Scorchin' Sacramento

The flight from Porto via Zurich across the Atlantic went well. Despite a delay leaving both Porto and Zurich, we were pretty impressed with Swiss Air until...they lost our luggage!!!

Once landed in the US, it took us a very long time to get through passport control and I mean a long time. What creates the queue is that they fingerprint everyone and take your photo. We finally made it through and commented "well at least our luggage will be on the carousel waiting for us" but alas, No! And so we waited. The conveyor belt stopped several times due to suitcase gridlock and there were at least 30-40 other travellers in our situation standing around, faces both hopeful and anxious,  willing their luggage to appear. 

So off to Lost Baggage only to be confronted with an inadequately staffed desk, not to mention inefficient. Poor Luke and Tran had been waiting for us by this stage for more than two hours. It was so good to finally see them.

The weather in Sacramento was incredibly hot whilst we were there, with several days in succession in the 40s and the other days in the high 30s. We were more than happy to have a quiet time in the US, chatting, eating, watching some TV, laughing and playing with their little dog Taka, who showed us all her tricks. She likes nothing better than coffee and is an opportunist of the first order. If you get distracted, you can find her nose deep in your coffee. My black tea was not to her liking. 

Tran's family came over for brunch on Saturday and it was good to see them all. The food was great, the company great and the Karaoke appalling, but good fun. Tran's sister Tranh brought several karaoke microphones - she and her Mum, Nhi love it.

Two Dads chatting outside away from the noise

On Monday night we went to a wonderful Italian restaurant, Allora. As soon as we were seated, we were presented with a personalised menu - an early celebration of my 70th birthday. What a lovely surprise and gift. All courses were beautifully presented and delicious.

We loved our time with Luke and Tran in Sacramento. It was relaxing and just what we needed at the end of our holiday in  Europe, where we were on the go most of the time. After our experience with lost luggage Luke took us to an Apple store and we invested in a set of AirTags which allows us to track the location of our cases through our phones. We also visited a fabulous Barnes & Noble bookshop and a couple of huge garden nurseries.

Adrian and Taka chilling out

Good trip home to Brisbane from San Francisco, arriving early yesterday morning and this time, the luggage arrived with us. We have unpacked and done our washing and ironing. Still getting over the jet lag but that's to be expected. 

What a fabulous holiday we have had. We have seen some wonderful places, had some great experiences, met interesting people and we ate and drank very well. We've travelled on planes, trains, cars, buses, trams, ferries, boats and a catamaran. And now safely home in one piece. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had the good health and the means to do this trip and hopefully there will be more.

So where to next?

Last port in Europe

Porto was our final destination in Europe, where we spent three nights at a small guesthouse in the Ribeira district, beside the Douro River. 

This was a wonderful location as it was a lively district with lots of activity. The famous Port wine houses are located on the opposite bank in a region called Gaia, accessible via the Dom Luis Bridge. Boats of different sizes cruise up and down the river ferrying tourists. Some are Rabelo boats, which in past years were used to take barrels of wine and port from the vineyards to the wine houses of Porto for export to the UK. The British invested a lot of money (and probably still do) in the wine industry of Portugal and several wine houses bear British names like Grahams and Taylors.

Looking towards Porto from bridge

Dom Luis Bridge and Rabelo boat

Gaia side of Porto

En route to Porto from Lamego we detoured to the pretty town of Amarante, where we lunched on a small balcony, overlooking the Tamega river.  At one stage towards the end of lunch all 8 people on the balcony were from Australia! One couple from Perth had been renting in Portugal in the town of Braga, north of Porto, for the past four months. They are planning to apply for residency in Portugal and divide their time between Portugal and Australia. Apparently if you have an income of 13,000 euro per year you can apply to live in Portugal. We have also learnt that many Americans are moving to Portugal to live, particularly in Lisbon.

Amarante

Amarante with balcony over river where we lunched

We had no fixed plans for Porto other than exploring the city on foot. It is described in the guides as a very walkable city. I would agree with that, but definitely a lot of it requires low gear as there are steep gradients and many steps. We should come back pretty fit.  Certainly the walking has probably assisted us in wearing off some of our calorie intake. That said I did seek out another Portuguese tart, this time at a café that sold only gluten free food. The tarts were delicious and served warm, freshly made – much better than Lisbon’s as the pastry was finer. 

 

I had researched other gluten free places to visit in Porto and whilst not looking for it, we found ourselves outside the rather eccentric Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau on the Gaia side of the river. Its décor was red and gold, on two levels joined by matching spiral staircases, with a level area on the mid-way landing where some guy was playing an organ, when we arrived. The lower level was lined with books and upstairs there were plush red leather seating areas.  

