Our last day in Porto was another exploration day for us. By the time we cleaned up and dressed, we decided to just head out and grab some lunch. We have so many places to choose from within a two minute walk. However, today we extended our range and went for a walk uphill.
Leaving the apartment, we passed by the man with the calliope and birds. He always attracts a crowd, but after seven days, it got a little old.
Calliope guy
We started out by checking a few menus along the way, but everything looked a little too much. I just wanted something simple, since we’ve had such good dinners all week.
At the street corner, we made a right and walked by the big guy.
From there, we meandered through the streets getting a ‘behind the scenes’ look at Porto. There are quite a few churches and convents scattered throughout the town.
Street vibe in Porto – they all go up!
After zig-zagging our way, we finally ended up at the Public Square.
Public Square
By that time, we were in need of a beverage so we stopped at an outdoor cafe. Our server was very nice and guided us through ordering. Nothing elaborate, but very tasty roasted pork and cheese sandwiches. We quenched our thirst with a bottle of Vinho Verde -this one having quite a bit of effervescence. Yum!
Just a short walk from there was the Clérigos Tower and church. It’s one of the tallest buildings in the area and a popular spot for photos. The streetcar terminus is also located in the same area and draws a crowd too.
We continued walking -now a little less aimlessly -and eventually made our way back to the São Bento Train Station. The streets were getting crowded, so we headed back home to relax.
We put on some music and napped a little bit. All the walking is much more effort than reaching for the channel changer back home.
For our last evening in Porto, we returned to Cantinho do Avillez for dinner. We had to take a little earlier reservation as they were booked, but that wasn’t a problem at all.
We went easy since we had a bottle of wine at lunch and only ordered glasses of wine – two each. The couvert or bread selection had three types of bread, olives, butter and a tomato cream dip. For appetizers, I had the beef croquettes and Sue had shrimp in a lemon, olive oil and cilantro sauce. For our mains, I had the slow cooked veal in a Thai curry sauce with jasmine rice, while Sue had a cod casserole with the chef’s ‘exploding olives’.
Our final meal in Porto
I should probably mention the chocolate cake with strawberry ice cream that I had for dessert, but what’s a calorie or two among friends?
We took that last walk up the alley back to the apartment and relaxed for the remainder of the evening.
Porto has really been enjoyable. It exudes charm at every turn and is made extra special by the Portuguese people. Everyone we encountered was friendly and welcoming. We are so glad we spent eight days here.
We started the day at the ungodly hour of 6:15 AM to take showers and get dressed. Today we are going on a day tour to Braga and Guimaraes with the folks from Viator. We are scheduled to leave at 8:45 am and will return to town about 6:45 pm.
Temperature wise, the day started out a bit cool and breezy. The smoke from the wild fires still hung in the air. Our motorcoach arrived a bit behind schedule, as it was a replacement. Our original vehicle was coming from the south and emergency services had some of the roads blocked off for the day.
Our group was twenty people, so it was a manageable size for the walking tours. When the coach arrived, our guide – Diego herded everyone aboard and off we went.
Diego checking on our coachOur coach
Diego did a good job of providing us with background information on the sites that we visited and supplemented that with answers to questions that people had.
Our first stop was at the Bom Jesus do Monte Sanctuary. It’s located just outside of Braga at the top of a mountain. Our bus driver Patrick did a great job of maneuvering us up and down through the hairpin turns.
Luckily we did have Patrick to drive us. I didn’t see any show of hands when they mentioned that there are 600 stairs in case anyone wanted to walk the pilgrimage path.
The gardens throughout the sanctuary are meticulously manicured.
There is an overall feeling of peacefulness as you walk around. There are many small chapels throughout the grounds for private reflection and then the main cathedral. The altar contains a beautiful 3-D cruxifixction scene and cross.
Our second stop was in the town of Braga; the highlight of the stop being the cathedral. It is designed in Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles due to the length of time it took to construct it.
We started with a short walk across the town square to get a feel for the town itself. It was always an important religious town with many popes and bishops having taken up residence there. As time passed, it lost some of its shine to Fatima, which became the more important pilgrimage site.
The Cathedral has its roots back to Roman times. Construction in town has had to be halted numerous times as the construction crews dig and come across ancient ruins.
