I love Sunday's in Europe. Regardless of religious affiliation it really is a day of rest. Nearly everything is closed save cafe's, some restaurants and of course souvenier shops. People just lounge around savoring their coffee, just sit on their front stoop chatting with neighbours, laundry is hung out to dry completely changing the appearance of the building to a billowing mess of clothes and sheets. It's so calm, I wish we could mimic something more like that in Canada. We had a pretty leisurly day ourselves, finished the bus tour, had a lovely wander through Portos's biggest gardens, Serralves, found a bunch of acorns, saw an olive tree up close and one MASSIVE bull. Finished off the sight seeing with a boat ride along the Douro River, I'm pretty sure all of us almost fell asleep, but for the time my eyes were actually open it was beautiful view!
The last order of business we really needed to do was take a picture in front of the cathedral where we picked up our credentials to commemorate the start of our journey, easy right? Sure.... On the dock where we got off the boat we could easity see cathedral, so just go in that general direction, good plan. Ufortuantely easier said than done, or rather easier said than properly executed. As I trudged up one of the many hills to be trudged, mom and dad fell behind, and here I started to take some short cuts. I should have remembered, there is no such thing as a short cut in Europe, there is only taking the same amount of time to get somewhere just in a different way going down streets you probably shouldn't. The buildings are so close together and so tall it is easy to loose your mark, on top of that there is a church on like every second hill top all wth crosses on the roof so its easy to get mixed up! Here I am "well if I go down this street it is going in the general direction, lets do that", clearly a mistake as I start going downhill again, MAN! Thank God for iPhones, I was thinking my parents were getting worried where I was, so booking up the hill to the cathedral I got a text from dad, went to the wrong church, on our way now. Hey! Me too! If you're going to be lost, as least you can all be lost together.
Eventually the Dart party all made it to the same place, the painted sign on the side of a low rock wall with the word Santiago in yellow with an arrow. Seems as though we are finally finding our way. Took some pictures and met a girl from Australia who will be starting out tomorrow as well and going a similar route. My first pilgrim encounter! I'm gonna be one of those!
Dinner was a late night but tasty affair, just went across the street to a tapas place and had some simple bread, cheese and meat plate. Dad finally worked up the courage to try the Portugal's own brand of wine, Vinho Verde, which we had been warned about in a not entirely positive way. Give it a try, we were told, just so you can say you tried it and then move on! Yep, I can now understand the sentiment. It's not that it's gross per say, it's just a very strong, particular kind of wine, and let's just leave it at that!
Off to bed now, big day tomorrow of course! I have to admit I am a bit nervous, but I noticed today I am just itching to get on the road and start walking!
Until tomorrow!!
Dart the Younger
Monday, August 31, 2015
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Day 3
For those of you who don't know, and I for one didn't, Porto is a party town. Last night I lay my head down finally at about 9:30, only to be woken up at 11:30 to blaring music. Now don't get me wrong, the music was great, the band was super tight and the woman's voice was awesome, however being woken up out of a dead sleep to base vibrations through your floor and your window shaking from the same is a little disconcerting. Okay I said to myself, it will be quiet in just a couple hours then you can get back to sleep. 2 am rolls around, sigh of relief. Wait, 2:05, 2:15...2:30. Crap! I forgot a lot of bars in Europe close at 3 am. Well that's okay, it's almost 3. Finally the band is finished, only for me to hear another bar just a bit further down which is unfortunately playing trance club music stuff, also exceedingly loudly. At this point you should know it turns out I am actually turning 87 in two weeks time, not 30, and have no tolerance to such loud nonsense that early in the morning! Continuing on, it all gets shut down just after 6 in the morning, now time to make up some sleep, finally drift off just in time for the people to start getting breakfast started in the room next to mine. They are not quiet. Let's face it Dart, you lost this battle, just get up and get ready for the day!
Last year I took an allergy sensitivity test and it turns out I really shouldn't eat any kind of dairy, or any kind of grain except oatmeal. I sat down to breakfast and had a plate of bread, butter and spreadable cheese put in front of me. Of course. Well, this will make for one interesting uncomfortable gut day... Let's DO this! No regrets people, the croissant went down pretty darn quick! This whole eating thing might be a challenge. Well, actually it won't, of COURSE I'm going to eat everything and just suffer the consequences later!
