Northern Portugal

After a wonderful 5 days in Porto, we bid adieu to the city and took off by car to explore Northern Portugal a bit further. We wanted to track down some of the historical sights of Portugal and visit some of the vineyards that produce the grapes for the Port we so enjoyed in Porto.


Our first stop was Guimaraes, an incredible historical town that dates back over 1,000 years ago. We stayed at a great inn within the medieval centre of the city, which was part of a network operated by the Portuguese government. These inns are called Pousadas, and are located throughout the country, generally in historical buildings that the government wants to preserve but also utilize in a productive manner. From our Pousada (named after the local church, Nossa Senhora da Olivera) we were able to explore the town on foot, including the incredible 11th century castle (pictured above) and the Duke’s Palace (which is a lot “newer” as it was built in the 15th century). Both are a testament to Portugal’s long and storied history and the vast inventory of incredible palaces and castles throughout the country.


We were able to eat pretty well in Guimaraes, with the most interesting being a dinner at Cervejeria Martin, a local bar that is covered in scarves from various football (soccer) and other sports across Europe (above). What made the meal so interesting was that Guimaraes’ local professional volleyball team (Vittoria) was in the Euroleague for the first time and was playing against Moscow that night, a powerhouse of European professional volleyball. The bar was full of supporters and after we left dinner, the streets were quiet save for the sounds of spikes and whistles that we heard from every open door and window. We would have gone to the game had we known the draw of professional volleyball, but were happy enough to watch it with some fans.


Following Guimaraes, we left for the Douro valley - Port country (the actual vineyards this time, as opposed to the Port Lodges of Port). The whole region has been designated a Unesco World Heritage site due to the incredible way that the wineries are all carved out from the hills surrounding the Douro river (Portugal is BIG on letting you know that things are Unesco World Heritage sites - most countries don’t seem to think that this is a huge deal, but perhaps the poorer the country the more they cling to designations like this one). The drive along the local highway N-222 was definitely one of the most incredible car rides we have taken and Kristi did a great job handling some pretty narrow and curvy roads. We ended up in Pinhao, a very small town (population 300) right on the Douro and stayed at a local Quinta (winery) named Quinta de la Rosa. This moderately sized Quinta produces red wine as well as their own port (both of which we tried and both of which I believe are available in Canada). Since it was low season, we were the only guests at the Quinta. Weary of navigating the roads in the dark, we decided to self-cater, and we were able to find the best butcher in town (above) and pick up some fantastic cured meats and local cheeses to enjoy with some red wine and port for dinner. The weather was a bit patchy that night and we ended up spending most of the night by candlelight as the power flickered on and off - very relaxing and romantic.

Our last night of the roadtrip (prior to arriving in Lisbon) was in Coimbra, home to the oldest university in Portugal (second oldest in Europe) and a really fun, lively place. Our hotel was close to a huge wooded park (which was great for jogging) and equally close to the old part of town (which was great for sightseeing). The highlight of Coimbra for us was our dinner. The local restaurant we went to was full with a 25-person group of 30-something ex-students who were enjoying a reunion of sorts. One of them was a local from Coimbra who helped Kristi and I choose all of the house specialties for dinner. These included a dish of fried small fish (like smelts) which were incredibly fresh and served alongside acorda, which is a garlicky porridge made from bread and herbs, as well as the local specialty of chanfana, which is kid (young goat, tastes a bit like lamb) stewed in red wine (tastes better than it sounds). This was definitely one of our best Portuguese meals to date and somewhat redeeming for the country's cuisine given some of the other offerings we had seen in Porto and on our trip.

We ended the road trip in Lisbon, the beginning of a five-night sojourn. Post-Lisbon, we plan on taking a similar roadtrip through Southern Portugal (including the Algarve), ending in Seville where we plan to rent an apartment for approximately 10 days to relax, enjoy the town and enjoy some home-cooked food (we are extremely excited to cook with some of the local products and are a bit tired of continually searching for great restaurants, although we have found many).

The remaining photos of Northern Portugal can be found here (warning: these are a bit repetitive with tons of photos of the Guimaraes castle and the Douro wine region).

As promised in a previous post, it is now time for the Reader Mailbag, where we answer some of the questions from the inquisitive readers of this blog.

Q: How have you been surviving without a cell phone? Specifically, is Jon going crazy without his BlackBerry?

A: While most people figured we wouldn’t last more than 7 days without a cell (and that I wouldn’t last more than 2 days without my BB), we have managed just fine. It’s pretty relaxing not to be checking email constantly, especially after 6 years of being tied to it. Skype has also been a godsend as we can connect with home but also call hotels, restaurants, rental car companies, etc. for only a few cents per minute.

Q: Are you ready to come home yet? (asked several times by M & S Ellenzweig)

A: No. Return date is May 27, 2009.

Q: How many times have you done laundry? How much underwear did you bring? (we received the underwear question from 4 different people, which is a bit creepy)

A: Not sure why the readers are so concerned with undergarments, but we have done laundry a couple of times in our sink and went to a laundromat in Lisbon to do a full load.

Q: What books have you read so far?

A: Jonathan has read The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain and Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. Jonathan is nearly finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (book is somewhat annoying but I will stick with it). Kristi is just finishing up McCarthy's Bar by Pete McCarthy, in preparation for our trip to Ireland. As far as other media goes, we have finished Season 1 of Mad Men and are part way through Season 1 of 30 Rock. We have also watched a few movies including Kristi's fave, Sex and the City.

We will resume the mailbag in a future post. Please continue to submit your questions to us via email or through the comments on this blog.

Before signing off, we also want to wish a very special 61st birthday to Michael Ellenzweig. Dad, you don’t look a day over 60.

J&K