Koffee, Kings, and Kastles!

After our adventures in and around Porto, we headed north into the heartland of Portugal. Lots of beautiful scenery. Farms, forestry, and pueblos. Very green. Bella and I were beginning to develop a relationship. Every once in a while, I would notice soft breathing in my left ear. The dog has the whole back of the car, and she lays her head on the seat next to my shoulder! She was great company the entire trip.

We left Porto with no real plans except to head north!

I think Bella liked me. Kim is snuggling up to the three
suitcases stacked to her left.

We stopped for coffee (there was a minor panic by the driver and navigator if we weren't in a small town between 11:30 and 12:00 to find a place to have a cafe con leche) in a small town. I can't remember the name of the place, but it was a cute little hole in the wall. The proprietor was very friendly, and upon or order of coffee, he launched into quite a process. It would be difficult to describe, but I was struck by the production he was making out of brewing four coffees. Later Angelinas mentioned that "He made it to complicated!" It was good however.

Viola asked the barkeep about the town of Guimaraes. She had noticed a small symbol indicating there was a castle there. She was curious, and it was in our general direction of choice. He got very enthusiastic, and indicated that it was a capital of some sort, and gave us directions: "sempre frente!" (straight ahead!) and we were off!

I think we only had to have the directions refreshed a few times before we came to Guimaraes. It's a pretty good sized town, and we figured it was some sort of regional capital (like a county seat). We followed the signs that had a picture of a castle and arrows up a small hill, and into a beautiful park-like area. There it was, a medieval castle! It was very imposing, and I thought about how handy it would be to be on the inside rather than the outside during a battle.

A medieval castle! 

Very imposing walls, and built on solid rock (granite I think).

We enter the gates!

The view from inside.

Viola couldn't resist running up to the parapets and checking
for an invading host!

This little chapel was next to the castle. It was restored
several hundred years ago.

 It turns out that this place is known as the "Cradle of Portugal". It seems that a noble (son of the Queen) named Afonso Henrique (think back to St George's castle) put together a coalition of other nobles who desired independence from the Spanish kingdom of Leon. They fought a great battle near this castle (which was hundreds of years old and in major disrepair at the time) in 1128. it is known as the Battle of Sao Mamede, and Afonso's victory over his mother was the beginning of an independent country of Portugal. By 1139 Afonso was recognized (by Portuguese people at least) as the first King of independent Portugal, and he rebuilt the castle. It served as the Royal Residence until around 1200. Walking through the castle you could feel the history.

I couldn't resist running up and knocking on the door to the castle!

This statue of King Afonso Henrique is just below
the castle. It was donated by Brazil to the Portuguese
people.

Afonso Henrique, the "Father of Portugal".

 After our castle tour, we sat in the shade in the parking lot eating cheese, picos (dried bread sticks) and sipping Rioja (Spanish red wine). Today had been another one of those serendipitous days where you find something you are not looking for. It was an amazing discovery, and an amazing day.

Viola and Bella rest in the shade.

Bread, wine and cheese! does it get any better?

We are off to find a place to spend the night.
I wonder where we will end up?

However, more surprises were to come before the sun set. We had no reservations, and a dog in the back seat. We were trusting to providence that we would find some place that took dogs. The day certainly started off lucky, maybe the ghost of Afonso Henrique would watch over us?

That's All!

We Hit the Highway!

The Rotary Convention ended on Wednesday the 26th, and Kim and I checked out of our hotel all packed and ready to go! The crew from La Roda (Viola, "A" and Bella, the "Grand-dogger") arrived with our rented coche (car) and we struggled to get all of our stuff in it. The rental place said they had a larger one, and then when the girls showed up, the one they had was NOT. The dog's kennel essentially took all of the luggage space, and since we had 3 suitcases, they rode in the back seat with Kim and I. We left the driving and navigating to our two Europeans!

The view as we left Lisboa.