Before entering the cathedral, you pass through a small area that actually serves as a museum for some of the artifacts that have been found.
Bottom photo is stone declaration from Caesar Augustus
The ancient cathedral retains its original double organs made from wood. It’s a stunning arrangement capped by a magnificent ceiling painting of the ‘Wedding of Mary and Joseph’. The double organs are currently undergoing a major refurbishment due to termite infestation.
We had some free time to grab lunch and wander around for a bit before gathering back together. Our final stop of the day was in the town of Guimaraes.
We started with a walk through an ancient Moorish Castle that once protected the town. There’s not much more than a shell left these days, but it is still solid enough to tour.
Next was a very small chapel that contained the tombs of several Templar Knights. Despite their status, they were buried in a simple chapel and in simple tombs.
Tombs of numerous Templar Knights
Continuing our walk, we passed by a large church that was said to have been the place that the king had been baptized. One slight problem with history though, it wasn’t built until 100 years after the king. Maybe it was a retroactive baptism?
In the square, there is a statue of Portugal’s First King – Alphonse Henrique I. There have not been any paintings found with his likeness, so he has been done with an almost hidden look – beard and mustache, full helmet, battle gear and large shield with a Templar Knight cross.
Our last view as we gathered up to leave was of the Church of St. Walter with its twin spires.
By this time we were ready to head back home so it was a happy moment when the bus rolled up.
The ride home was a little over an hour long as we were caught up in rush hour traffic along the way. It was a pleasant day though and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
We were both a little hungry, so we dropped our stuff off at the apartment and went across the street for a bite to eat. They were busy, but we nabbed a table and did some people watching while we waited for our food and drinks.
The staff members were running around like crazy, while people who sat down at dirty tables got annoyed because someone didn’t run over to them right away. If only they knew the secrets: things like a smile, and words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.
Ana and her big “bottle”
We enjoyed our meal, finished up, and then headed all the way across the street to put our feet up and relax for the evening – it was a long day.
After our wonderful day in the upper level of Porto, it was time to venture down along the river side.
We woke up to an odd haze in the skies and a funky smell in the lobby when we went down to get our morning water replenishment. It was the first morning we had the shutters open, but needed to turn a couple of lights on inside the apartment.
Come to find out, there were some large wildfires being fought over the weekend to the south and north of Porto. The major one causing plumes of smoke and ash to drift in our direction was/is located near Aviero – a town we were originally planning to visit.
Funky looking sky
We headed out for the day with the lingering smell of smoke in the air and the sky a hazy shade of yellowish-brown at times. There were many people walking around wearing masks, as there was a noticeable amount of ash also falling.
We made our way down to the riverfront admiring the older section of town known as the Ribeiro. Those buildings have been around for several hundred years and are still going strong.
As one would imagine, the area is quite touristy and there were many buskers stationed along the way. Blues, rock, pop, fado – you name it and you could hear it. There were also many souvenir stands and shops selling whatever the people were willing to buy.
We walked along for a while, listening to the music and taking in the surroundings. It was also an interesting perspective to see the lower level of the bridge, this time with pedestrians heading over to the port houses in Villa Nova de Gaia and vehicles driving across.
We ended our time down at the waterfront as the air was really thickening from the smoke.
Winds bringing the bad air our way
Of course, the walk back was uphill and it was a warm day. We took our time and decided to stop for a bit of lunch and a drink. We waited until we arrived back near to the apartment to find a spot and actually ended up in the Bistro at our hotel. We had some questions about check out, so we managed to fill our curiosity and our tummies at the same time.
We would be going back to the restaurant for dinner, so a cheese board and bottle of wine was a perfect luncheon combo. Everything was delicious, so we were looking forward to returning for dinner that evening.
Cheese, please!
We had a waitress – Marta, who was such a treat. She loved that we were trying to order and reply using Portuguese so we had a lot of fun with her.
Our new friend Marta.
After lunch, we made our way back to the apartment to relax and breathe in some fresh cool air. We’re hoping that the air clears a bit as we are scheduled to go on a day trip tomorrow.
