A different part of Portugal.....

Monday, August 29, 2016
Porto, Northern Portugal, Portugal
2016 August 29 – Monday

Probably in anticipation of the trip, I was only able to sleep until about 05:30 today, so got up early and went down for breakfast exactly at 07:00 when they opened . I'll be heading for Porto today so I want to make sure I'm on time for my train.

After breakfast I walked across the street from the hotel to a convenient souvenir shop and picked up a few items for my grandchildren and also a small bottle of Ginja (I figured that a small bottle may not be too hard to fit into my Pack).

At about 10:40 I made the short walk to Praça da Figueira as there are always Taxis waiting there. The driver of the first one in line placed my packs in the trunk and I was on the way to Santa Apolonia station within a minute. The trip took less than 15 minutes, so I was there in lots of time before the train departed. Although it's one of the main stations in Lisbon, there were only two tracks (that I could see) and there didn't seem to be many services there unlike larger stations in Italy and other places. Fortunately I was able to find one small snack Bar so I bought a Ham & Cheese Baguette, ripple chips and an Ice Tea for the trip (since I’d be travelling over lunch time) .

I found my reserved seat and the train left precisely on time. Thankfully the coach was somewhat air conditioned, as it was another hot day. The train seemed a bit older than those used in other parts of Europe, but it was clean and the A/C worked well, so it was a pleasant trip.

The train arrived in Porto a bit early, and again I walked out the front door of the station and right into a Taxi. The trip to Hotel da Bolsa took about 10 minutes, and check in was quick and efficient. The room is small with two single beds (which can probably be pushed together to make a double), but is very modern and well appointed. As with many places in Europe, the room card has to be inserted into a small box on the wall in order for the electrics (lights, etc.) to operate. The bathroom fixtures are also very modern and a large "rain head" type shower was provided so I’m sure I’ll enjoy that in the morning! There is some traffic noise (my room faces a busy street), but I don’t find it to be a problem as it’s relatively quiet at night for sleeping .

I had a short rest and an A/C break, and then went out about 16:30 to explore the neighborhood and look for places for dinner. I noticed a Yellow Bus ticket office close to the hotel, so I stopped there to get some information for tours.

Porto is located along the Douro River and has been occupied since about 300 BC. It's one of the oldest cities in Europe and the historic centre has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Among the historic architectural highlights of the city are the Porto Cathedral, the Stock Exchange Palace and the São Bento train station. Porto has a robust economy as many of the countries large corporations are based here, including Portugal's largest petroleum exporter. One of the most famous exports is of course Port wine.

I walked uphill through a maze of interesting little streets, checking restaurant menus as I went. There were several street performers already at work, and it was fun to stop and watch for a few minutes . I eventually ended up in a very large and busy plaza which was ringed with lots of restaurants. After having a look at the choices, I settled on one with a large section of outdoor tables. Most places only had fish and steak on the menu, but this one offered a grilled turkey slice, so that was the best of the choices I had.

Service was a bit slow, but eventually my meal arrived. There were two thick slices of turkey breast, covered in melted mozzarella and a very watery broth which I suppose was considered gravy. As usual the meal was accompanied by French fries which annoyed me, but as I was hungry I was happy just to get some food. I had two Cafe Americano’s after dinner and then walked back to the hotel.

I put my phone and camera on charge and then updated my diary. I hope to get lots of touring done tomorrow (hopefully it’s not too hot). It will be interesting to see what kind of breakfast is provided at this hotel .

2016 August 30 – Tuesday

I was looking forward to trying out the rain head shower and it didn’t disappoint. A smaller nozzle on a flexible hose was also provided for getting to those hard-to-reach places. I was tempted to take a very long shower (at least until the hot water ran out), but figured I’d be responsible and just use what was necessary.

As I suspected, the breakfast at Hotel da Bolsa was more like the European standard, with several types of cold meats, cheese, buns, bread, juices, coffee, yogurt, cereals and fruit cocktail. It was quite adequate and again I was sure to get my money’s worth.

After breakfast I went back to the room to get organized and enjoy the A/C for a few minutes. At about 10:30, I left to start touring. Today I’ll be starting with one route on the Yellow Bus tour and then follow that in the late afternoon with the Six Bridges cruise (best to do that when the light is better) .

Before leaving I asked the desk clerk if there was a Laundromat in the area, and he indicated there was one about 100 metres from the hotel (which is probably the same one listed in the guidebook). I had to pass that anyway on the way to the bus, so it wasn’t hard to find.