On the docket for the day: pick up our "pilgrim credentials" from the main cathedral, go on a hop on hop off tour, and drink some port. Fantastic. Not 5 minutes out the door we walk into a street market, and I do love a good market, so many things to buy! Five earings and a necklace with the local design which signifies love and wealth later (the girl I bought the earings from told me the meaning of these to which my response was love AND wealth?? What more could you need??) we were on our way again. With dad as navigator we make our way to a cathedral, unfortunately not the right one, even when I told him I wasn't sure the way we were going was right, the nice young man there pointed us in the right direction. A couple minutes later dad looks a bit unsure of the direction and I have to take over the map, there is a strong chance we may not get there before it closes... (Yes I am exaggerating) . So here we are walking along, one of the roads doesn't quite match up but I know we are going in the right direction, dad just randomly pops into a tourist information place, the next thing I know were he's getting directions from someone!! How rude! And where did they send us? The same way we were already going! Rude father. Rude. You should probably know I am literally writing this at 5:30 in the morning waiting for the trance to stop so he has no way to defend himself. He can do that later. Anyway, make it to the cathedral and a bored man gives us our credentials for a mere euro fifty each, how exciting! What are these credentials you ask? We get a stamp along the way at each town we hit to prove we actually did the walk.
Next up we hit the bus tour, Porto really is a beautiful city. Ups and downs, mosaic tile on everything, elaborate bridges. Beautiful. The highlight of the tour? The free Port tastings of course! Oh port, you fortified wine, you fortify me. Entering the first place, dad is already making friends with the front desk girl, she was trying to give him a lesson on the proper way to say the 'O' in Ola. Apparently he didn't *quite* get it, although she was very encouraging about it! By the time we left, her parting remark to my dad was "You sir, I will no forget". I have a feeling that will be something of a trend along the way! Right, the port, what can you say? Delicious! I tried a rose, which is apparently quite new, and a white, which I didn't know even existed before. If you haven't tried it I highly recommend. Wait, I don't think it's sold in Canada, I'll bring some back for you, de nada (you're welcome). The second place had a bit if a restaurant and a Fado singer so mom and dad made themselves comfortable, but what's got two thumbs and was fading fast? This girl right here, I needed a nap. A half hour walk and almost 200 stairs later I was back in my little closet.
At an appropriate Portugal dinner time we went in search of food, unfortunately the restaurant the guidebook suggested didn't seem to exist any more, so rolled the dice and tried a random place. Alas we rolled wrong. Bad? Poorly? Either way it didn't live up to our previous dinner but you can't win them all!
Well, it's about 6:30 in the am, that means the trance is over and I have about an hour before the breakfast ladies start doing their thing, so with that dear friends, good morning??
Dart the Younger
Last year I took an allergy sensitivity test and it turns out I really shouldn't eat any kind of dairy, or any kind of grain except oatmeal. I sat down to breakfast and had a plate of bread, butter and spreadable cheese put in front of me. Of course. Well, this will make for one interesting uncomfortable gut day... Let's DO this! No regrets people, the croissant went down pretty darn quick! This whole eating thing might be a challenge. Well, actually it won't, of COURSE I'm going to eat everything and just suffer the consequences later!
On the docket for the day: pick up our "pilgrim credentials" from the main cathedral, go on a hop on hop off tour, and drink some port. Fantastic. Not 5 minutes out the door we walk into a street market, and I do love a good market, so many things to buy! Five earings and a necklace with the local design which signifies love and wealth later (the girl I bought the earings from told me the meaning of these to which my response was love AND wealth?? What more could you need??) we were on our way again. With dad as navigator we make our way to a cathedral, unfortunately not the right one, even when I told him I wasn't sure the way we were going was right, the nice young man there pointed us in the right direction. A couple minutes later dad looks a bit unsure of the direction and I have to take over the map, there is a strong chance we may not get there before it closes... (Yes I am exaggerating) . So here we are walking along, one of the roads doesn't quite match up but I know we are going in the right direction, dad just randomly pops into a tourist information place, the next thing I know were he's getting directions from someone!! How rude! And where did they send us? The same way we were already going! Rude father. Rude. You should probably know I am literally writing this at 5:30 in the morning waiting for the trance to stop so he has no way to defend himself. He can do that later. Anyway, make it to the cathedral and a bored man gives us our credentials for a mere euro fifty each, how exciting! What are these credentials you ask? We get a stamp along the way at each town we hit to prove we actually did the walk.
Next up we hit the bus tour, Porto really is a beautiful city. Ups and downs, mosaic tile on everything, elaborate bridges. Beautiful. The highlight of the tour? The free Port tastings of course! Oh port, you fortified wine, you fortify me. Entering the first place, dad is already making friends with the front desk girl, she was trying to give him a lesson on the proper way to say the 'O' in Ola. Apparently he didn't *quite* get it, although she was very encouraging about it! By the time we left, her parting remark to my dad was "You sir, I will no forget". I have a feeling that will be something of a trend along the way! Right, the port, what can you say? Delicious! I tried a rose, which is apparently quite new, and a white, which I didn't know even existed before. If you haven't tried it I highly recommend. Wait, I don't think it's sold in Canada, I'll bring some back for you, de nada (you're welcome). The second place had a bit if a restaurant and a Fado singer so mom and dad made themselves comfortable, but what's got two thumbs and was fading fast? This girl right here, I needed a nap. A half hour walk and almost 200 stairs later I was back in my little closet.