As evening rolled around, we headed back to Bistro Bartolomeu for dinner. I have to say, walking around the block to get to dinner felt good. My legs are definitely feeling the effects of all the hills here in Porto.
The dinner menu is geared to be a sharing experience, with tapas-sized plates. We had a Tosta Mista, which was basically a version of a French Croque Monsieur (ham, cheese and toasted bread), then we had a Gnocchi dish made with short rib beef ragout and finished with a steak sandwich. They also provided homemade sweet potato chips as a side and we enjoyed another bottle of Portuguese rosé.
Dinner was delicious and although they were ‘small plates’, we were too full for dessert.
We met a lovely couple from Minnesota who had just arrived and were exhausted. We shared a couple of Porto tips and restaurant recommendations with them. They were very nice and if they are reading, we hope you enjoy your time in both Porto and Portugal.
Once finished, we took the quick uphill walk back to the apartment. We’re going to get to bed early as we’ll need to be up about 6:30am for our tour tomorrow.
The beauty of being somewhere long enough to not have to rush around chaotically is wonderful. Today, we explored the upper part of town, the Dom Luis I Bridge and the upper part of Villa Nova de Gaia.
With our directions in hand, we left the apartment. Since it was Sunday, the buskers were out and filling the air with the sound of music. Knowing what hills lie ahead, even Julie Andrews wouldn’t be dancing though.
Our route had us going down, then up; zig-zagging through residential streets, then heading up near the old Roman ruins. At that point, we needed to rest a little bit.
Moving on, we headed down a bit to the beginning of the bridge.
This upper part of the bridge combines metro train tracks and a pedestrian walkway. The view down to the river and across the city is stunningly beautiful.
Across the bridge is the town of Villa Nova de Gaia. Here, most of the major port wine makers are headquartered in the areas below. One of the best places to view the sunset is from the park that lies at the end of the bridge.
Tonight’s restaurant for dinner is also located just at the end of the bridge. The views look fantastic during daylight. I can’t wait until this evening.
Restaurante Ponte de Ferro
We walked around the park for a bit before heading back. We decided to stay high and then go down to the riverside tomorrow.
I’d swear that anyway you go in Porto is an upward climb. There were lots of people to navigate through – some more adept at walking than others. We eventually made it back to our home area. As a reward, we stopped at a bakery called ‘Castro’ and bought a few Pasteis da Nata to tide us over until dinner.
Pasteis da Nata
Pasteis da Nata are a Portuguese favorite pastry. They are made by taking a pastry shell and baking them with a creamy custard filling. The custard is made with egg yolks, milk, flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Are they rich? Yes! Are they delicious? Yes!
Back in the room, we enjoyed our snack and rested up while listening to some music.
As dinner time rolled around, we cleaned up and re-traced our steps from earlier in the day. We went to Restaurante Ponte de Ferro just over the bridge in Vila Nova de Gaia.
Crossing the bridge, you could see the throngs of people in the park awaiting a view of the sunset. The “golden hour” was approaching, but our reservation was at about the same time. An opportunity missed?
Sun beginning to set as we arrived at the restaurant
Not at all. We arrived for dinner and our hostess told us to follow her. She led us to the patio where we could see and take in the beautiful sunset. (Obrigado, Marie!)
Sunset over the Douro River and Porto
Our table was located perfectly to get to take in the beauty of the bridge, especially as darkness fell and the lights came on.
Bridge being lit up at dusk
Would the meal live up to the ambiance? Definitely!
We started with a glass of sparkling wine to go with our amuse bouche. The amuse-bouche was a small tuna taco and a cod croquette. What a great way to begin the meal. For starters, Sue chose a green salad, while I had a seared scallop with caviar and teriyaki pork belly.
Sue’s saladMy scallop and pork belly
For our main dishes, Sue had the Sea bass and I had the grilled duck breast. We were both very happy with our choices. We paired the meal with a bottle of Dona Marie Amantis red wine from the Alentejo region, which was delicious.
Sea BassDuck BreastVinho Tinto
Sue was finished, but I managed to enjoy a warm molten chocolate cake with coffee ice cream for dessert.
Popcorn with chocolate meringue post dessert
Overall, it was an awesome meal. The service was top-notch, matching the ambiance and the food.
We took a slow walk home enjoying the gorgeous evening’s weather.