 So, crammed into the back seat with Kim in the middle, me on the right and the suitcases on the left we were off for Porto. I gotta say that Bella had the best seat in the car! Lots of leg room and a VERY nice bed to cuddle up with.

Bella snuggles under her bed. She definitely had the best seat!

It was a long leg to get there in one day (325 km) so we took the toll road, and "A" put her foot in it. We made good time, although the toll road was expensive, over 20 Euros! That is a toll of around $25! Probably cost more than the gas we used. Viola the Navigator was good, but had to stop and ask directions quite often (Vasco De Gamma didn't have that luxury!). Usually the directions seemed to go on forever, and then we would make a couple of turns and stop to ask someone else.

Viola the Navigator returns to the car after getting
directions to the hotel from a local. She seems to be
thinking things over.

 We found our hotel after only a little help. We checked in, and signed on for two nights. It was a nice little place with a pleasant patio, and an Arabic motif. After getting settled we went in search of........ FOOD! What else?

The entrance to our hotel, "Porto Riad Guest House"

I was glad to get out of the car and into the room. Can you tell?

The view out our window down onto the nice patio.

This was the breakfast bar.

The city is built on a hill, and of course our hotel was near the top. This meant that we had to descend to the land of food and touring, then climb back up the hill (after a few beers, maybe a glass of wine, and too much great food) to our room afterward. easier said than done.

Highlights of our visit were the Rio Douro, more urban blight, food, the beach (on our second day!) and our cool little hotel!

We start down the hill to "Food Land".

We arrive at "Food Land".

Viola the Navigator got us to a beautiful beach with little problems on the second day. There was a restaurant bar right on the sand, and after heating up a bit, and throwing the ball for Bella, we decided to have a Cervecita. After a couple of cold ones, Kim went to order another pair, and mistakenly ordered four! So, we called for help, and ended up ordering our lunch there! The best seafood we have ever eaten, bar none!!

We found a beautiful beach near Porto.

Bella and I had lots of fun the entire vacation with this
little "Pelota"

I was skeptical that these barnacles would taste any good,
but they did!

Angelinas squeezes lemon on our boiled clams.

There was definitely a lot of technique to eating the barnacles!

The skewered and barbecued squid was amazing!

 When we got back to Porto, we headed down the hill again to explore (and eat of course!). We found the Rio Douro. It was beautiful. We wandered around seeing the sights, and eventually ended up at a restaurant with a buffet that was good, but after our seafood almuerzo, it was pretty forgetable

The Rio Douro (Duero where it originates in Spain)

We didn't stay at the Quality Inn, but we had a "QUALITY" time!

Tile fascades are very common and distinctive in Portugal.
Where they are maintained, they are beautiful. The
Portuguese love colors! 

More urban blight. This building is for sale. Portugal
doesn't seem like a place that is attracting much capital.
Note the sign calling for a general strike. Protesting over requirements
for their bailout by the EU. Hmmmmmm.

We headed back to our room, and turned in, exhausted after the long uphill pull. We would continue our journey on the morrow. To be continued!

That's All!

The Big Night!

One of the traditions in our Rotary District 5190 is that the District Governor hosts a gathering at the International Convention for all of the District Rotarians that have traveled there. This year Kim was in charge of planning this event, and WOW what a great job she did! All over the internet and via email, she set up a reception with tapas at a Lisbon bar called "Irish and Company" that was right on the waterfront very near the convention center. The plan then was to grab a taxi and head to the Castle Sao Jorge (Saint George the Dragon Slayer) where we would all dine together at a fine restaurant called "Casa do Leao" (The Lion's House) that was located inside the castle! The big event was planned on the 25th, Tuesday night and as it drew nearer, we both started getting a little nervous. "Where will the taxis pick us up? What if there is no room at the bar? etc. etc.

Well, it all went perfectly and here's how! Irish and Company had a nice outdoor seating area and we got there just in time for happy hour. We had cerveza, vino, mojitos, you name it. Kim ordered enough tapas to spread around, and believe me: Rotarians know what to do when food and drink is available!

