Porto—May 6, 2023

Day 3: Today we decided to re-familiarize ourselves with the city, beginning with the renovated Bolhao Market. Five years ago it was in really poor condition but today it's beautiful. (Remember, you can click on a picture to enlarge it.)

A little people watching for him and us.

It's May 6th but feels like July in Seattle.

The famous Portuguese salted cod.

Every kind of dried mushroom imaginable.

Olive oil goes well with mushrooms.

Fresh oysters, octopus, shrimp—they have it all.

The sardines in Portugal are deliciously famous.

After the market we walked toward Santa Catarina, famous for its Art Deco architecture, shopping and the Majestic Cafe where intellectuals and business leaders hung out in the 20's. Now the cafe and street is a tourist magnet so that's why we crossed the street and kept walking, looking for an out of the way cafe.

Note the artistic commentary here.

Santa Catarina hordes.

Found a cool place to chill at mile 5.

University students who just completed their first year are initiated (hazed) before earning their black cloak.

Large packs of students roamed the city undertaking silly tasks set by seniors. This rite of passage is a good excuse to party. And they did well into the night. How do we know? They sang and chanted up and down our street.

Mural on the way to Luiz I Bridge.

It's a Saturday and we just wanted to check out
how crowded this popular site would be and....

Gaia is just across the bridge and where port  

cellar tasting rooms draw tons of tourists.

Here's the same crowd shown above. Love my
zoom lense. We can see what to avoid.

We stopped by Sao Bento (historic & UNESCO World Heritage site) train station to find out how often trains depart for Coimbra. I took this video to show the 20,000+ azulejo tiles depicting historic moments and rural scenes from regions of Portugal. 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Bento_railway_station)

Time to wander back to our place on
Cedofeita, a street known for its shops,
restaurants, and cafes since it was
extended in1847.

I call this the "Short Cut". It's just off
Cedofeita proper and leads downtown.
Five years ago, this street was torn up
while new water and gas lines were
installed.

Doors of shops along the "Short Cut"
(i.e. Travessa de Cedofeita).

Another "Short Cut" store front. Note
what the business.

Later in the evening we took another stroll and ran into students still undergoing the rite of passage. By early evening the student leaders were imbibing and the initiation tasks grew louder and sillier. 

By evening's end we were surprised to find we'd walked 9 miles.

 

Porto—May 4-11, 2023

(Remember, you can click on a picture to enlarge it.)

Mural in Levallois. Going with the theme
here about being on the road again.

Heading to Porto May 4, 2023

The Air France lounge is the epitome of luxury and a first for us, something we could get used to.  

Really, an open bar?

Coffee, tea, water, juice—you name it and it's yours.

So this is how the other side lives. 

The Air France lounge is on two levels, and as
you can see, is airy and light. There's even a
napping room!

And lunch was salmon on sweet potato puree and 

black rice salad with French cheese and lemon

tart for dessert. It was yummy! 

The metro to our stop took 25 minutes
and cost about $3.50 each.

Paula's front door. Note the paper on
the window. A graffiti artist rents her
first floor space for his studio.

This is an example of his work.

Because the universe moves in mysterious ways...

We met up with Vic and daughter Anna (18) in Porto! We normally visit the Kendall-Kaplan family once a year in Anchorage, but the pandemic put an end to that, and here we are in Porto, Portugal meeting for the first time in three years. How's that for serendipity? 

And to add to the fun, Paula (who we stayed with 5 years ago) thought all of us should have an authentic Porto tapas dinner. While walking down Cedofeita, the street Paula lives on, is a crack up, because she seems to know everyone we pass. And when we stopped at Patio das Marias to see if they could accommodate five of us, we were informed they were closing in 30 minutes. A few friendly words in Portuguese were exchanged and we were about to keep walking to find another restaurant when we were told to wait a minute. The next thing we knew, the owner of the wine shop/tapas restaurant led us down a stone stairwell to a large basement room with two large tables. The pictures show how our evening played out over the next two and a half hours!

Marie, Anna, me, Paula (our host), and Vic.

The tapas spread included this special
Portuguese chorizo, olives, three
cheeses and three sliced meats, three
kinds of bread & flavored jams and
honey. An amazing meal!

The cheese in the middle of the board
was melted and reminded me of gruyere.

Friday Vic, Anna, Marie and I will have the day to play before they fly home Saturday morning!

Friday (Cinco de Mayo), an update

This update is primarily for Marie and me; it'll help us remember the laughs we had our last and only full day together with Vic and Anna.

We had one full day with Vic and Anna and we made the most of it just hanging out and getting some "chores" done. In the process, we managed to walk 7.5 miles without trying AND still make time for a siesta.

It's Saturday (May 6th) and we're treating it as our Lazy Sunday. 

Back to a brief update about Friday. Marie and I woke up at 5AM; we're still adjusting to the time difference in terms of our sleep rhythms. At 6AM we walked across the road to Cristal Cafe and had a coffee and croissant. Vic texted us at 9AM and we joined her for breakfast at a place she discovered. We had eggs on thick-cut toast and lattes. Anna was still sleeping because she was up late the night before talking with her sister Zoe. Well, that and the fact she's 18. :-)

Our "chores" began with me getting a phone that works in Europe and then showing Vic and Anna where the Metro station is in our neighborhood and walking them through how it all works. 

