Coimbra

Two handsome students

No chance for a siesta this afternoon; the house opposite is being renovated, with attendant drilling, hammering, concrete mixer and shouting; next door Is a printing press with old style printing machines!

I walked to the main square to sit in a pavement cafe, watching the world go by in the late afternoon. There is a shop here which is a monument to sardine canning (Comur). If you are so inclined to part with €7, you can buy a tin from your birth year!

I saw a little all-electric bus pull up with the destination Se Velha (Old Cathedral). I jumped on board as it would save me a steep uphill walk. At 6.00pm the Cathedral was only open for Mass (I’m not having much luck on this trip). I took a few photos, inside and out, when the sound of merrymaking came down the street. It must be the beginning of the University term.

Se Velha 

This bus actually came down that street with inches to spare!

Sardines

Old photo of sardine factory workers

Cafe outside sardine shop

Porto to Coimbra

Late yesterday afternoon I popped into the Sandeman shop next door to look around. I’d already done their tour and tasting 2 years ago.

I was disappointed to discover that there was no dinner in the hostel, as it was Grandmother’s night off! So I strolled along the busy quayside looking for an alternative that wasn’t already full. I settled on an upstairs room at Rabelos, with another fantastic view.

I ordered a Portuguese speciality: a gratin dish containing pieces of fish, mashed potato and shredded vegetables in a creamy cheese sauce. I drank some Rose. I did JL’s trick of cross questioning the waiter who spoke English with rather old fashioned expressions. He came from Cape Verde which used to be a Portuguese colony. He must have been a descendant of slaves.

Sandeman tasting room

Rabelos Restaurant

By train to Coimbra,€7.00, arrived at lunchtime. Olive Street House only 5 minutes walk from the station. Staying here for 3 nights - now in Economy Class! Tiny single room with no view but can’t complain for the price!!

Porto

I have the most glorious view of the Porto skyline from the two big windows in my room at Sandeman. Directly opposite is the jumble of orange-roofed houses going steeply uphill to the Cathedral. Eiffel’s iron bridge is to my right and downstream towards the sea to my left.

I arrived on a hot Saturday afternoon and the waterfront area was packed with people. The cafes were overflowing with tourists and locals, all enjoying a drink and listening to street musicians. Later in the evening, as I came back from Lello’s, there was another photo to be taken of the sunset.

There was dinner at a long table served in the hostel (pumpkin soup, turkey w. rice and salad, melon for dessert, all for €7.50).  I happened to be sitting next to 3 students of architecture, two boys from Japan and one girl from Argentina.

Sunday morning dawned cold and foggy. No more blue skies! The riverbank was practically deserted; merrymakers were now replaced by joggers, cyclists and rowers. After a plentiful breakfast, I set off to visit the Cathedral: across the iron bridge and up the funicular. I was greeted by this notice:

Pest!  Just what I needed on my tight schedule.

There was a door open for people going on the Caminho to get their Credencial, so I was able to peep in and take a couple of photos:

I decided to go for a bus ride instead, taking the hop on hop off red bus out to the sea and the lighthouse and back along the river. I didn’t hop off at all, as I knew if would be a long wait in the cold for the next bus to come along!

I think he is setting off on the Caminho.

Back in town , I found myself near to Da Terra Restaurant. It was time for another plate full of veggies. Next door is a famous tee shirt shop, Typographia, so I couldn’t resist buying one. The designs are so clever and one based on the Porto skyline caught my eye. I haven’t bought a tee shirt in 10 years!

Lello

Queue to get in!

https://www.livrarialello.pt/en-us/livrarialello-institucional

Another day on the Duoro

La Rosa was given to Clara (portrait below) as a christening present in 1906. Her granddaughter Sophia is now the general manager and the family lives part of the year in Oxford. I saw her at breakfast arranging posies of flowers on the tables.

It was going to be a hot day (27 degrees forecast) as the whole property is south facing and the schist soils and high stone terracing retain the heat. I set off as early as I could  (10.00 am!) to walk around the nearest terraces. The construction of these terraces is an amazing feat of engineering, making use of every inch of this incredibly sloping site.

The railway line runs right alongside the river at this point. In 1977 part of the family home collapsed onto the line, putting out transportation for 2 days. The railway company threatened to blow up the rest! The ruins are still visible below us and someone keeps chickens down there.

I came back for a quick swim before lunch - but there was no lunch! I had to resort to cup-a-soup and an apple from my emergency rations. All the better to enjoy my dinner this evening.