I found the bus stop easily and it wasn’t long before the Yellow Bus arrived. It was almost empty so there were lots of open seats on the top deck. The bus headed across the river to Villa Nova de Gaia (which is a separate city from Porto), and that’s where the Port wine cellars are located. I believe one of those is included in the tour, but I wasn’t really interested (I’ve toured wineries before and I don't especially like Port). One thing that amazed me was the woman seated in front of me. Even though the temperature was about 35C (especially seated in the sun on the top deck), she donned a sweater.

As the bus meandered through the streets of Porto, it wasn’t only the sights that were interesting but also the potpourri of odours . The most notable were those emanating from various restaurants, as they prepared their lunch menus, but towards the end of the tour there was also the familiar salty smell of the ocean and (surprisingly) wood smoke. On a visual level, it was interesting to see the juxtaposition of old buildings with new modern edifices, often side-by-side. The tour ended up being longer than I expected, probably more than two hours. I arrived back at stop #22 after 13:00 so it was time for lunch.

There was a restaurant right across from the bus stop called "Tram" (appropriate as it was right beside a Tram line), so I picked an outside table and sat down. I waited for 10-15 minutes and no one even looked at me, so I assumed they weren’t interested in my business. There were two more restaurants just around the corner in a small alley between two rows of buildings, so I sat down there. The service there was more attentive and I had my meal within about 10 minutes. I lingered a bit and enjoyed the relaxing ambiance and also the cool, refreshing breeze which was flowing through the alley . Although it’s supposed to be 35C today, I’m not finding the heat as oppressive here as it was in Lisbon.

One thing that became apparent here very quickly, is that the restaurant staff are nowhere near as aggressive as those in Lisbon. In fact in many cases they’re just the opposite, and perhaps a bit indifferent. That’s sure a nice change from having restaurant menus shoved in front of my face!

After lunch it was back to the hotel for another rest and an A/C break. At about 16:30 or so, I started down towards the River Douro for the cruise. As it turned out, a boat was just about to depart, so I managed to get aboard at the end of the queue. Most of the passengers rushed to the seats on the top deck, but I stayed on the lower deck at the bow as there were some benches there. During the cruise, I was chatting with a young lady from Germany (Stuttgart) who was travelling with her father and brother. She could speak English so it was easy to chat . There was also a couple from Portugal with a new (one month) baby, but unfortunately they didn’t speak any English so I had to resort to Google Translate, which worked well for short phrases.

It was about 18:30 when the cruise ended, and I spent a few minutes watching street performers that were doing a well rehearsed dance routine with very loud music, next to a restaurant along the waterfront. As it was about dinner time, I had a look at the menu and decided to get a light dinner. I started with a hamburger, wine and water. I was still hungry so explained the concept of a "side salad" to the young lady that was serving my table, and she had the cook prepare that for me - it was perfect! I had a nice time chatting with two of the servers. The guy was from Brazil, and the girl from Cape Verde. After dinner I stopped at an ATM (again the DCC option was offered) and then it was back to the hotel, which was unfortunately all uphill.

It was fortunate that I booked the bus tour, as I found a vibrant part of the city next to the river, with lots of restaurants and shops . Once again it was apparent that I chose a great area to stay as there are lots of restaurants, shops, pharmacies, ATM’s and also a Laundromat within easy walking distance.

I spent a few minutes updating my diary, but will leave the Blog update until tomorrow as I’m starting to run out of energy. Tomorrow will probably also be laundry day.

2016 August 31 – Wednesday

My first task today will be to get some laundry done. I made the short walk to the Laundromat and was relieved to find that there was no one else there, so all machines (except one) were available. I was planning to use the large washer as it’s quicker so I loaded my clothes and inserted € 8.90 in the control panel. Unfortunately the machine wouldn’t start and I couldn’t figure out any way to correct the problem. Perhaps I didn’t follow the instructions in the correct sequence? I finally gave up and moved my clothes to one of the smaller machines and it worked fine .

Before my wash cycle was finished, a young lady came in to check her wash and it wasn’t ready yet so she passed the time with a book. Eventually we both had our clothes in the dryers. As she was leaving she asked me where I was from, and when I told her she said she’s never been to Canada. I knew that she could read English as when she was dealing with the multi-language control panel she was using English. As it turns out, she also speaks Portugese, French, German and Japanese. She laughed when I said "good morning" to her in Japanese.

After the laundry was finished I walked back to the hotel, dropped my clothes in the room and got my camera gear. The first order of business was lunch and I discovered a McDonald’s right next to the Yellow Bus stop so that was most convenient. I ordered using the automated Kiosk again. I'm surprised the Kiosks aren't used in North America (at least not that I've ever seen). My timing was perfect as a bus pulled up just as I finished the last bite of my meal so I walked right on . There was no one seated on the top level so I had that all to myself.

