Friday, February 27, 2015
Last day in Loule
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Marvao in the sun, Feb. 24
Our wish for nice weather came true this morning, and we awoke to a clear but cool and windy day. After breakfast in our hotel we walked up to the castle. Every step presented a photo op - so much to see and appreciate in this beautiful little village. The castle is huge, and had been modified by each group that has controlled the area, though the castle defences have never been breached. The wall around the village is continuous-restoration and infrastructure and the millions spent to preserve the castle are mind-boggling. A few years ago the streets were torn up and Wifi was installed throughout the entire town.
Our time in Portugal is getting shorter - only a few days remain. Thursday we will go to a winery nearby Loule for a tour and tasting, then on Saturday drive to Lisbon, turn in our car, and get ready to fly on March 1. Hope to file one more "report" before we return.
Sent from my iPad.
Our time in Portugal is getting shorter - only a few days remain. Thursday we will go to a winery nearby Loule for a tour and tasting, then on Saturday drive to Lisbon, turn in our car, and get ready to fly on March 1. Hope to file one more "report" before we return.
Sent from my iPad.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Evora & Marvao, Feb. 23
It's been a few days since I wrote....will try to catch up once we get home next week. In the meantime we have had an interesting day. It was raining when we left Loule this morning, and the showers continued for our drive to Evora, about 3hrs. North. Evora's Templo Romano in the Center of the old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Because it was Monday many things were not open. We had to resort to a McDonald's lunch, once we finally found it.
We drove on to Marvao, northeast of Evora, where the town is located about 2800 ft. above the valley, looking toward Spain. The village is inside the defensive walls, and along with the castle, dates from the 13th century. We are staying at a small hotel within the walls. Driving through the stone arched gate, we immediately felt as though we were back in medieval days. It was wet and foggy, but shortly after we checked in the valley began to clear, and a rainbow appeared. We rushed about taking photos but soon the fog moved in and the mysterious medieval mood returned. We are hoping for a clear day tomorrow so that we can visit the castle and museum here. This evening we'll have dinner at our hotel.
Sent from my iPad.
We drove on to Marvao, northeast of Evora, where the town is located about 2800 ft. above the valley, looking toward Spain. The village is inside the defensive walls, and along with the castle, dates from the 13th century. We are staying at a small hotel within the walls. Driving through the stone arched gate, we immediately felt as though we were back in medieval days. It was wet and foggy, but shortly after we checked in the valley began to clear, and a rainbow appeared. We rushed about taking photos but soon the fog moved in and the mysterious medieval mood returned. We are hoping for a clear day tomorrow so that we can visit the castle and museum here. This evening we'll have dinner at our hotel.
Sent from my iPad.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Tuesday, feb. 17, 2015
Just a catchup day today. Yesterday we visited a nearby olive oil mill for a tour, tasting, and lunch. It was a disappointment in that the guide spoke only Swedish (most of the visitors were Swedish), even though he knew we were English speakers, and he spoke English well. Lunch was good. Then we went on a wild goose chase for the Renault garage to have them look at our leased car whose trouble light has been going on and off for a few days. Today we finally located the garage in Faro, but it was closed for the Shrove Tuesday holiday. We want to have it checked out prior to our road trip to Gibraltar and Arcos de la Frontera, Spain, on Thurs.-Fri. this week. No doubt pix will follow!
Today we also had some sun time while having our lattes on the shorefront in Olhao, and in the back yard here at our villa.
Sent from my iPad.
Today we also had some sun time while having our lattes on the shorefront in Olhao, and in the back yard here at our villa.
Sent from my iPad.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Report on Mertola, today's day trip
Mertola is an ancient town located on the Guadiana River in eastern Alentejo, about an hour and a half's drive north of our villa. It's connection with the Mediterranean meant that the Phoenicians were among the early settlers, along with Greeks, Romans, Islamic people, as well as Christians. It's castle, built on a prominent ridge overlooking the river, has been restored beginning in the 1960s, and archeological digs are on-going. The white church just below the keep was originally a mosque, much like the Mezquita in Córdoba, Spain, but on a smaller scale.
Next to the Tourist Information Center is a small house that was inhabited until the 1980s, and a weaving room with sample looms and woven work. The town itself is incredibly well-kept, the people friendly, and the traditional food we sampled at an outdoor restaurant, delicious. Although there were not many tourists around today, we were told that the town receives over 30,000 visitors a year-amazing for a place quite far off the beaten path. A great place to spend a sunny, warm day.
Sent from my iPad.
Next to the Tourist Information Center is a small house that was inhabited until the 1980s, and a weaving room with sample looms and woven work. The town itself is incredibly well-kept, the people friendly, and the traditional food we sampled at an outdoor restaurant, delicious. Although there were not many tourists around today, we were told that the town receives over 30,000 visitors a year-amazing for a place quite far off the beaten path. A great place to spend a sunny, warm day.
Sent from my iPad.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Cork Factory Tour, Feb. 11
Today we took a 1.5 hour tour of a nearby cork factory, Novacortica. It was founded in 1986, and employs about 75 people. The company buys cork which is harvested every 9-10 years from the cork oak trees that grow only on the Iberian peninsula. In fact about 60% of the cork in the world comes from Portugal! A cork tree has to be at least 43 years old before the cork can be used, so naturally the cork industry is a family business, spanning generations. Also, there is no waste in the production of cork, as any large pieces are ground into small bits which are then glued together and used to make bottle corks for red and white wine and other products.