It was delightful day and evening.
If the Dom Luis I bridge reminds you of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, you have a keen eye. The designer of the bridge that commemorates the first King of Portugal was a devoted student of Gustave Eiffel – the designer/builder of the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris.
If you’re visiting Porto, we would definitely suggest that you visit the Douro Valley. Even if you are not a wine fan, it is a beautiful area to see and discover.
We went and we didn’t visit any wineries. We enjoyed the getting there, the towns, the boat ride and the people. Let me tell you a little bit about it.
I enjoy planning and coordinating travel, so we got there by ourselves, though there are many options for tours that you can arrange. We took a train from the Sao Bento Train Station up to the town of Pinhão. It’s a scenic train ride that follows along the Douro river. It took just about two and a half hours to get there.
Early morning in PortoOur train arrives
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Clickety clack, clickety clack the wheels of the train pass over the tracks. Scenery flashing by as we sit and relax.
Clickety clack, clickety clack can barely be heard over the old guys yelling in front and in back.
Alas, our train was filled today by sociable folks with no volume control.
Party people in the house tonight…
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We left the gaggle of guys behind when we arrived at the town of Pinhão. It’s a small town in the heart of the wine region and is known for its beautiful tiled train station, and is also an embarkment point for many tourist boat trips.
Pinhão Train Station
There are a few hotels, restaurants and shops in town and a couple of wineries are within walking distance of the train station. The boat docks are located just behind the train station along the river.
We didn’t bring a bag full of treats for the ride, so, before doing anything else, we stopped for a snack at Café Imperio. It’s located right across the street from the station and is like stepping back in time. Want something fancy ? You’ll need to go somewhere else. Want a quick beverage, sandwich or snack ? Then step right in. It’s been a café since 1929.
Cafè Imperio
After our lunch, we took a walk along the main street and just watched the traffic back up. The problem stemmed from the number of buses dropping off and picking up groups of people. The people seemed oblivious to the fact that they were the reason for the traffic as they made their way slowly onto their buses.
To get away from some of the chaos, we walked down to the dock area and found a bench in a small park to wait for our boat.
The boat cruise we chose was a two hour tour and included a glass of port wine. The weather and the water were idyllic, but I still worried about a ‘three hour tour, a three hour cruise’.
Our boat left right on schedule and off we went. No intricate waterways, just up the river and then back down. Along the way we passed by some beautiful terraced vineyards, some wonderful Quintas (Estates), saw the huge vineyards of some big name Port producers like Dow, Croft and Graham’s and saw some vineyards that were overgrown with weeds or plowed under as a result of phylloxera replanting.
Peruse the photos and enjoy the tour…
Our Douro Tour in pictures
As you can see, the scenery was lovely, the day was nice and we enjoyed ourselves.
After our boat tour, we had about an hour before the train came, so we stopped back at Café Imperio for a glass of rosé to pass the time away.
Just before our train arrived, the classic early 1900’s train appeared. It’s an old fashioned steam-engined train that only runs on weekends. There are people in period costumes who entertain the passengers at each stop along their route. It was fun to see both the train and entertainers.
The steam train.
The welcoming song
Once we were on our way, the ride home was pleasant enough. We eventually arrived back in Porto and were ready to clean up and relax for the evening.
However, there was some kind of divine intervention that delayed us from getting home. We would be hard pressed to explain why these things happen, but we walked right by a gelato shop and couldn’t pass it up.
Two scoops of pistachio for Sue and one pistachio and one dark chocolate for me helped to align the spirit world.
It’s taken us a couple of days, but I think we’ve caught up on our sleep.
Our adventure has started out as strolls down our street and around the local area. There are lots of little shops nearby, plus a plethora of street buskers throughout the day.
There are a few really good ones that we have stopped to listen to. For those people performing down our street, we can just open up our balcony doors and listen. Then there are the moderately talented ones, who we give a listen to while walking by. Lastly, there are the “walk the other way” people who we don’t hear much of – because we walked the other way!
It is nice to see people crowding around and tipping the musicians, as they do provide enjoyable entertainment.
Our first couple of excursions have been towards the Sao Bento Train Station. It’s right at the end of our street and is always crowded with rail passengers and with tourists.