At an appropriate Portugal dinner time we went in search of food, unfortunately the restaurant the guidebook suggested didn't seem to exist any more, so rolled the dice and tried a random place. Alas we rolled wrong. Bad? Poorly? Either way it didn't live up to our previous dinner but you can't win them all!
Well, it's about 6:30 in the am, that means the trance is over and I have about an hour before the breakfast ladies start doing their thing, so with that dear friends, good morning??
Dart the Younger
Day 1/2
When one of my patients asked me how I was going to start my vacation, if I was going to go out for dinner and drinks with friends, I probably should have said, yes, that is exactly what I am doing... However lets be honest, all I really wanted to do was go home and drink a bottle of wine and eat some chocolate, and said as much. It was glorious and most satisfying. Besides, I was already packed, had cleaned everything I need to clean, and as it is the first real vacation I have taken in four years I believe it was the perfect kick off! All I had to worry about was winning the impending bet with my dad...
Earlier that week I loaded up my pack to get a better idea how much it would weigh. Zipped everything up and slung it on my back, walked around a little bit thought to myself, holy crap, this thing is LIGHT!! Something I would never having anticipated, I immediately texted dad asking if he would like to make a little wager, who's ever pack is heavier looses and has to buy lunch in Amsterdam during our lay over. I must win.
Jade was kind enough to drag us all to the airport, and was subsequently around to witness a miracle. My parents made it out of the house and to the airport exactly on the timeline I had scheduled. Even though their bags were pretty much ready to go when we showed up I will take FULL credit for this! It's because Dart the Younger was at the helm, I run a tight ship and give no quarter, I mean, we'll see who's waiting for who when we have to start waking up at 7 in the morning (me, they will be waiting for me) because who in God's name wakes up that early on vacation, I don't even wake up that early for work! Anyway, made it to the check in desk and waited with bated breath for the results. My pack came in at 16.7 pounds and dads was 18.4 pounds. I WIN!!!
Now he will say things like his pack is bigger so weighs more anyway, and he had his hiking boots in there and I didn't... First, his bag isn't much bigger, and there is no way my boots weigh almost 3 pounds, so blah blah blah, I WIN!! I'm sure my victory lunch will be delicious!
On the to plane we go and take off without incident or real delay, the only problem being a little brat of a 2 year old who did not shut up for 8 full hours. The stupid kid didn't even take a nap! After six hours my patience was starting to become non-existent and was wishing for and airlock to open and suck the kid right off the plane. Everybody can save your gasps of horror and judgement, you KNOW you've all thought the same thing on a flight, I'm just saying it. Arrived in sunny Amsterdam for a six hour lay-over, first order of business, coffee. Found a nice little table in the sun where we hunkered down for awhile, Graham joining us on the table and enjoyed not being on a plane. I took the advice of my one 'Funcle Dave' and had a drink before 10 am, my dad raised his eyebrows a little at this to which my response was, it's like 1 in the morning our time, and Dave TOLD me I had to! Who am I not to do what I'm told?
Portugal is wonderfully warm and humid and just lovely. We had the most entertaining cab driver from the airport, my dad being his typical charming self and making friends immediately won her over by asking "how do you say..." in Portuguese? She was more than happy to assist in his education and after like five tries of him saying whatever, "Yes!! perfecto!" She was a riot, but she won my heart over by not only playing ABBA in her car, but singing along to it as well! Ahhhh Europe!
She dropped us of at our little bed and breakfast with a laugh, I'll never forget "you have to say bom dia (good morning) with a big smile on your face, like you are greeting the day!" Bless her happy little heart.
Now, as I've said earlier, this is my first real vacation in 4 years, and it's been 4 years since being back in Europe, the things you forget so quickly, such as, the size of the rooms, mostly the bathrooms. I popped into my parent's room before heading out for dinner, my dad "So, is your bathroom as small as ours?" My response, "um, no. It's smaller". I was awarded a shocked expression. "Well what does your room look like?" They have a double room and is already pretty small, so when I said it was pretty much the same, just smaller, another shocked expression. Remember all, it's Europe, it can always get smaller. But the rooms are cozy and I can see some beautiful architecture from my window, ain't too shabby for this girl.
