Trips

Sat., 10/29/16 – Pinhao to Porto
            We were driven to Porto, Portugal today.  As we entered the city and took an hour boat ride on the Douro River, we could see the railway bridge Eiffel designed, the funicular and the cable car, and houses with blue and white azulejo tiles.  The boat was crowded and the commentary was given in at least four languages.  Judith treated us to tawny port wine and dark chocolate orange peels. Yummy.

Statue of Prince Henry the Navigator in front of the stock exchange - Palacio da Bolsa	Tile covered building
Sign for old city wall about the entrance	Postigo do Carvae - gate in city wall
Street scene - Boat ride on the Douro in Porto	Monastery of Serra do Pilar
Maria Pia Bridge over the Douro Railway bridge by Gustave Eiffel	Church of the Confraternity of the Holy Body Massarelos Souls
Sandeman Winery ad	Church of St. Francisco
We ate lunch in a small, crowded cafe on the riverfront.  The chicken and potato chips were good and the staff was friendly and efficient.         Our local guide, Marta, took us into the 14th c. Church of San Francisco.  The building is now a museum and no services are held there.  The outside is plain but the inside is very ornate 18th c. Baroque - no photos.         Next Marta took us into the Palacio do Bolsa, the city’s 19th c. stock market, also a UNESCO Heritage Site.  It is a beautiful building with each room decorated by a different artist or architect.  The Hall of Nations has the coat-of-arms of each of the 20 nations Portugal had commerce with at the time.  We went into the commerce courtroom, the boardroom, the associations meeting room, and the grand Arab room with elaborate tile work, skylights, and fancy light fixtures making it look like a grand ballroom - it does hold occasional concerts.
Sam3 (street artist) mural	Tour of the Stock Exchange - Palacio da Bolsa
Tour of the Stock Exchange - Palacio da Bolsa	Tour of the Stock Exchange - Palacio da Bolsa
Tour of the Stock Exchange - Palacio da Bolsa	Tour of the Stock Exchange - Palacio da Bolsa - Arab Room
Tour of the Stock Exchange - Palacio da Bolsa - Arab Room	Tour of the Stock Exchange - Palacio da Bolsa - Arab Room
Our last event before going to the hotel, was a bus ride around the city and out to the mouth of the river and the Atlantic coast.  The 16th c. lighthouse is the oldest in Europe.
Farol de S. Miguel - oldest lighthouse in Europe - 1527	Casa da Musica - modern concert hall

 

Sun., 10/30/16 – Optional Trip to Minho
        Today we took the optional tour to Minho province to visit two World Heritage Sites: Guimaraes Castle and Bom Jesus do Monte.  It was a pleasant one-hour drive through the fertile area referred to as the Green Coast.
        We arrived in Guimaraes and walked around the imposing castle that looks like something from a movie set.  It was built in the 10th c. to protect the people from invading Moors and Normans.  Alfonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, enlarged it in the 12th c.
        Inside, we toured the ducal palace, which is now a museum of palace artifacts on two floors with the residence of the President of Portugal on the top floor - no photos.  We were told he prefers a nice hotel room when he is in town. 

Castle of Guimaraes	Castle of Guimaraes
Castle of Guimaraes - Different restorations	Castle of Guimaraes
Castle of Guimaraes	Statue of Alfonso Henriques - first king of Portugal
Outside we walked past the granite houses with ironwork balconies.  Granite is local and was and is used instead of brick.          We sat and had local cheese and “young white” wine in Olive Square.  Olive Square has one olive tree and the Church of Our Lady of the Olive Tree – quaint!	Tile work
Toys	Toys
Street scene	Church of Our Lady of the Olive Tree
Snacks	Our Lady of Consolation and Holy Steps
Our bus took us to the city of Braga, one of the four Augustus Roman cities.  The history here was the same – Roman, St. James in 47 AD, Visigoths, Barbarians, Moslems until 1,000 AD, etc.  We walked through some of the old town.  There was a flower market in one square because Nov. 1 is All Saints Day and families go to the cemeteries to lay chrysanthemums on relatives’ graves.         We had lunch at Quinta do Xisto and were served 14 different tapas, mostly seafood like crab, shrimp, octopus, codfish cakes, etc.  The amount of food was almost obscene.	Tile work
Dome of the Bank of Portugal building	Iron work
Street vendor	Dragon sculpture
University of Minho and Santa Barbara Garden	Flower market
Flower market	Gate to the Old Town
Tiled sign	Witch
Lunch at Quinta do Xisto	After the meal we visited Bom Jesus do Monte (Good Jesus of the Monte).  We started by riding the funicular to the top and then walked down part way.  The funicular was built in 1882 and operates hydraulically.  There are two tracks, each with one car.  Water is put into the upper car until it is heavy enough to pull the lower car up as it goes down.  The water is drained at the bottom and then the process is repeated.         The site was built by an Archbishop of Braga for religious people to go to instead of going to Jerusalem.  On the walkway up there are the 14 stations of the cross, then the fountains of the five senses for the people to cleanse their minds, then the three virtues, and a pelican fountain.  The high altar in the church has a unique three-dimensional diorama of Jesus on the Cross.  The site is spectacular to look at from a distance.
Funicular to Bom Jesus do Monte	Funicular hydraulics
Bom Jesus do Monte	Bom Jesus do Monte
Traditional dress	Interesting shoes
Bom Jesus do Monte	Bom Jesus do Monte

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