First there was a tour of the winery buildings and a tasting session. The guide talked so quickly I found it hard to follow. I asked her to slow down, but somehow she couldn’t. She was even faster than E and that’s saying something! I wish I could have grasped more of the details.

They produce 300,000 litres p.a. on 45 hectares. The ground is between 150m and 400m above sea level. The chief winemaker drives around the vineyards every day, tasting the grapes to see which are ready because they are all at different stages because of location on the slopes. The 7 pickers are all women. I didn’t see any in action this morning. I did see the crates of grapes arriving here  in the afternoon and being sent through a machine with a conveyor belt which magically removed all the stalks.

Dinner:

Pumpkin soup w. cream cheese.

Iberian pork w. creamy truffles mashed potato, asparagus and mushrooms of several kinds.

Green tea w. lemongrass.

This restaurant is a perfectly managed operation!  I can hear the chef getting excited and shouting like Gordon Ramsey.

Clara

Breakfast

The eagle at the gate, and the logo of the winery

Morning walk

The highest terraces

Swimming pool

The new grapes being processed at the winery this afternoon 

Enormous 150 litre barrels for aging the port

Each new family member receives a smaller barrel from their birth year

Two types of port: ruby and tawney

In the tasting room

Dinner

I was given a complimentary half bottle of late bottled Vintage 2014, made from these grapes:

Touriga Nacional 

Touriga Franca 

Tinta Barroca

Tinta Roriz de Letra A

I’ve had to fill my water bottle with it, so now I have no water!

Quinta de la Rosa

So I’m staying for 2 days at a working winery. Lots to see (and taste!) As I was checking in, I saw a familiar face in front of me. I couldn’t quite place him, but I knew his face. I thought perhaps I’d met him on one of my Caminos. He turned out to be Alun Armstrong, one of the actors in the long running TV series New Tricks.

The rooms are high above the river, so it’s a different perspective from Vintage House. The vines cling to the slopes in neat rows, each plant cared for, meticulously pruned and prized. I went for a late walk up to the Vale  do Inferno, where the incredibly steep terrain makes you wonder how any plants could thrive. The vines are espaliered and only the bottom third are allowed to bear grapes. I only saw black ones, small, sweet and full of pips.

I had dinner in the restaurant at 8.00 pm. Not a big meal, just slow cooked rice with seafood (a cross between paella and bouillabaisse), followed by a pot of oolong tea. There was a glass of local white wine, Passagem Reserva Blanco, not to my taste after my usual tipple of NZ Sauvignon Blanc at home.

Then came the evening “entertainment” ie grape treading! This is done between 8.00 pm and 11.00 pm throughout September. We are in the middle of the Vintage now. Two groups of 4 stomp around up to their thighs in big vats. At 9.30 pm, tourists can join in on payment of €25, for which they also receive a souvenir tee shirt. In the photos below, the regular treaders wear green shirts and the tourists white. A young Brazilian couple tried to persuade me to do it, but it all looked too messy and too tiring for me! They also played rousing traditional music to rally the troops.

My bedroom with an antique ox yoke as a bedhead 

Dinner

Tea menu

Treading the grapes

Tourists joining in

Pinhao to Quinta de la Rosa

I needed to go for an early morning walk in order todo justice to the breakfast buffet. I walked downstream to check the way to Quinta de las Rosa, my next destination. It’s supposed to be a 21 minute walk, but the last bit is steeply uphill. I passed by another cruise boat, moored for the night, but some passengers were already off for a bus trip. Also to be seen was a group of  “camper cars” of various nationalities, just parked up beside the road - a nice free night for them, but no facilities.

Back for breakfast at 9.15 am, outside on the terrace. You know it’s a top spot when there is a bottle of champers hidden in the corner for making Bucks Fizz. The day was warming up, so a quick walk around town was in order, but not a lot to see. I bought my train ticket for Saturday and admired the blue and white tiles depicting local winery scenes from years gone by. Then I determined it was warm enough to check out the swimming pool - no heating but I had it to myself to do a few lengths.

Breakfast Terrace: the Cruise Boat and camper cars are round the bend of the river, on the right (between the plant pots)

They were picking grapes (by hand and onto a tractor) at 8.00 am. These vines are on a north facing slope, opposite my window.

The women pick (with more delicate hands)

The men transport the baskets down to the shore

Scenes from the station. The last one shows the problem before dams were built to control the flow.

An old wine storage place, now abandoned

A cruise boat full of Americans. They come and go all day!

Hotel pool: it would be a pity to leave without trying it!