The tourists visit to see the beautiful tile artwork on the walls and ceiling of the lobby. The blue and white tiles are known as azulejo tiles and are found in many places around the city and the country. In the station, they depict historical scenes as well as some decorative rail motifs.
Azulejo tile artwork at Sao Bento train station.
We’ll get to see plenty more of them as we travel around and I’ll include some more pictures.
There is construction going on everywhere around the city, which makes the sidewalks even busier. The major projects are some new metro stations that are causing traffic jams and making it more difficult to cross the street.
One of our excursions was to the train station to buy our tickets for Saturday’s journey to the Douro Valley. Since our train leaves at 8:20 AM, we didn’t want to have to get up any earlier than necessary. The gentleman at the ticket counter was very laid back and Sue was able to complete the transaction in mostly Portuguese.
For our second excursion of the day, we ‘scoped out’ a restaurant for Thursday evening’s dinner. We did a lot of excess walking trying to locate it. The map apps all showed that it was very close to the side of the train station, however, we could not find it. After walking around for a while and climbing scaffolding covered sidewalks; plus walking up inclines that certainly shouldn’t be expected of humans, we resorted to asking someone in a nearby shop if they could direct us to it only to find that it is actually IN the train station. Well, didn’t we feel dumb.
Needless to say, the return trip in the evening was pretty quick and we were glad that we didn’t give up our search. The restaurant is called ‘Tapabento’ and we loved it. If you think about going, do make a reservation ahead of time. Those that didn’t waited in a line that wound its way out the door and into the train station.
Tapabento
The restaurant has a variety of small and large plates that you can share. Everything from Cod Croquettes to steaks and duck. If you can’t find something you like, then you’re really not hungry. Seriously!
Just a peek into the restaurant.
We enjoyed our meals, had fun with our server and took in the action all around us. It was great!
We started with an order of Cod Croquettes, that were delicious. Not too salty or fishy tasting.
No Dolly Parton jokes allowed.
Sue then had the grilled prawns in a Thai Broth, while I had the roasted duck breast with a hoison sauce. We also went crazy and ordered some garlic and herb bread – to dip in the sauces, of course.
We thought we were done with the addition of a bottle of Portuguese Rosè. However, our server convinced us that dessert was needed, so Sue had a fruit combo called “I didn’t want the fruit salad” and I had a Chocolate trifle, that I just called “Yum”.
Feeling very sated and happy, we took a nice slow walk back to the apartment and hunkered in for the evening.
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Friday morning rolled around and we had another beautiful weather day ahead. In fact, the forecast for our entire time in Porto is sunny, no rain and high temperatures in the upper 70’s to low 80’s. Sounds perfect!
We had a special lunch planned today at a restaurant called “Costume Bistro”. The restaurant is located up in the financial district and we were looking forward to going, as we’d heard good things about it.
We walked over and once again couldn’t find the restaurant. Though this time we came much closer – we found their sister restaurant. One of the young ladies actually walked us over to the intended venue. It was just around the block, but down an alley way that we had originally walked by. She handed us off to the staff and we thanked her profusely.
A hidden gem.
The staff welcomed us in and seated us in the nearly empty dining room and we wondered if we had made a mistake. However, within fifteen minutes, the joint was hopping.
Lucky for us, the waiter had chatted with us a bit and taken our order before the deluge. First up was a bottle of red wine from the Douro region. It was recommended by our waiter and went well with our meals.
Vinho Tinto from the Douro
For starters, Sue had mushroom ravioli with a pesto broth and shaved Parmesan cheese, while I had shrimp rolls with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. We both enjoyed them very much
Mushroom ravioliShrimp rolls w/ sweet and sour dip.
For our main course, Sue went with a Shrimp and Mussel risotto, and I chose the Mixed mushroom risotto.
Shrimp and mussel risottoMushroom risotto
Another fine set of choices as both dishes were delicious. Delicious, but also filling, as dessert would only be a fleeting thought today. How sad!
We lingered to finish our wine and just as when we arrived, the place emptied quickly leaving only us and another table. The waiter stopped back over to be dazzled by our knowledge of Portuguese….yeah, right…he brought the check. After paying, we set off back to the apartment to change into more comfortable clothes.