Novacortica produces cork granules and cork discs that form part of corks used in sparkling wine produced in France, Spain, and Italy. Beware....we'll be able to bore you with details about the cork from every wine bottle you open in our presence! Another product, produced elsewhere, is cork skin, a thin layer of cork laminated to other materials used in designer purses, umbrellas, and furniture coverings. We sat on sofas in the lobby of the factory that were beautifully covered with cork upholstery.
Our tour guide was a charming young man, Gianluca, originally from Italy, who moved with his family to Portugal at the age of three. His background is tourism, but he's really an excellent teacher with a great sense of humour and good language skills.
Sent from my iPad.
Novacortica produces cork granules and cork discs that form part of corks used in sparkling wine produced in France, Spain, and Italy. Beware....we'll be able to bore you with details about the cork from every wine bottle you open in our presence! Another product, produced elsewhere, is cork skin, a thin layer of cork laminated to other materials used in designer purses, umbrellas, and furniture coverings. We sat on sofas in the lobby of the factory that were beautifully covered with cork upholstery.
Our tour guide was a charming young man, Gianluca, originally from Italy, who moved with his family to Portugal at the age of three. His background is tourism, but he's really an excellent teacher with a great sense of humour and good language skills.
Sent from my iPad.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Feb. 9,2015:Beaches and winding roads
Today was sunny and windy, but we opted for beach visits and drove about an hour to Salema, a fishing village that Bryant and I had visited in 2002 with friends Martha and Steven. Those were pre-development days, when the scourge of condo construction hadn't yet reached the western Algarve coast, and the fishermen's boats were pulled up on the beach, filled with nets and pottery jugs that served as octopus traps. Today the boats have been relegated to the eastern end of the beach, and there are far fewer of them-with just a few octopus pots. New banks of condos cover the western hillside overlooking the beach, the little town square has been cobblestoned and curbed, and two residential hotels flank the center. The village, though, still winds its way up the narrow streets, and is tidy and winter-quiet. We couldn't locate the small house where we'd spent a night or two in 2002, but the restaurant where we had enjoyed a glass of Sangria back then was expanded and modernized.
We had a coffee break on the deck of the Atlantico Hotel Cafe and walked on the beach, admiring the architecturally interesting whitewashed new house backed up by tall stone walls at the beach's eastern end.
Our next destination was the isolated beach Praia de Castelejo, near Vila do Bispo, reached by a paved road over high moors then winding down to sea level. A few surfers were taking advantage of the waves while we appreciated the rocky cliffs and lack of tourist development at this windy spot.
On the way back we stopped briefly at the Fire Station in Vila do Bispo as David and Jean's son is a firefighter in NB. We had a tour of their equipment with one of the firemen who described the crews' role not only fighting fires but performing cliff rescues and saving fishermen.
Our next stop was the village of Monchique, well inland, which was frankly, a disappointment. The view over the valley was about the only positive point. While driving downhill from the village the ABS and Repair lights came on on the dashboard of our Renault Kangoo, so we pulled over to call the Renault emergency line in Paris. (A good reason to carry a cell phone in Europe!) We were pleased to reach a call center rep with good English skills who ultimately directed us to continue driving back to Loule, whereupon David and Bryant took the car to the Renault garage. As luck would have it, once they got to the garage, the lights went off, and haven't reappeared. We are very impressed with Renault and their roadside service! This is one of the benefits of leasing with Renault Eurodrive--this and also that there are no hidden charges for no deductible insurance, multiple drivers, and a replacement vehicle should we have lost the use of ours for a while.
This has been a long post! We capped our eventful day with a delicious dinner at a small, family-run restaurant in old Loule. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, so likely it will be a quiet day.
Sent from my iPad.
We had a coffee break on the deck of the Atlantico Hotel Cafe and walked on the beach, admiring the architecturally interesting whitewashed new house backed up by tall stone walls at the beach's eastern end.
Our next destination was the isolated beach Praia de Castelejo, near Vila do Bispo, reached by a paved road over high moors then winding down to sea level. A few surfers were taking advantage of the waves while we appreciated the rocky cliffs and lack of tourist development at this windy spot.
On the way back we stopped briefly at the Fire Station in Vila do Bispo as David and Jean's son is a firefighter in NB. We had a tour of their equipment with one of the firemen who described the crews' role not only fighting fires but performing cliff rescues and saving fishermen.
Our next stop was the village of Monchique, well inland, which was frankly, a disappointment. The view over the valley was about the only positive point. While driving downhill from the village the ABS and Repair lights came on on the dashboard of our Renault Kangoo, so we pulled over to call the Renault emergency line in Paris. (A good reason to carry a cell phone in Europe!) We were pleased to reach a call center rep with good English skills who ultimately directed us to continue driving back to Loule, whereupon David and Bryant took the car to the Renault garage. As luck would have it, once they got to the garage, the lights went off, and haven't reappeared. We are very impressed with Renault and their roadside service! This is one of the benefits of leasing with Renault Eurodrive--this and also that there are no hidden charges for no deductible insurance, multiple drivers, and a replacement vehicle should we have lost the use of ours for a while.
This has been a long post! We capped our eventful day with a delicious dinner at a small, family-run restaurant in old Loule. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, so likely it will be a quiet day.
Sent from my iPad.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)