Tuesday and we off to the Mateus Palace. This is the place where the rosé wine we all drank a long time ago comes from. Remember the bottle that is squat and round? Kind of like the WWI canteens the solders use to carry? The bottles show the Palace – designed by an Italian-born architect and built in the 18th Century.
Classic Mateus wine bottle
Well, that’s the place. The baroque masterpiece is NOT where the wine is made anymore but still a beautiful spot to visit. We had been here on our first trip to Portugal so we opted to skip the guided tour of the interior and went straight to the gardens.
However, just incase you want to know what the place looks like there are a few pictures and some general facts for your reading enjoyment. Surrounding the palace is a fantasy of a garden, with tiny boxwood hedges; prim statues and a fragrant cypress tunnel that’s blissfully cool on even the hottest days. This is where we headed immediately upon arrival.
This is the view you get as you approach the Palace. The “lake” is not very big but gives a nice separation between the Palace and the approach road.The granite wings shelter a lichen-encrusted forecourt dominated by an ornate stairway and guarded by rooftop statues.
The back of the house at the Fountain.The Chapel and steeple is lovely.More boxwood in the lower garden.The boxwood was very well cared for and trimmed to perfection.Janeen doesn’t recall seeing any persimmon tree this big.Janeen pointing out all the fruit on this huge persimmon tree.Janeen with that strange plant again.This strange plant, in the garden, seemed like it was producing ‘popcorn’. The white buds were that shape. No clue what it was.There were apples, pears and other fruit trees – not being well cared for but clearly doing OK on their own.Maintenance – that’s the key here. I couldn’t maintain this that’s for sure.A nice fountain as the focal point on the upper garden.
Here’s our boat and home for a week on the Douro River.So far, after being on the road now for 3 months, she hasn’t pushed me off the edge of the cliff!
After spending quality time in the garden we joined up with the group and boarded the bus for the return trip to the Boat.
Porto, the city on the right bank of the Douro River and the starting point of our actual river cruise, is considered to be the second largest city in Portugal after Lisbon – but that is only if you include all the surrounding areas as many of the “locals” have moved out for better housing, leaving the interior of the city with a lot of empty buildings. Our boat, the Queen Isabel was docked on the Gaia side of the river (the left bank – the Douro separates the cities of Porto and Gaia).
Lovely city, Porto.
Our first full day, after getting all settled in to our cabin, was a walking tour of the City. Janeen, fighting off a cold, stayed ‘home’ to rest and I took the adventure trail with the group doing the “do as locals do” which is the phrase they use for the more active walking tour.
The City is very picturesque and offers any number of beautiful sites to see.
The bridge across the river – one of 5 or so.
Our trip included a walk across the steel Dom Luis I Bridge. This double deck bridge with light rail and pedestrians at the top and general traffic and pedestrians on the lower deck was designed, in part by Gustave Eiffel and built in the late 1800’s. From there it was a short climb to the Porto cathedral.
Cathedral from the courtyard in front.The Cathedral alter.Outside the CathedralStatue at the Church
The Cathedral sits on the highest point and has a commanding view of the City.
This was our trolley arriving about 30 minutes late.The Driver moves the seat and controls from one end to the other to operate the tram.
From there we took a short walk to catch the local tram – not really a local’s thing to do as it is very slow and not running on schedule often. It seems all the trams came from the United States sometime during the 1940’s.
The Train station was a treat – with wonderful tile murals on the walls depicting the history of the country.
The inside of the train station – wonderful tile murals on the walls
Walking though the City was enjoyable. We visited parts of the City we (Janeen and I) had not visited in our visit 10 years ago. It is sad, however, to see all the empty buildings as many are in poor condition waiting for someone to come with lots of money to fix them up.
One of the many streets we walked along.Many buildings have beautiful tile on the outside.Roof tops and streets – lovelyAnother of the narrow streets of Porto.
After the tour, we got back to the boat for various beverages and a discussion by the cruise director on the upcoming events for the trip. Tomorrow, Tuesday, we start heading up river!
Janeen, Richard, Patricia, Shelly, Kelly, Jerry, Gloria and me. Our dinner group on Monday – we had a great time together.
Sunday we packed everything up and loaded on the bus to head to Porto to board the boat for the river portion of the UniWorld adventure. However, after stopping for lunch we went to visit the Library at the University of Coimbra. This is one of the oldest universities in Europe having started in the 1290 in Lisbon and moved a coupe of times until it reached a final location in Coimbra 1537.
Our guide explaining what the University Student wears and the history of all its parts. These robes were the model for the Harry Potter books.The front steps of the old King’s Palace now used for classrooms and offices.The front door of the library.
Our main stop was the old library. This was built between 1717 and 1728; it is one of the exponents of the Baroque Portuguese and one of the richest European libraries. It consists of three floors: it was completed in 1728 began receiving the first books after 1750, and currently its collection comprises some 40,000 volumes. Richly decorated in the Baroque style it was an interesting site.
Shot looking through the library to the end. Basically three different rooms with two levels of books in each.The ladder in place on the second level.The end of the library with a painting of the founding King.One of the side rooms of the library.
Main alter of the Capela de Saint Miguel
After the Library we paid a short visit to the to the Capela de Saint Miguel. The original chapel most likely dates from the 16th Century and the decorations clearly show that influence.
The organist has to crawl into the organ from underneath from the back side to be able to play the thing.
The organ, mounted between two windows, is really way oversized for the space. The chapel is still used for worship and other ceremonies’
Capela de Saint Miguel Virgin Saint statue
After the visit to the University we completed our drive to Porto and boarded the Queen Isabella.
