In Portugal #3

One of the highlights of our trip was the place we stayed in Pinhua.  It was a converted manor house and exceptionally beautiful.

It had been refurbished 20 years ago by its German owner and was run by a staff of friendly Portuguese ladies.   So it was a wonderful combination of German efficiency and Portuguese hospitality.  Thank goodness it wasn’t the other way around.

The real boss was Molly, a sweet but ugly bulldog.  We tried to stay on her good side.

The house had extensive gardens, all in bloom, plus its own olive grove.  And the food!  We had all of our breakfasts and dinners there while enjoying the fantastic views from the dining room.

The only problem was that it was located way above Pinhua on a narrow road full of hairpin turns and no guardrails.  The taxi drivers were comfortable driving it at high speeds but we certainly weren’t.  Quite an adventure!

KVS

In Portugal #2

After Porto we took the train a few hours up the Douro River to Pinhua, in the heart of the port wine-growing region.  The banks of the river are very steep and covered with schist.  Over the centuries the locals have built terraces for growing grapes and olives.

It is rugged country, so rugged that the national road ends here and any further travel is by boat or on dirt roads.  We took a boat ride upriver until we hit rapids and had to turn around.  It was incredibly beautiful, though the day was cold and rainy so the photos aren’t the best.  It was so cold that the boat’s dog got wrapped in raincoats to keep it warm.  Val was jealous because all she had was me.

After we got back we went to another winery to raise our spirits.

KVS

In Portugal #1

Val had the great idea to see if RyanAir or EasyJet had cheap flights out of Marseilles.  Which is how we found ourselves flying to Porto for a few days.

Porto is Portugal’s second largest city, sitting on both sides of the mighty Douro River.  It is the center of the country’s port industry (that sweet wine you sip while playing whist with the chaps down at the Club).   It’s a city that was once rich and is now a bit frayed around the edges but still a lot of fun.

We spent a morning in the Ribeira district, which rests along the docks and is lined with colorful, skinny houses.  It sits in the shadow of the Luis I bridge, designed by Gustave Eiffel (of tower fame).  Then we took a tour of a port cellar and had dinner at a nice restaurant with a fabulous view looking down over the city and river.

The next day we took a river cruise to see the city’s six famous bridges, several of which were designed by Eiffel.  The river is very steep on both sides and historically created a huge natural barrier, blocking the Moors' advance north in the days of the Islamic caliphate.

The food was great and we especially enjoyed the seafood.  And we were finally able to get a decent espresso! (Note to France – your cuisine is glorious but seriously, you can’t master a dish whose only ingredients are coffee beans and water?)

Everyone we met was very friendly and we were surprised by how much French was spoken.  We were mistaken once for Canadians because we spoke both English and French.  Another time we were mistaken for French, which really made Val’s day.

KVS

Porto at night

Cool tile-covered church

The Ribeira district

Eiffel's bridge

The Majestic Cafe

So much port, so little time

Mystery Crops

Provence is an agricultural area and we often pass by farms.  Most aren’t large so we go past one field after another.

Usually the crops are easy to identify – wheat, apples, tomatoes.  We can even identify some of the less-common crops, like rapeseed.  But once in a while we’ll pass a field growing something we’re not familiar with.

When this happens, Val seems to think I’ve suddenly become the Shell Answer Man and will ask me what we’re looking at.  Of course, I have no idea.  What to do?

When someone asks me a question, I usually find there are three ways to go.

1.     I know the answer and say so.  I’m proud of myself and am not shy about showing it.  This has caused Val to teach me a new French word, insupportable (insufferable), plus a few more I can’t print here.

2.     I don’t know the answer and say so.  But what’s the fun in that?

3.     I don’t know the answer so I make something up.  The trick is to come up with something plausible and to say it with great confidence, perhaps even be a bit insupportable.

So the answer I’ve come with for the mystery crops is…sorghum.  It’s a crop most people have heard of but who the heck knows what it really looks like? 

It’s worked so far but Val is starting to become suspicious of the wildly different kinds of sorghum that seem to be growing in Provence.

KVS