I got back to Newberg Wednesday Oct. 28. I enjoyed seeing the fall leaves and sent in my ballot. I also had the beginnings of a bad cold. By Friday Oct. 30 I went to a Providence Express Clinic and got some meds. Sat. morning Oct. 31 my neighbors drove me to the airport and I had a 5+ hour flight to Atlanta and then a 15+ hour flight to Johannesburg.
This morning I checked out ot our hotel in Porto and my high school classmate, Donna, and I got a taxi to the the train station in Porto. We took a high sped train to Lisbon which took about 2 hours and 45 min. It was a very comfortable trip. We had reserved a hotel in Lisbon that was a 6 min. walk from the train station. The train station in Lisbon was not an accessible one. The elevators didn't work and on some levels there were no escalators. We made it slowly down the steps to street level and managed not to drop any luggage. We ate dinner at one of the many restaurants in the food court at a nearby mall. The upper level had nice views.
This is what our boat looked like. We went to where we could see the mouth of the river as it flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
Here are some sites we saw- a cathedral, tiled walls of the train station, and street scenes.
Livraria Lello book store was established in 1906. It has stood in the heart of Porto as a place where literature, art and architecture come together to celebrate the power of ideas. Recognized worldwide as the World’s Most Beautiful Bookshop, It is one of Portugal’s most iconic cultural landmarks and a symbol of the city’s creative spirit. It costs 18 Euros just to enter and there are timed tickets. We were able to sneak a peak and take a quick photo from the entryway.
After driving through the Douro wine region and crossing the Douro River we arrived at the Quinta da Pacheca Winery for a tour and lunch.
I think of Newberg and Dundee as wine county but the Douro Valley has all the hillsides filled with vineyards. Some o the vines were planted on such steep hillsides it looked like any worker could easily fall off the hillside.
Our lunch had four courses and we were served 3 different types of wine. It was a lovely visit and it was so nice to be outside in wonderful weather.
There were resident goats who had their own goat tower and peacocks.
We checked out of our hotel this morning but spent more in around Figueira do Foz. Our first stop was the farmers' market. The fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers made me wish I was not traveling and could buy some to enjoy.
Next we stopped at a small grade 1-4 elementary school. Road Scholar provides some support for this school. It is a public school and we had time observe one class that was having an online sign language class. We were also able to meet with the teachers and learn a little about the public education system in Portugal.
After checking into our hotel in Porto we took a short walk around the area closest to our hotel. One building had beautiful tiles on the facade.
We visited the Universidad do Coimbra that was founded in 1290 and offficially chartered by King Denis on 1 March 1290 It was recognized by Pope Nicholas IV on 9 August 1290. It is the oldest university in Portugal and one of the world's oldest in continuous operations, having begun operations in Lisbon before moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The building were impressive both outside and inside.
Inside of the chapel. The original library that can still be used for research.
Central Square of the university.
We attended another Fado music performance. After visiting the University was had a walking tour of Coimbra.
