Alto Douro Wine Region, Northern
Portugal
A spectacular train ride along the banks of the Douro river took us to Regua and
Amarante in Northern Portugal where we spent a few days camping; Just sitting
around, taking walks along the river and through the terraced vineyards. A perfect break
from visiting cities. This is the area where Port is produced; so, naturally we
had to sample the local specialty. Not too many tourist make it up here and it was refreshing
to find that most people couldn't speak English. Oporto/Porto
As is becoming our ritual Tonya sought out the highest point to get a view of
the city. We climbed to the top of Torre dos Clerigos and were faced with a view
of one enormous construction site (it may be nice when it's finished).
Apparently Porto is making good use of its EU funding and laying a subway system. Neither of us were impressed with
Porto, as besides the river, which is fairly attractive, there didn't seem to be much else
to see. Coimbra
On our way to Lisbon we stopped at Coimbra. Paul sat in a park with a book while
Tonya went off to explore. The 16th century university was worth a visit if only
to see the statue of Joao III which looks exactly like Henry VIII (I wonder if
they were brothers?). Lisbon
After getting lost in the Alfama district (the old part of Lisbon) we took the
first Pension we came across, dumped our bags and went for something to eat.
Since today was Easter day Paul had a traditional Easter meal - veal drowned in
olive oil with potatoes thrown in as life rafts! Once again Tonya sought out the highest point in the city. Thankfully this was
the Santa Justa Elevator and didn't involve climbing hundreds of steps. However
we got our cardio workout climbing up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge. From here we
could see all the say to San Francisco (Well, it looked like the Golden Gate Bridge) and
Rio de Janiero (Isn't that the statue of Christ the
Redeemer?) This combined with the trams (stolen from San Francisco?) made us think
that this city was either a little confused or lacked originality. Sintra
This is a wonderful place to get away from the city. It was the summer residence
of the Kings of Portugal and is green, lush and mountainous. Heavily influenced
by the castles of (Mad) King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the Pena Palace with
its mix of moorish, manuelian and gothic styles,
was the highlight of Portugal for Tonya. The multicoloured towers and domes
reminded Paul of Disney World. Inside was a completely "wacko" collection of
rooms, each with their own style. This has to be seen to be believed! |