We started our evening at the Irish and Company pub near
the convention center and our hotel. On the left are Vic and
Kathie Slaughter, with Steve Spiller and Martha Eisenhower
on the right.

Kim enjoys some conversation with several District 5190
Rotarians who started the evening out upstairs. We all quickly
 retreated to the patio however.

We just kept adding tables as folks arrived. Pretty soon
we darn near owned the joint!

At 19:00 we had the folks from the pub call a taxi company and order cabs for the group. It turned out that the pick up point was only about 75 feet from our tables! As folks climbed in and headed out, it quickly became apparent that we were going to run out of cabs! No problem! With the help of a couple of the drivers, we hailed a couple of more and Kim and I climbed into the last cab to leave for the Castle.

Our cabs line up right behind the bar. We ended up two short and
had to hail another pair with the help of a couple of the drivers.

DGE (now DG) Vicki Puliz, Martha Eisenhower, and Carol Hatch
snuggle together in the back seat of a cab.

The first fortifications on the hill where the castle sits were constructed by the Romans about the time of Christ. The Moors built the main castle in the 10th century and occupied it until Afonso Henrique led an army of European knights to drive out the Moors and take the castle in 1147. Essentially the castle has been in use continuously for all this time! It was damaged substantially during the big quake, but rebuilt. In fact, it has been rebuilt and restored many times. The statue of Afonso Henrique in the court yard of the castle was donated by the city of Porto in 1947.

As we arrived at the castle, there was one small hitch. The castle is a National Park and requires a ticket to enter. We had to go to the ticket office and get a note that we had reservations at Casa Do Leao for 40 before the guard would let us enter. I guess it was easier for us to get in than Afonso's knights anyway!!

Here we took a group shot in front of a monument dedicated to
 Afonso Henriquez (he is the one with the sword) who led the
successful attack on the castle driving the Moors out in 1147.

We head up a sloping cobblestone court yard towads the restaurant.
The parapet of the castle is to the right and looks over the city  and
the Tagaus River

Ferries on the Tagaus River as viewed from the Castle's walls.
Imagine looking out and seeing Vasco De Gamma's Fleet of
Discovery heading out to circumnavigate the globe!

Rod and Susan Fivelstad pose in the late afternoon sun. Rod
was instrumental in promoting the Conventions and certainly
getting the word out about this event! 

By this time Kim and I were very relaxed and having a great time!

Once inside the restaurant, we knew we were in for a treat. The room was beautiful with an incredible brick arched ceiling that must have been hundreds of years old. We had our choice of two entrees: a codfish casserole, and a chicken pasta dish. Both were excellent. Wine was poured all around, and everyone had a marvelous time.

Casa Do Leao!

Richard Forster and his wife Laurie pose (at Kim's request of course)
to look like the ceramic tile artwork on the wall behind them.

A waiter replenishes the vino for Dick and Carol Hatch.

Jim O'Brien, one of my great Presidents, proposes a toast.
The arched brick ceiling is hundreds of years old!

It's my turn to toast. Look at the skyline of Lisboa through the
window behind me!

My toast is to the next District Governor.....Vicki Puliz!

After dinner, we exited the restaurant to the beautiful sight of Lisboa at night. The view, in the cool night breeze was truly magical. The restaurant once again arranged for a fleet of cabs to carry us back to our hotel. Once again we were short of taxis, but we had one of the drivers radio in an order for two additional before he took off. We had to shoulder out a group of Germans who had eyes on our cabs, but other than that, all went smoothly.

As we left the restaurant, the view was beautiful, magical actually!

Here we wait for our Taxis and the ride back to our hotel.
What a great evening! 

Back at the Hotel Tryp Oriente, Kim and I basked in the satisfaction of a night well planned and executed AND enjoyed! Actually, I basked, but Kim deserves ALL of the credit for putting this wonderful night together as the "capstone" to my year as District Governor. Abrigado Sweetheart!

That's All!