While relaxing with the windows open, listening to a few street performers, we both ended up dozing for a while. The good news is we hadn’t scheduled anything, so no plans were thrown off.
We worked on a few upcoming details and uploaded some photos in advance of tomorrow’s Douro trip. Deciding that neither of us was very hungry, we opted to stay in and head to bed early since we had to get up early.
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Someone suggested that I make all the pictures bigger. However, you can enlarge them by clicking on them.
For the first time in a long time we had flight issues. Let me share our travel day “fun”.
Everything started out great. The Airport Transfer arrived fifteen minutes early and off we went. When we arrived at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge to enter Canada, there was only one car ahead of us in line. I don’t ever remember there being no traffic whatsoever to cross the bridge. We cruised up to Pearson Airport in Toronto and stepped into the terminal exactly two hours after leaving the house. Awesome!
Awesome, except it was too early to check in, even to drop our luggage. They had a pleasant area to sit in the priority area and we did – for three hours. Ugh!
When the time rolled around, we checked in and then actually zipped through security. From there, we headed to the Air Canada Signature Lounge.
Our flight was scheduled to take off at 10:50 PM, so we would have plenty of time to relax and enjoy a little dinner.
When we arrived at the lounge, there was a waiting line to get in, unusual, but understandable. There are lots of overnights flights to Europe.
By the time we entered to get seated, our flight was showing a delay. We’d now be leaving at 11:10 PM. No worries, twenty minutes can be made up with a good tail wind.
As we were eating, the time changed again. Now we’d be leaving at 11:40 PM. I was getting messages and emails, all saying the same thing: there was a need to change planes and they were waiting on the new one. Since there was nothing we could do, we chose to finish our meal and just take it in stride.
Another notice, now it would be 12:00, then another 12:30 and finally the new time 1:15 AM. Well, ain’t that something.
But that’s not the whole of the story. The new plane would be smaller than the original and would not include a Business Class section. They would call us up to get a new boarding pass once they sorted through things. As they were shuffling around the cabin, we were getting text messages saying we would be in row 3, then row 30, then row 33. When our names were called, we were in rows 3 and 4, but at least we were in Premium Economy.
Air Canada says that there will be a refund for the difference in ticket prices. Wanna bet it’s a discount voucher?
Once we boarded, Sue and another woman swapped, then swapped with another woman and got me and a first round draft choice. So all six of us were able to sit together with our spouses.
Oh, and the flight, smooth and fine. Not as comfortable without the business class seats, but we’re here and we’re safe and happy.
Our Daytrip driver – Agnelo – was waiting for us at the Lisbon Airport when we arrived. I had let him know that we would be delayed and he was monitoring the flight time. He would be driving us up to Porto where we will start our adventure.
The ride was comfortable and took about 3 hours, including a rest stop about half way. Along the way, Agnelo talked with us about places to see and things to do, cultural issues, history, and a variety of other topics. He was so engaging that the time just flew by.
We have used Daytrip quite a few times in France, Italy and now Portugal. In all cases, the drivers were excellent and we were very satisfied with the service provided.
We are staying in an apartment from Torel 1884 Suites & Apartments. Since we’re here for eight days, we thought it would be more convenient to be able to come and go as we please and have a little more freedom to spread out. We have a studio apartment that feels cozy and has plenty of room. We’re located on a street with lots of places to browse or shop, grab a bite or grab a drink, plus we’re close to everything. We can easily walk to all the major attractions, as well as the train station in less than ten minutes.
Torel 1884 – Apt #1
Our first dinner was at a restaurant called Cantinho do Avillez. Since we figured we might be a little worn out from traveling, we played it safe and stayed close to home. We enjoyed our meals after laughing our way through the ordering process in Portuguese. That said, the wait staff were very kind and encouraging. They all spoke perfect English, so they guided us along when we stumbled and filled in the blanks when we needed help with our Portuguese.
We started with a glass of sparkling Rosè to toast to our adventure ahead. Then Sue and I shared an order of marinated scallops that were delicious. For our mains, Sue had veal cheeks with a mushroom risotta and parmesan, while I had duck confit with curried rice. We both had a glass of red wine from the Douro region that paired with our meals. Oh yeah….and I might have snuck in a piece of chocolate cake to finish off the evening.