Our first dinner in Portugal set the standard pretty high, on the suggestion of the front desk person we went and searched out Abadia, at 6:30 in the evening I might add, so yes, we were pretty much the first and only people in the restaurant. Holy balls was the food ever good! I had the salmon for 1, and the waiter shows up with literally a platter of food and starts serving me (I felt so Downton Abby) then just sets the rest on the table. I assumed he made a mistake and brought the salmon for 2, so I asked, no, he said, for one. So much food, and all for me! Mom had the veal which was also huge and looked like a slab of steak and dad and a fish/egg/potato thing, all washed down with some delicious wine that was a chardonnay but not a chardonnay. As we didn't get a chance to have a proper lunch, sorry, my victory lunch, in Amsterdam this was a more than adequate substitute.
With our belly's full and jet lagged to the nine's we made our way back to the hotel, and that dear friends is the end to the first days of travel
Boa noite
Dart the Younger
Earlier that week I loaded up my pack to get a better idea how much it would weigh. Zipped everything up and slung it on my back, walked around a little bit thought to myself, holy crap, this thing is LIGHT!! Something I would never having anticipated, I immediately texted dad asking if he would like to make a little wager, who's ever pack is heavier looses and has to buy lunch in Amsterdam during our lay over. I must win.
Jade was kind enough to drag us all to the airport, and was subsequently around to witness a miracle. My parents made it out of the house and to the airport exactly on the timeline I had scheduled. Even though their bags were pretty much ready to go when we showed up I will take FULL credit for this! It's because Dart the Younger was at the helm, I run a tight ship and give no quarter, I mean, we'll see who's waiting for who when we have to start waking up at 7 in the morning (me, they will be waiting for me) because who in God's name wakes up that early on vacation, I don't even wake up that early for work! Anyway, made it to the check in desk and waited with bated breath for the results. My pack came in at 16.7 pounds and dads was 18.4 pounds. I WIN!!!
Now he will say things like his pack is bigger so weighs more anyway, and he had his hiking boots in there and I didn't... First, his bag isn't much bigger, and there is no way my boots weigh almost 3 pounds, so blah blah blah, I WIN!! I'm sure my victory lunch will be delicious!
On the to plane we go and take off without incident or real delay, the only problem being a little brat of a 2 year old who did not shut up for 8 full hours. The stupid kid didn't even take a nap! After six hours my patience was starting to become non-existent and was wishing for and airlock to open and suck the kid right off the plane. Everybody can save your gasps of horror and judgement, you KNOW you've all thought the same thing on a flight, I'm just saying it. Arrived in sunny Amsterdam for a six hour lay-over, first order of business, coffee. Found a nice little table in the sun where we hunkered down for awhile, Graham joining us on the table and enjoyed not being on a plane. I took the advice of my one 'Funcle Dave' and had a drink before 10 am, my dad raised his eyebrows a little at this to which my response was, it's like 1 in the morning our time, and Dave TOLD me I had to! Who am I not to do what I'm told?
Portugal is wonderfully warm and humid and just lovely. We had the most entertaining cab driver from the airport, my dad being his typical charming self and making friends immediately won her over by asking "how do you say..." in Portuguese? She was more than happy to assist in his education and after like five tries of him saying whatever, "Yes!! perfecto!" She was a riot, but she won my heart over by not only playing ABBA in her car, but singing along to it as well! Ahhhh Europe!
She dropped us of at our little bed and breakfast with a laugh, I'll never forget "you have to say bom dia (good morning) with a big smile on your face, like you are greeting the day!" Bless her happy little heart.
Now, as I've said earlier, this is my first real vacation in 4 years, and it's been 4 years since being back in Europe, the things you forget so quickly, such as, the size of the rooms, mostly the bathrooms. I popped into my parent's room before heading out for dinner, my dad "So, is your bathroom as small as ours?" My response, "um, no. It's smaller". I was awarded a shocked expression. "Well what does your room look like?" They have a double room and is already pretty small, so when I said it was pretty much the same, just smaller, another shocked expression. Remember all, it's Europe, it can always get smaller. But the rooms are cozy and I can see some beautiful architecture from my window, ain't too shabby for this girl.
Our first dinner in Portugal set the standard pretty high, on the suggestion of the front desk person we went and searched out Abadia, at 6:30 in the evening I might add, so yes, we were pretty much the first and only people in the restaurant. Holy balls was the food ever good! I had the salmon for 1, and the waiter shows up with literally a platter of food and starts serving me (I felt so Downton Abby) then just sets the rest on the table. I assumed he made a mistake and brought the salmon for 2, so I asked, no, he said, for one. So much food, and all for me! Mom had the veal which was also huge and looked like a slab of steak and dad and a fish/egg/potato thing, all washed down with some delicious wine that was a chardonnay but not a chardonnay. As we didn't get a chance to have a proper lunch, sorry, my victory lunch, in Amsterdam this was a more than adequate substitute.
With our belly's full and jet lagged to the nine's we made our way back to the hotel, and that dear friends is the end to the first days of travel
Boa noite
Dart the Younger
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