The weather was a bit hazy today and definitely cooler, so at times it was a bit chilly sitting on the top deck. The bus meandered through a mixture of areas, some residential and some commercial. Some buildings were newer and in perfect condition, but there were also a few derelict buildings with broken glass and weed farms in the front yard. One very nice house stood out as it was very posh looking and had CCTV cameras on every corner. There was a gardener and house maintenance person working in the front yard.

The “Castles” tour covers the waterfront and I was surprised to see quite a few mega-hotels and a large sandy beach in front of them. There was a definite odour of fish in that area and the ever present cacophony of seagulls. Given the cold and misty weather, it was surprising to see quite a few hardy souls out laying on the beach.

The bus went to the end of the port area, and eventually came back along the street right next to the water . That area really smelled of fish, which wasn’t surprising as there’s apparently a large fresh fish market there. There were also numerous restaurants with small metal booths with outdoor grills and sidewalk tables. Each of the booths had a grill fired up with sizzling fish, octopus etc. clearly visible. The bus was enveloped in smoke from the grills as it travelled down that street and that was starting to make me hungry.

After the bus returned to the starting point, I walked back to the hotel for a much needed rest. At about 18:00 I walked back to Plaza Libertade through a variety of streets, browsing various items in the shop windows, watching street entertainers, and also looking at menus as I went.

The first restaurant that I stopped at directly across from the Intercontinental Hotel had a good selection on their menu, so I decided to have dinner there. The waiter couldn’t speak English so I stumbled along pointing to items on the menu, and I eventually ordered a grilled turkey dinner, white wine and water .

A different waiter brought my order and I used Google Translate to ask for ketchup and pepper. He said the translator wasn’t necessary as he speaks English. The meal was very good and consisted of three slices of turkey, rice (finally!), French fries, tomatoes and lettuce. It was almost more than I could finish! I also had to ask for some oil & vinegar and I think he was a bit annoyed as he had to make an extra couple of trips to my table. We had a nice chat when he wasn’t waiting on other customers. He was saying that the minimum wage in Portugal is € 3 per hour, which sure isn’t much but he said it was relative to the cost of living.

As I was enjoying my dinner, an ambulance went right by the restaurant with lights and siren blaring and it was annoying to see that the traffic wasn’t giving the right-of-way. Idiot drivers who wouldn’t follow the traffic laws were a constant annoyance when I was working for the ambulance service . Time to start issuing a few tickets!

As I was finishing my after dinner coffee, an ambulance pulled up in front of the very posh Intercontinental Hotel across the street, and they eventually took someone away. I was joking with the waiter that the patient probably fainted after seeing his hotel bill. They had walked the patient into the vehicle, so it can’t have been too serious. However when they left, they activated the siren which I thought wasn’t necessary.

Towards the end of my meal, a street entertainer dressed like Charlie Chaplin stopped in front of the restaurant and began performing. His act was a combination of pre-recorded popular tunes and he accompanied those with live Clarinet playing. I had watched him yesterday and he was quite talented. I put a few Euro in his basket and then got a short video.

Back at the hotel I chatted with some people from Holland who were just arriving . One of the ladies actually lives in Vancouver – what a coincidence! After that it was back to the room to update my diary and get organized for tomorrow (my last day in Porto).

2016 September 1 – Thursday

It’s hard to believe that this is already my last day in Portugal – how time flies! I’ve already asked the desk clerk to arrange a Taxi at about 04:10 for the trip to the airport. What a dreadful hour to be travelling, but it couldn’t be helped in this case. Maybe it’s good that I’ve been waking up early the last few days. I sure hope there are some food places open in the airport at that hour as it would be nice to get something for breakfast, or at least a coffee.

After breakfast I spent some time back in my room enjoying the A/C and checking E-mail. My only tour plans today are the Stock Exchange Palace (which is neither a stock exchange nor a palace). I also hope to make another entry in my Blog, at least to finish off the Lisbon portion.

I walked down the hill to the Palacio da Bolso Stock Exchange, which was only about two blocks from the hotel. They had an electronic board which showed when tours in various languages would be leaving, and what percentage of “full” each tour was. There were no English tours listed until 16:00 so I asked at the desk. The staff indicated that a dual language tour would be leaving at 12:30 (about 1.5 hours from now) so I bought a ticket for that (€ 8.50).