We finished our day with a stroll back to the apartment. The stroll is up a small street that is at a 37 degree angle. There was no skipping and singing on this stroll – but we survived!
Tonight will be an early night and tomorrow we will explore.
All the planning is done and all the reservations have been made and confirmed, so it’s Go Time!
Now we are watching the weather reports to try and figure out what to bring along. It looks like we’ll see temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s during the day and around 60 in the evening. That would be Fahrenheit, in case you were wondering. It could be rainy or windy or sunshiny.
The real question is how much rain will we see. Everybody says wear comfortable shoes for walking, but the new wrinkle is that they also need to provide good traction on slick surfaces. Imagine that, steep streets that are paved with cobblestones that are slippery when wet.
My solution is to take transportation on rainy days. I have this picture in my mind of slipping and rolling down a hilly street until I plunk into the Douro or Tagus River. Apparently my childhood imagination was tainted by watching cartoons. Who knew?
Caution – Slippery When Wet
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We did decide to book a shuttle up to Toronto’s Pearson Airport. We figured it would just make things easier both going and returning. The shuttle will pick us up and then drop us off at home, which was the real scale-tipper. Parking for a month sure seemed like wasted money, so what the heck. I’ll let you know how that goes in case anyone else is interested in the future.
Anyway, travel time is near and we can’t wait. After all the years of traveling, there is always excitement when flying off to a new destination. It’s not an Indiana Jones type adventure, but an adventure nonetheless.
Our next update will be from our apartment in Porto. Hope you’ll come along.
The summer whirlwind continues. We’re home from NYC and we had a great time. We had a lot of fun with our friends – Donna and George. We saw a couple of baseball games, we did a little touring, and we did a little eating.
First, our friends: It’s been a few years since we last visited, so it was a combination reunion and get-together. I think they may have flipped a coin to see who got stuck with us, but I digress. George officially had us for baseball and Donna had us for the off-day and dinners. Though we talk regularly, it is still special to see them in person. There is always something to talk and laugh about.
We flew to NYC on JetBlue. The price was right and they really do have the best legroom in economy class – comfortable enough for an hour’s worth of flying without having to pay premiums.
Our hotel was in Brooklyn and only a block and a half from their house, so it was easy to take a stroll to meet up to go out. The Nu Hotel was nice and it only took a night to get used to the city sounds at bedtime. There were sirens and car horns as compared to the occasional squirrel dropping acorns and running across the roof at home.
Nu Hotel – Brooklyn
The baseball games were fun. We would have preferred to see two wins, but it’s Yankee Stadium and we hit .500. We had great seats for both games, got to see some of our favorite players and even saw some former Yankees in the Old-Timers Festivities. I even got to learn a few new words that I hadn’t associated with baseball prior to going – just have to love those Yankee fans!
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On our first evening, we ate dinner near the hotel at French Louie. It’s a nice little place a half block from the hotel and as the weather was nice, we were able to sit outside on the patio. The food is French leaning and we had a wonderful meal. We started with Gougères and a glass of Sancerre wine that appropriately whet our appetites. For our meals, Sue had roasted chicken, while I had the steak frites. We enjoyed a nice bottle of Bourgogne Rouge with our meals. Sue passed on dessert, while I had to try the Bananas Foster Profiteroles with a glass of sauternes – they were very good! It was a great way to start off the trip.
Dinner at French Louie
Thursday, the Yankees played the Cleveland Indians… sorry…Cleveland Guardians. It was a warm day with bright sunshine. Even with sunscreen, we were cooked to a reddish hue. However, a good game and cool water made for a great day.
Sunshine in the Bronx, Aaron hits HR number 49 and celebrates.
After the baseball game, we hopped an Uber and went to dinner in the Bronx. We took the long way, thanks to our driver Jalal and tour docent George. We started up the Grand Concourse, eventually making it over to Arthur Avenue. Arthur Avenue is the heart of “Little Italy” in the Bronx and is lined with Italian restaurants, markets, bakeries and shops.
