Our afternoon train left us one last morning to explore Porto and we decided we would check out the historic Mercado do Bolhão that we had seen briefly on a tuk tuk tour a few days ago.

This market was established in 1914 and occupies an entire block of the Baixa district. It was in danger of falling into disrepair in 2018 but plans for its restoration were devised and after four years and four months it opened again in late 2023. 

We had a light lunch and a glass of wine (just because you can) and then loaded up on some snacks for the train.

For us though, the best of the trip was arriving into Pinhão and being met by our dear friend Inês.

Inês had come to Australia as part of her journey in winemaking and stayed with us for the vintage of  2017 and we had then caught up with her and her family in France in 2019. We had been planning a visit in 2020 but of course the pandemic had foiled that so we were really looking forward to seeing our “Portuguese daughter” and especially in her own territory.

After hugs and kisses she hoisted my very heavy suitcase into her car and we were on our way up the hill to our beautiful accommodation Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros.

Inês had organised for us to have dinner with the rest of her family at her good friend Gi’s restaurant, VelaDouro. This turned out to be a fun evening with lots of good food, wine and especially good company!  

Over the next few days we were able to experience the ‘classic ambience, modern comforts and friendly hospitality’ that this beautiful 18th Century manor house offers as well as getting to know its lovely staff and local ‘personalities.’

The next day we felt very honoured to have a private tour of the nearby Quinta da Formigosa winery, where Inês is the winemaker, which then culminated in a sophisticated paired wine and chocolate tasting.

 

It was VERY hot and a significant storm was expected in the evening so we shelved plans for dinner at Inês’s home and decided to eat in our on site restaurant which turned out to be delicious. The storm hit after dinner, not with the ferocity that had been expected but definitely cleared the air and left us with gray skies and cooler conditions the next day.

Inês and her family live a short drive (and I’m glad she was driving…) away from Pinhão in a stunning location amongst more vineyards. We had a very enjoyable lunch, caught up with the rest of the family and met the new puppy, ‘T. Rex.’

 

Leaving Pinhão the next day we had time before our train left to check out the beautiful ceramic tiles that Pinhão station is also famous for.

There are 24 panels that cover almost all the walls of the main building and represent the various stages of Port wine production, from the grape harvest to the transport in rabelo boats by the Douro River to the cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia.

We were disappointed to find that the bistro above the station would not be open until after our train departed so at the last minute we raced across the road to grab whatever we could from whatever was open on a Sunday morning. We had just over two hours on the regional train and then a VERY tight connection in Porto for our onward journey to Lisbon which we wouldn’t reach until after dinner time so it could be a long time between snacks…

 

Sitting back and enjoying the scenery along the Douro I decided to have lunch but after one mouthful which tasted terrible, Russell pointed out the mould growing on it and we realised we could be quite hungry by the time we reached Lisbon 😁

We arrived relaxed and replete and I cannot thank Inês and her family enough for their extremely generous Portuguese hospitality.

It started when I was just planning the trip – asking for information about places to go, how to navigate the toll system, buying a toll card etc. etc. – and extended to providing a taxi service in Pinhão and feeding us both on and off the train! Thanks so much guys ❤

Tomorrow we become reacquainted with Lisbon and reunited with Zoe.

 

This beautiful church is famed for its Baroque stairway which climbs the steep hillside and depicts the ascent to heaven. Starting at the top Fiona and I descended the 577 steps to the bottom and then climbed back – probably as close to the ascent to Heaven as I will get I suspect.

A wedding was taking place when we got back to the church, I can only guess at what it might cost to get married in this prime location but they certainly had a wonderful day for it.

 After a quick lunch (in fact it may have just been icecream?) we were back on the road as we had a preappointed time to say goodbye to our trusty Citroen in Porto. 

The drop off was a little nerve wracking but after one wrong turn we found the spot and the car return guy was happy to check the car off with no issues. Not a scratch on it after nearly three months and 5,000 kms.

We had last visited Porto (Portugal’s second largest city) in 2012 and stayed in Pedro’s apartment in the Vila Nova de Gaia district. When researching our accommodation options this time I was delighted to see that Pedro was still hosting guests and in fact now has six apartments, he, like the whole country, is doing much better than those post GFC times in 2012.

Nothing is too much trouble for Pedro and he had organised for his colleague to collect us from the car drop off location and take us to the apartment along with our luggage and the considerable extras we had purchased along the way… icebox, picnic set etc. etc.

The best part about staying in Vila Nova de Gaia is that you can look out of your window, across the river Douro and feast your eyes on beautiful Porto.

It was obvious as we drove into Porto that the city was flourishing, lots of new buildings going up, cranes everywhere and SO many more tourists than our last visit. The city had a really vibrant feel and although it had been nice seeing an uncrowded city back in 2012, I am really happy that the country is now back on its feet and it seems that the rest of the world has discovered the delights of Porto.

Over the course of the next four days we re visited some of our favourite spots from 2012 (which were all new to Fiona) as well as exploring some new experiences.

We were first time visitors to the Palácio da Bolsa, (the Stock Exchange Palace) and the headquarters of Porto’s Commercial Association.

This stunning neo Classical building features a large central courtyard called Pátio das Nações (Courtyard of the Nations), enclosed by a glass structure which lets in a beautiful natural light into the whole Palace.

You are only able to visit as part of a guided tour but if you are in Porto I highly recommend it!

 

 

Undoubtedly though the Palace’s highlight is the Arab Room. This 300-metre room is decorated in Moorish style, inspired by the Alhambra and is where the official receptions are held. Absolutely amazing.

We wandered the streets, had high tea in the historic Cafe Majestic and visited the São Bento railway station admiring the azulejos, the beautiful Portuguese tiles which depict historical life scenes.

One cannot visit Porto without also visiting a Port ‘Cave’ similar to visiting a winery cellar door here in Australia. Port wine grapes were (and still are) grown and the port produced in the Douro Valley and historically it would have been transported downstream in barrels on traditional rabelo boats that are still evident on the river today, albeit for tourist trips.

Therefore all of the actual Caves are dotted along the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the river, we were in fact surrounded by them. 

On our slightly tipsy walk home we came across the Pink Palace that I had also read about, describing itself as a Rosé Museum… I looked at Fiona and said surely we have to go there? Turns out she didn’t need much persuasion, Russell opted out for a quiet afternoon (a wise choice I think) and in we went.

I’m not sure that I would call it a museum, although there were some rosé facts and figures, but basically it was about Instaworthy murals and four standard rosé pours – an hilarious combination as it turned out 🤣🤣🤣 (this emoji is ‘rolling on the floor laughing’ very appropriate!)

 

Already fuelled by two ports we were quickly reduced to two cackling women of a certain age and luckily almost had the place to ourselves until a group of three British guys caught up with us.  They only encouraged us by adopting the photographer role to capture our silliness. We had an absolute ball, literally.

Tomorrow Fiona would fly to Madrid on the way back to Australia and Russell and I would catch an afternoon train to Pinhão in the Douro Valley to visit our friends.