I walked down to the river and got a few pictures and then explored a small Church at the end of the street. It had a noticeable old and musty odour inside, but was very ornate and beautiful as most Churches in Europe. After that I headed across the street to the larger Church of St. Francis (which is now a monument and no longer used as a Church). There was an admission fee of € 4 for the Church, Museum and Catacombs. As usual I asked about photos and was told that no photos are allowed inside the Church, but no problem in the other areas. That’s unfortunate as the interior is one of the most ornate and beautiful that I've seen with very detailed wood carvings of religious figures, some finished in gold leaf. After the Church, I had a brief look at the small Museum and Catacombs.

I stopped to enjoy the cool air on the shaded side of the street and discovered a small Tapas Bar that offered a good variety of food items. As it was close to noon and I didn’t know how long the guided tour was at the Palacio, I decided to get lunch now. I ordered a toasted ham & cheese sandwich (which came with potato chips) and ice tea. It was very good and just right.

Stopping at the Tapas Bar also had another benefit, as I discovered a really nice, old fashioned Italian restaurant right next door, so I think I know where I’ll be having dinner tonight. I don’t know why I didn’t notice that earlier in my many walks in that area.

As I was walking uphill to the hotel, I passed two young ladies that were towing suitcases and looking at a map with a very puzzled look on their faces. They were apparently looking for the “Wine Hotel” and tried to show me on the map. They were French and didn’t speak any English, so communicating was somewhat of a problem. I checked Google Maps on my phone but wasn’t able to find it, so I suggested they check with the desk clerk at my hotel (I was hoping he would be able to function in French). Just before reaching my hotel, they figured out the directions, so problem solved. I later discovered that it was the Wine Hostel they were looking for (again the language issue). Trying to communicate while travelling in Europe can be so frustrating at times!

The Stock Exchange Palace is located in the historic centre of Porto, next to St. Francis Church. The Palace was constructed in about 1850, but the ornate interior was not completed until about 1910, with the help of several notable artists of the time. One of the most impressive rooms is the Moorish Revival Arab room, which has reportedly inspired by the magnificent Alhambra in Granada. There was in fact a stock exchange in the building until several years ago, but this has now been moved to a more modern facility.

The tour started right on time and it was a relatively small group, which was nice. The guide was very adept at conducting the tour in two languages. She would first provide a description in Portugese, and then say “this part is for the English speakers”. The ability of Europeans to function in a variety of languages always amazes me. The tour started by covering the various rooms on the main floor (including the former stock exchange room) and then moved to the rooms on the second floor, ending at the magnificent Arab room (which is still used for a variety of functions). I thought the tour was very interesting and worth the cost and the time.

After the tour, I went back to my room for a rest and an A/C break, and was about to discover another example of the difficulties of languages in Europe. As I was napping, my room phone rang and the desk clerk asked if the maintenance staff could change the hair dryer in the room. I had noticed that the thermal switch was faulty so wasn’t surprised to get that call. The maintenance guy arrived in a few minutes along with two maids (I thought they had already serviced my room). They were apologetic about the interruption but I tried to tell them it’s not a problem. The work has to be done, and having worked in the trades I know what that’s like.

While repairs were in progress in my room, I waited in the lobby for a few minutes and was chatting with a mother and daughter from London who were just checking out and waiting for their Taxi to the airport. Eventually the Taxi arrived and I helped them carry one of their bags out to the car. I also spent a few minutes waiting on the landing just outside my room and noticed two traffic police ticketing an illegally parked car a short distance from the hotel. Before too long the owner of the vehicle returned and it looked like a very heated argument took place. I was thinking that it was good that the female officer had her much larger male counterpart with her. Eventually the work was completed in my room and I resumed my activities.

At about 18:30 I walked down the hill to the Italian restaurant and was surprised to be the only customer (more diners arrived later). The very attractive server (she was originally from Venezuela) took my order for Spaghetti Bolognese and of course the usual side items. The order arrived quickly and the portion size was good.

After dinner I walked back to the hotel to get my packs loaded and ready for the flight tomorrow.   During that time I also got a text from my cell network reminding me that my bill was overdue (must have overlooked that before I departed), so I logged onto my credit union website and paid that. I notified them by text that it was paid, and was surprised to receive another text stating that they were connecting me with a customer services agent. I tried to tell them that the bill is paid, and I don’t need to talk to a @#$% customer service agent. I told them to call me so that we could clear this up quickly as I have a flight at 04:00. They texted back that their system isn’t set up for calls. This is another example of the frustrating, awkward and incompetent customer service I've experience with them at times. However their service always works well regardless of whether I'm at home or in Europe, so I put up with occasional annoyances.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day!

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2025-02-11

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