The City of Porto taken from our patio on the boat. This is looking up the river.
Saturday was an excursion to two different places – the Palace of Queluz and the Palace of Sintar. First stop was the Palace of Queluz.
This was one of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europe, the palace was conceived as a summer retreat for Dom Pedro of Bragaza, later to become husband and then king consort to his own niece, Queen Maria I.
Work on the palace began in 1747 and was used for a number of years but after 1826 it slowly fell from favor. In 1908 it became property of the state. Over the years it has had fires, earthquake damage and lack of maintenance. Recently there has been a series of restorations undertaken to return it to its original condition.
This was the public entrance side of the Palace of Queluz.
We entered from the “public” side of the building, the not so formal face that is presented to the City and toured a number of different rooms. Our guide, Isabel (part of the UniWorld crew) gave great information about the furniture, designs of the rooms and historical events that occurred in the spaces.
The Ballroom at QueluzThe private alter in the Capela at QueluzQueluz Empire BedroomQueluz King’s BedroomPrincess Maria roomPrincess Maria roomsQueluz Queen’s BoudoirQueluz – The Sala de Mangas decorated with tile panels illustrating the wealth of Portugal’s coloniesJaneen checking out the decorations
The Music Room. Portrait of Maria I hangs above the pianoTorch room
Lovely garden but only about 1/3 of what was there. The rest is under renovation.
After the interior tour we went through the gardens (always a highlight for Janeen) and back to the bus for our next Palace.
Janeen liked this statueLive Monkey’s were around the garden and memorialized in the garden fountainsNeptune fountainBacchus in the gardenThe guide book for Sintra
The Palace of Sintra is not as opulent as the Palace of Queluz and is the best preserved of the medieval royal residences in Portugal. It was occupied from the early 15th century to the late 19th century.
Sintra Palace – with two chimmey stacks from the kitchensIvory inlay writing deskOutside in the one of the courtyards at SintraJaneen listening to our guideJaneen outside in the courtyard at SintraCeiling of the King’s audience room with crests from various familiesKing’s room – called the Magpie room for all the decorations on the ceilng.Large fires would be made in the middle of the room for cooking large gameThe main kitchen of Sintra open fires would be paced under the areasNice tapestry on the wall
After we were finished up touring the Palace of Sintra, we headed towards the coast and to the small town called Cascais. This resort focused town had lots of new homes as well as well kept places of some substance. However, as it was getting closer to 2 in the afternoon, my particular goal was lunch.
Lunch menu – nice place to stop for a bite.Lunch with great fish and sparkling sangra.Curry and rice.An Omelette for JerryPouring the SangriaShellfish and rice in the pot!Shellfish and rice on the plateUs leaving the restaurantJaneen outside of a cork shop – lots of goodies made from cork.
Friday was City Tour time with the bus and large groups using the headphone system to hear what the guild has to say. Our first stop was in Belém at the Monument to Fallen Soldiers.
Memorial to the fallen – all the names are written along the back wall.
The represented a dark period in Portugal’s modern history that ultimately resulted in the overthrow of the Salazar dictatorship but the toll on Lisbon was extremely high as many of the soldiers families originated from the capital. The Overseas War took the lives of over 9,000 soldiers and lasted between 1961 and 1974 as Portugal desperately tried to retain its African colonies.
What a lovely couple.
From there, it was a short walk to the Belém Tower. The Tower built in the early part of the 16th century is a fortified tower and was part of the defense system at the mouth of the Tagus River. Having survived for so long, including a major earth quack in 1755, it is the Ceremonial Gateway to Lisbon.
Jerry and Gloria – also a lovely couple.
From there we boarded the buses and made our way to the Monument to the Discoveries. This monument was created to celebrate the achievements of the explorers during the Age of Discoveries and the creation of the Portugal’s empire.
Great monument to the Discoveries.
The Age of Discoveries started in 1415 with the capture of the North African city of Ceuta by the Portuguese and reached a peak at the turn of the sixteenth century when Vasco da Gama discovered a shorter route to India and Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil.
It was a bit windy.Yes, I have a selfie stick!
The creation of trade posts and colonies on the new trade routes led to a Portuguese empire that spanned three continents, bringing wealth to Portugal and Lisbon in particular.
The monument was built in 1960 on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Henry the Navigator’s death. Henry the Navigator was a driving force behind the overseas exploration and he financed many of the expeditions.
The 171ft tall monument, shaped like a ship’s prow, stands at the marina in Belém, the starting point for many of Portugal’s explorers. It shows more than thirty statues of people who played an important role in the discoveries. Leading the way is Henry the Navigator who is shown standing on the bow holding a model of a caravel. Behind him are king Afonso V – who supported the exploration and colonization of Africa – and the explorers Vasco da Gama (who found a direct route to India), Pedro Álvares Cabral (discoverer of Brazil) and Ferdinand Magellan (the first explorer to circumnavigate the world). They are followed by navigators, writers, missionaries, a mathematician, a cartographer and other figures from the era of the discoveries.
After this we took a rest on the bus while the rest of the group toured a Monastery (we had visited it on our first trip to Lisbon so didn’t need to do it again).
From there a brief walking tour of the old town and then back to the Hotel.
Some streets are just walkways.One of several “streets” we walked in the old city.Not all the guides information was that interesting.Loved this woman putting out her laundry to air as we walked by.
Once at the hotel we popped out for a bite to eat – found a VERY local place where Janeen had the fish! There were maybe 6 tables and a counter where you placed all your orders. Not any English being spoken in the place!
Janeen and her fish.The Fish!Lunch counter was busy.