One end of the room was dedicated to the display and distribution of the cod cakes (hence the large cod cake image) and port.  Apparently you take the two together as the port “cuts through the saltiness of the cake” However we opted just for the one cod cake which I wanted to try.  I saved the port for later in the day. The cod cake was good – crunchy on the outside and with minced cod and cheese in the middle. Adrian thought it tasted like tuna pie. 

There were individual street buskers and bands playing everywhere throughout the city.

One afternoon we were treated to a street concert by some male university students – all decked out in black. One though was wearing a lab coat, back to front. I spoke with the young woman beside me who knew them. She explained that they were all students of medicine, veterinary medicine and marine biology who loved to make music and perform around Porto. There was one trumpeter, guitarists and a few playing pear shaped stringed instruments, similar to the Portuguese guitar. They had wonderful voices and provided great entertainment. A couple of them did some tricky manoeuvres with flags. They were the epitome of La joie de vivre. 

We visited several churches – there are so many of them -  including Clerigos Church, which has a free organ recital each day at noon. We also made a stop at the 12^th Century Cathedral and wondered again how these magnificent structures are built let alone conceptualised. And admired the incredible tiled interior of the Saõ Bento Metro station. 

Inside the Cathedral building 

 

The staff at the Guest House were young and very personable. They had recommended a restaurant nearby which served delicious food and different to what we had experienced elsewhere. We opted for tapas and enjoyed it so much,  we returned for another meal there. The owner was Spanish, Carmen, with exceptionally good customer service. Needless to say we ate well in Porto. 

View from our restaurant Jimaõ - last night in Porto

Muscatel pannacotta - yum!

An afternoon Sangria 

Jimaõ restaurant with red umbrellas and aqua windows

Our street at night

So that’s it for Portugal and for Europe.

 

Time now to head to the USA and spend time with our son Luke and daughter-in-law Tran. It will be great to see them and sure to be fun. 

 

 

Sleepless in the Douro

We headed north from Coimbra to the Douro Valley where we anticipated three nights of peace and serenity among the vines. 

The accommodation was very spacious - a two bedroom chalet, built circa 1850, fully self contained, with two dining room tables, several sitting areas, an ancient bread oven and a deck overlooking the vineyard. The chalet had 5 bottles of wine available to us, one of them free. It didn't take me long to pick the one I wanted to try - a 2018 Grand Reserve red. This stay was going to be great and a chance to rest a little after a busy 6 weeks.

But alas...No! Whilst enjoying a drink and nibbles on the deck, Adrian noticed a truck with a pop up stage in the valley below, less than a kilometre away. Then the sound checks started. For a time,  all was quiet and we headed to bed around 10:00. No sooner were our lights out than the band started. From where we were, all we could hear was the thump, thump, thump of the bass line. It was impossible to sleep! We must eventually have drifted off. The next morning the truck and stage had left...Phew! - gone to another town. But no, a different truck and stage arrived in the afternoon and we were unwilling attendees at another rock concert, this one with the added excitement and associated sounds of a fireworks show at midnight just after falling asleep. So much for the tranquility of the vineyard stay. Apparently the village nearby - Alvelos - was having their festival, held every four years. And our timing was perfect!

Relaxing on the deck overlooking the vineyard

But all that said, we had a delightful time at Quinta da Portelo do Baixo. They have the two bedroom chalet, accommodating four and the whole top floor of the house which accommodates seven. The latter was the home of the Viscount of Arneiros and the chalet was where the supervisors of the estate lived. The breakfast was outstanding. On arrival in the dining room we were seated at a table with nice linen and velvet chairs. Then the procession of food arrived. It was like we were royalty. Gluten free bread, cereal and cakes were provided, plus delicious fruit all grown on the estate and their own honey. You can see by the photos we did not go hungry.

The photos below were taken on my phone from a slideshow which we watched whilst we ate breakfast. Taken by a drone, they provide a good picture of the vineyard and our accommodation. 

Our chalet on the right, house on the left and wine museum behind

On our first day in the Douro we drove along the river to the town of Pinhaõ and hopped on a boat tour through the scenic Douro valley with vineyards on both sides - a most relaxing way to spend the afternoon. 

