Wednesday June 5 Porto
Plan A - get up and out by 8:30 for tour of Associacao Commercial do Porto
Plan B - don't get up and out by 8:30 for tour of Associacao Commercial do Porto
Plan B wins
Ready to head out to laundromat about 9:30
Lost Ernie, assume he is outside waiting
Go down 49 steps and look on sidewalk
Look around the corner
No Ernie
Mo up 49 steps
Ernie in bathroom
Mo and Ernie down 49 steps
Shaina calling out directions
"Turn towards Yamaha"
I look around and see Yamaha and turn right
Shaina goes left
I look again and see Yamaha to the left and Yamaha to the right and Clavinova in the middle
The music store should fix its sign
Pass a bus with sign "occasional service" - so a sort of at will thing?
Name of laundromat: "Marlin Wash" - maybe only for Floridians
Load machine, push # 4 for 35 degrees and 30 minutes
Feed machine 4.9 Euros
Start
That was easy
Head to breakfast nearby
Yeah - Bola de Berlim com creme, Meia de Leite, OJ and very yellow eggs
Yuck - Bola de Berlim terrible, bad coffee, great OJ
Back to Marlin
Move clothes to dryer
Pay machine 2.5 euros (15 minutes - too cheap for more)
Don't put wool socks in or anything belonging to Ernie or Mo.
Start on warm.
Stop! Ernie missing sock
Search for it, found!
Start again
Mo and Shaina play Sudoku while waiting
Sherrie and Ernie sleep in chairs
Fifteen minutes later ...back to apt to hang clothes to dry
Head to Associacao Commercial do Porto in the Palacio da Bolsa (stock exchange palace) - it was only a stock exchange for a short time
English tour in 15 minutes - lucky us
Shaina and I head to ladies room - sign inside says "automatic lady bin"
Built from 1842 to 1910 (not the ladies room)
A lot of French oak was used (also used for wine barrels), also plaster painted to look like wood - fooled us - plaster was new then so a special material
The Arabia room is in Neo-Moorish style, took 18 years to build and 30 kilos of gold leaf
Rooms can be rented for events
Rooms with more gold leaf and expensive decorations cost more to rent
Best, most beautiful is Arabia room for 8000 Euros, 6-hour rental. (worth it - let's party)
Back outside, wander thru the old Jewish alleys
FIFA (Nations League Cup) (futbol) Portugal vs Switzerland tonight in Porto
England vs Holland tomorrow but in Portugal also so very crazy here
Drunken, rowdy tourists playing soccer in square at river. Kicking ball very high up, police catch ball and keep it. Everyone chanting "give us our bola back".
Lunch in back courtyard behind rowdiness.
Walk across lower span of bridge to Gaia. Extremely, super windy and then some
Tour at Calem winery
Port wine invented by British (who knew)
300 years ago, they added Spanish Brandy to the wine to keep it from spoiling on ships
Douro valley has 9 months of winter and 3 months of hell.
Grapes are harvested in September then fermented in the valley for 5 days
Then shipped to Porto to age
Port is 19 to 21 percent alcohol. Wine 12 percent.
Red/Ruby Port ages in really big barrels. It is fruity, sweet and acidity and not aged very long.
Remove some and put in small barrels to make Tawney Port
Tawny Port ages 3 to 100 years in small barrels. It turns orange with age.
Barrels using now were built in 1917 by hand.
Barrels last 150 years
90 percent of Port is exported. Don't drink it here. Maybe for appetizer or dessert.
Most Port has no year because different year grapes are mixed
White Port turns brown as it ages 10 years. It doesn't age in bottle
Ruby ages in bottle
Vintage Port is best and has year on bottle
Once open, Port does not last. It turns to vinegar
Have a sampling of Ruby and White (we didn't pay enough to get the Tawney)
Now you know as much as I know
Head out to cross bridge again
This time take the upper span
Head to parking garage elevator to get a head start on the elevation increase
Out of order!
Walk uphill for 20 minutes to get to the top (all elevators along the way are private i.e. locked)
Catch our breath at the top then start the crossing, expecting terrible winds
It was beautiful - no wind at all. Worth the climb up
On other side I tell Shaina about orange cat picture on building
That's no cat you fool. It's a Mario Brother's flower you capture so you can shoot fire balls
Who knew?
Didn't cross on the lower span, so way above funicular, so have to walk all the way back home
Rest a bit, then head out to dinner at Abadia so Mo can get Tripe stew
Why would anyone want Tripe stew?
He says it's the best ever!
Shaina has black pork which tastes like really good tender beef
Ernie has fried pork which ends up being various parts of the pig (not to be named)
I have some kind of vegetarian pasta dish - fabulous
Walk back home and crash