We ate at F&J’s Pine Restaurant on Bronxdale Avenue and had a wonderful and filling meal. The mere thought of cannoli and “Boom”… I would have exploded. No red sauce from a jar there. Afterward, we took an Uber back to Brooklyn to digest and rest after a long day. The ride back to the hotel was magical. The nighttime sparkling lights of Manhattan and Queens reflected in the river. NYC at it’s beautiful best.
Friday was our “off day”. No baseball game; just a little relaxation. With a sore back, walking around wasn’t going to be in the works. So we took a little walk to grab some lunch, but pretty much just chilled during the day.
Friday evening all four of us went to dinner at Piccola Cucina Casa. It’s not far from where we were staying and is a newer Sicilian Restaurant. The food was delicious, as was the conversation. Lots of good belly laughs.
Cue Billy Joel – It’s a scene from an Italian Restaurant.
Saturday was old timers day at the ball park. That has nothing to do with our ages, but rather the former Yankee players that come to town to be recognized by the fans. This was the 76th Old Timers Day and they were recognizing the 2009 World Series Championship team, plus there were a few honored guests that were invited, including the wives of former Yankees Billy Martin, Thurmon Munson and Bobby Murcer.
If you are a baseball fan, you’ll recognize names such as Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, AJ Burnett, Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter. Among the invitees were Bucky Dent, Paul O’Neill, John Flaherty, David Cone, Willie Randolph, CC Sabathia, Joe Girardi, Joe Torre, “El Duque” and Lou Piniella.
Michael Kay did the introductions, and then Suzyn Waldman and Joe Girardi led the Q&A session. The guys were all hyped to participate and the fans loved getting a chance to see some of their favorites from years gone by. It really was quite special to take a stroll down memory lane.
Once the old timers festivities finished up, the day’s game began. The Yankees played the Colorado Rockies and it did not go well. On the bright side, we still got to see the Yankees in person and enjoyed each other’s company on a beautiful day.
The bats were not doing their job against the Rockies
For our final evening in Brooklyn, we went easy at a small neighborhood restaurant called the Mile End Deli. It was a fun way to wrap things up without overeating. We had some excellent smoked meats, matzo ball soup and pierogis between us and I had my first Dr. Brown’s Creme Soda in ages!
And then, in the blink of an eye, it was time to head home.
We had great flights, great meals, watched live baseball and enjoyed the company of great friends. I’d call that a “great getaway”.
Since the summer isn’t going fast enough, we’re planning to visit our friends in Brooklyn and take in a couple of Yankees games. Just a little something to squeeze in before heading to Portugal.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen our friends, so we thought it might be fun to pay them a visit. It just so happens that the Yankees are in town while we will be there (like that didn’t happen on purpose).
I took a quick look at flights, hotels and ticket prices to see what was available. I soon remembered why we thought visiting Europe was much more cost effective.
Anyway, the first thing we did was check for tickets. We hoped that we could catch day games if they were available and luckily we found a spot in the schedule with two day games. The cool part is that the games are against different teams. I can add to my list of teams I’ve seen in person by one more team.
We picked a Thursday afternoon game against the Cleveland Guardians and a Saturday afternoon game against the Colorado Rockies. As it turns out, the Saturday game is on Old-Timers’ day. It should be fun seeing some of the stars from the past.
Yankee Stadium Seating Chart – we were in Sec 122 & Sec 117B
We scored some decent seats, so we’re looking forward to the games. We’ll be going with our friend, George, so I’m hoping he’ll like the seats too.
Next came the airfare. I was somewhat disappointed by the choices of flights, but we found a couple direct flights that will get us there and back home at ok times. This is our first domestic flight in a while and it is quite annoying to be charged extra for everything. Want to select your seats? That’s a fee. Want to sit up front? That’s an extra fee. Want to board earlier? Yep, that’s an extra fee. I digress…so we have our tickets.
And then came the hotel. We have stayed in actual palaces and luxury hotels in France and Italy for much less than a hotel in NYC. I’ll just move on and say we found a hotel that will be perfect for a few nights. The Nu Hotel is in Brooklyn and is near to our friends and close to a subway station.
Nothing fancy, just a pleasant visit with friends. Isn’t that what life’s all about?
Slightly Whirled - A Traveler's Tales 