The rest of the day was spent walking to local haunts, Boa Vista Park, Bom Sucesso food court, back to Cedofeita (our neighborhood street) so Anna could shop for a few gifts for friends and family in Anchorage. By 3PM, we'd walked 5 miles and it was time for a little siesta before meeting up for dinner.

Enough writing! Here are a few pics.

While Vic took care of a return 
ticket snafu, I took some pictures
of Paula's back balcony and garden.

Paula has plants everywhere!

5 years ago, Paula's back garden was
a wasteland. Today a patio paradise.

Vic and Anna at Tapas-n-Friends.

Our last night together. Tapas-n-Friends
serves up a tasty selection of dishes!

Our evening ended with hugs all around as we wished them a safe journey home. They fly to Paris, and after a 3 hour layover, take off for Sea/Tac and then on to Anchorage, returning home some 21 hours later. Yikes!

April 30-June 4, 2023—It's Been Too Long!

Our First Post Pandemic Trip 

In 2019 we took care of a friend's dogs while he participated in a round the world sailing race (until the pandemic ended it). We had no idea it would be nearly five years before we felt comfortable making another trip to Europe (or anywhere). 

But the good news is that we're visiting our European friends again. This trip is ambitious; we'll be doing way more moving around than we normally do.

Here's a sample of out itinerary:

• arrive Paris and visit with Thomas and family
• fly to Porto, Portugal where we will visit with Paula and take the train to see Suzanne in Coimbra
• fly to Zurich to see Carmen and Sam, and hopefully Alex
• Train to Lauterbrunnen
• Train to Grenoble to see Martin & Isa, Philippe & Michele and Marie (Martin's sister)
• Drive through the Dordogne region
• Visit Gabriel and his family in Nantes
• Spend the night on Mont St. Michel
• Tour Normandy Beach WWII Memorial & Bayuex Tapestry
• Return to Paris

As I said this is an ambitious 5 weeks. We're traveling by train, plane, and automobile because we're catching up from our "do nothing" pandemic years!

This post covers April 30th to May 2nd. (Remember, you can click on a picture to enlarge it.)

We started with a Coast Guard escort for the 

Bainbridge ferry. 

Riding escalator to S Gate.

It's a long ride up and up.

The cockpit, obviously!

I took this picture from my seat. Gives you a good idea how close we were from the "nerve center". 

A napkin. Gotta love the Icelandic humor.

Sunset from our flight somewhere over

Canada's northern territories.

Just chillin' on the flight.

Really? Icelandair just gave us 

amazing chocolate!

So Here We Go!

We landed at Charles de Gualle and Thomas picked us up and we spent a lovely time with Delphine (18) while Adele (16) and his wife Claire were visiting her mother in the hospital. 

Thomas and Marie and I took a walk along the Seine River and then enjoyed Claire's quiche for dinner. We were back at our hotel by 8:30PM and in bed by 9PM, 27 hours since starting this trip.

We slept well and began our day (May 2nd) around 8AM with a plentiful petit dejeuner (i.e. breakfast) at Hotel Boissierre.

Thomas and family picked us up at noon for our outing to Invalides and lunch at the Petit Palais garden restaurant. Delphine, who is learning, drove and we were impressed with her skill at negotiating downtown Parisian traffic!

Today was low key and we were pleased about that. Even so, somehow we managed to walk 6.5 miles. Tomorrow (Wednesday, May 3rd) We will try and find a phone store that can help us secure a SIM card that actually works with my phone so we can make calls in Europe (we were not successful with our attempt today). We'll also just wander around before joining Thomas, Claire, Delphine, and Adele for dinner at their house.

The aroma of baking bread from the
corner boulangerie at 3:30AM is lovely.

View directly across from our room.

Love the ironwork!

Invalides is massive and well worth
a visit.  

The Hôtel des Invalides (English: "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides, is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose. 

The complex also includes the former hospital chapel, now national cathedral of the French military, and the adjacent former Royal Chapel known as the Dôme des Invalides, the tallest church building in Paris at a height of 107 meters.The latter has been converted into a shrine of some of France's leading military figures, most notably the tomb of Napoleon. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Invalides)

And we have our tickets.

 

The church-and-chapel complex of Invalides was designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1676.

The high altar from Invalides entrance.

The columns framing the high altar were inspired by Bernini's in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The dome is 351 feet high and impressive!

Delphine, Adele and Marie above Napoleon's tomb.

Kind of obvious who reposes here.

 

Walking from Invalides to the Petit Palais.

Marie, Adele, Claire, and Thomas.

Delphine, Adele, Claire, Marie, and

me at Invalides entrance.

Petit Palace entrance.

The Petit Palais opened in 1900 and houses the Museum of Fine Arts. In the center of the palace is a garden and restaurant where we had lunch. The garden in the center of the palace in the heart of Paris is quiet and... well, palatial.

This splendor can be enjoyed for free.

Claire, Adele, Delphine, Thomas, & Marie in the

garden restaurant. Lunch break!

The ballet dancer.

A farmers market circa 1885 near Les Halles. 

Note the scale.

The staircase to the lower level.
Note the tile floor and wrought
ironwork. Stunning!

Pretty sure this is "Woman Descending Staircase".

The wrought iron railing surrounding the staircase.

The rooms where the sculptures are
displayed are masterpieces as well.

And we're off to our hotel via the Metro.