Our last full day in the Douro and with the prospect of a third concert disturbing our sleep, we decided to partake in a personalised tour and tasting at the vineyard. A wine tasting in the Douro in Portugal is somewhat different to what we expected. They don't give you just a mouthful of each wine to taste but a full glass! We did not realise this when we sat down and five glasses of varying sizes were placed in front of us. First a glass of sparkling white, then white, then red, then port and finally white port. But wait there's more. Our hostess then brings out a 6th glass and a bottle of port with no label. She says "no label means it is special'. After 6 glasses, all of which were fabulous, there was a good chance that we would sleep well and we did. 

Settled in for the afternoon

That day we had also visited one of Lamego's major sites - the church of Nossa Senhora dos Remedios (Our Lady of Remedies) - which involved a climb of 686 steps to the entrance. Fortunately we did this prior to the tasting!

Adrian on Step 1

Guests of the Quinta get a discounted rate for the wine tasting, but when we checked out the next morning and asked how much we owed them, they said "Nothing, it has been paid". Fantastic hospitality and we would highly recommend this place,  but not in July 2027 when the next festival is scheduled. 

Off the beaten track

We decided to do a morning tour of the Schist villages in the mountains about 30 minutes from Coimbra. Our Portuguese guide, Alfredo, was delightful. Whilst the tour can accomodate up to 10 people, we were the only ones. 

There are 27 Schist villages across four different regions of Portugal. The major feature of these little villages is that the homes were traditionally made from shale - readily available in the mountains of Portugal. The original residents lived a very simple,  frugal and self sufficient life and isolated. They had no roads and no means of transport. The villages are about 500 years old,  but interest in the area only started in the 1990s when the tourism potential of the villages was realised. The homes are now privately owned and many of those that have been restored are rented out on a weekly basis to people seeking the calm and tranquility that being in nature can provide. Hiking is very popular here. We had time to visit 4 of the villages on Lousã Mountain. 

The ride through the mountains was interesting to say the least. Alfredo obviously knows the roads well and in his 4WD was comfortable travelling along the curving mountain roads at speed. Adrian later told me that, in the back seat, he was bracing himself against whatever he could and hanging on! That said, it was a very enjoyable and interesting tour. We were lucky enough to see a mother roe deer and her twins along the side of the road as well as an eagle and a squirrel. One of the villages has only two Portuguese couples living a simple existence as goatherds. So we also saw a lot of goats. Another village has only one permanent resident, whilst another has only three. 

House that Alfredo wanted to buy but missed out on. Sold for 65,000 euro.

We have noticed that in both Greece and Portugal there are many gum trees and other eucalypts. Here in Portugal, we have seen large plantations of them.  Alfredo was telling us how they planted lots of gum trees (of a type we are not familiar with - tall and fairly thin with a straight trunk) because they are fast growing and are useful for reducing soil erosion.  They are used for paper manufacture.  However, it is the acacia that is causing a problem - they have become invasive and are taking over from the native flora.  Eucalypts are also bad in forest fires, as we Australians are well aware.

On my To Do list for Coimbra was to get a haircut, always an interesting and challenging adventure in a foreign country! I did some research, as is my want, and chose the one nearest to our accommodation - Seven Art in Love. I just rocked up and was told (with body language) to take a seat. At the time the hairdresser who welcomed me was cutting a young boy's hair - giving him a crew-cut using clippers. Then it was my turn. First the basin treatment with a cold water shampoo. As it was a hot day and no AC, she probably thought she was doing me a favour.  I was ok with that. I had practised an important phrase - naõ taõ curto (not too short) - which I trotted out as I took my seat. I also showed her a photo of me and pointing to it said "comme ça". Why I trotted out my French in a Portuguese hair salon still bemuses me. 

Maybe my pre-prepared and practised Portuguese phrase was misunderstood because she cranked up the clippers and started shaving the back of my head! All I could do was put my faith in the hands of the cabeleireira and hope that she left me with some hair. Suffice to say I was pretty happy with the result and even happier with the price - 15 euro for shampoo, cut and blow dry. I certainly won't need another haircut for a while. On returning home and telling Adrian he commented "it does a look a bit French" ...hmm, I wonder why!

That evening, our last in Coimbra we attended another Fado evening. Fado in Coimbra is quite different to that in Lisbon. As it is a university town, some of the songs are not as melancholy and several reflect the bucolic student life.  The male singer, a tenor, had an amazing operatic voice and the instrumentalists, again extremely proficient musicians. We were mesmerised by the music. They deserved their standing ovation at the end of the evening. A very interesting difference - female singers are not allowed in Coimbra, only males.

Coimbra at night with the university at the highest point