quite charming.

In the evening we enjoyed wine and yet another cheese / charcuterie plate at the rooftop hotel bar overlooking the city of Lisbon.

Saturday

The next morning we adjusted our luggage for our Sunday morning flight. (Note: When we fly we split our clothes into our two bags; when on land, we prefer our separate bags.) Then we took a walk before meeting with friends from SMA (Ricardo & Cynthia) for lunch at nearby Baixa Mar Restaurant. We had:

• Seasoned olives, crushed jacket potatoes, 
• Baixamar octopus - Slow-cooked octopus, sweet potatoes, pimento vinaigrette and dried olives
• Fresh sea bass fillet with crushed jacket potatoes with vegetables
• Passagem (By La Rosa) white Douro Superior Reserva 2022. The pairing worked very well. 

After lunch we were off for some Madeira Wine at Wines of Portugal. We don't recall ever having Madeira before. 

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Another wine sidebar: 

Madeira is a fortified wine made in the Portuguese Madeira Islands, it can be dry or sweet with flavors of roasted nuts, stewed fruit, caramel, and toffee. Dry Madeiras are consumed as an apéritif, while sweet ones are typically paired with dessert. Exposure to extreme temperature and oxygen are key elements of the aging process. This causes the wine to oxidize creating a long lasting wine with a brownish color. They say that even an opened (but re-corked) bottle will survive unharmed indefinitely. For some nomenclature: A true "vintage" Madeira, must be aged for 20 years. A long time to wait for your return on investment. In recent years they have introduced Colheita which must be of one single grape variety and aged for at least (but only) five years ...helping the wineries cash flow!

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We started with a dry white Serical and moved on to a sweet Colheita Malvasia. 

• Justino's Madeira Sercial 10 Years Old "has delicate aromas of ripe fruits, notes of dried fruits and lemon zest. In the mouth it is complex, persistent with a dry and vibrant finish. Good with cured cheese and fruit desserts". Yep I copied that from the web but it gives you the idea.

• Justino's Madeira Colheita Malvasia 2009, "a wonderfully sweet liqueur. On the nose it shows notes of caramel and toffee paired with notes of tea and tobacco leaves and fine spices. On the palate, the dessert wine is rich and sweet, but very elegant with a long finish. Goes well with dark chocolate, pralines and sweet and rich desserts, such as mousse au chocolate." Yep, again from the web.

Its doubtful we'll find a worthy selection of Madeira in SMA or even Queretaro but it was interesting to try. 

Afterwards we wandered back to our hotel so the two of us could get ready for our sunset cruise.

The Sunset Sail on the Tagus River was a relaxing way to wrap up our stop over enroute to Venice. Along the way we enjoyed...

• The Golden Gate Bridge (of Lisbon). The 25 de Abril Bridge is based in part on two San Francisco Bay Area bridges. Its paint is the same International Orange color as the Golden Gate Bridge, and the design is similar to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge.

• Chatcuterie & wine (Muralhas de Moncão VinhoVerde

• Other sailboats there for the sunset

Praça do Comércio (Commercial Plaza)

• The 17C Church of Santa Engrácia is a 17C monument was converted from a church  into the National Pantheon, in which important Portuguese personalities are buried.

• The elevator Boca Vento is situated in the urban area along the south bank of theTagus River, along the cliffs, with a view of the city of Lisbon.

  

  Panoramic Elevator of Boca do Vento

• Sanctuary of Christ the King is a Catholic monument and shrine overlooking the city of Lisbon. It was inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil.

• And then it was time for sunset.

• Belém is the "capital of the Portuguese Discoveries" and a photographer's paradise. You can spend an entire day(or more) exploring this neighborhood: monuments (Jerónimos Monastery, Belém Tower, Monument to the Discoveries), and museums (Coach Museum, Centro Cultural de Belém) .

Belém Tower

• Also in Belém, Padrão dos Descobrimentos celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery (or Age of Exploration) during the 15th and 16th centuries. It stands over 150 feet high with heroes of the era standing on the prow of a ship.

• A fitting finish - Murganheira Espumante Tavora Varosa Reserva Brut 2017.

Sunday

Next stop Venice.