Monday, October 18, 2010

Portugal, September 11-18, 2010

I think we can all agree that trips organized around the planned consumption of alcohol are the best ever, so when Amy and Ben invited us to join them for wine and port tasting in Portugal, we jumped at the chance. We arrived on Sunday, picked up the car, and drove to Porto. A quick lunch stop in Coimbra, home of the University of Coimbra, founded in 1290 and one of the oldest universities in the world:

On to Porto, where we dumped our bags at the hotel and promptly headed across the river to Vila Nova de Gaia, the town across from Porto where most of the wineries that make port are located. We headed to Grahams, maker of the 20-year tawny that I tried for the first time in Foreign Cinema in San Francisco, which got me hooked on this whole port drinking thing. On Monday we walked around Porto for long enough to seem respectable, before heading back to the river for more port tasting. Nice architecture in the city center of Porto:

This kind of stuff suggests to me that Portugal is still mourning the loss of her empire:

The Douro river in Porto. On Monday we had dinner at the Taverna dos Bebobos on this quai - DANGER DANGER DANGER! I think the sardines they fed me were poisoned.

Tuesday we left Porto and drove upstream to the part of the Douro river valley where the grapes that are made into port are grown. Traditionally the grapes were pressed, then the wine was shipped downstream about 100 km to Vila Nova de Gaia in flat-bottomed boats of the type in the above photo. At the Ramos Pinto winery we saw some footage of one of these boats headed downriver through some pretty impressive rapids. The river was dammed in the 1960s and the wine is now shipped by truck (not nearly as romantic). The cultivated hills of the Douro river valley:

I was sick all day with food poisoning, so I spent the day that was pretty much the highlight of our trip hanging my head out the car window like a dog, trying not to throw up on the back of Ben's head while he was driving, and most regrettably, NOT tasting port. We stayed Tuesday night in Ourem. Wednesday we headed to Batalha to see the monastery built to thank the Virgin Mary for Portugal's victory over the Castilians in 1385. My food poisoning seemed to have worked itself out by Wednesday morning. Giving the all-clear sign in front of the monastery:

The tombs of King John I and his queen, Philippa of Lancaster, whose marriage cemented an Anglo-Portuguese alliance that continues to this day. So cute, the hand-holding statues:

King Duarte I, John and Philippa's son, started work on a separate chapel, intended as a mausoleum for his family. Duarte I died young and later kings lost interest in the Batalha monastery in favor of the Jeronimos monastery in Belem, so the chapel was never finished. Still, the Unfinished Chapels are the prettiest part of the Batalha monastery, as illustrated by Noam shown here demonstrating his love for Manueline architecture:

From Batalha we headed to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in mainland Europe, where we grabbed lunch, then to Cascais, a delightfully low-key seaside town:

Wednesday night we stayed in Setubal, south of Lisbon, on the Sado river estuary:

The last two days of our trip we spent in Lisbon. Below is the church of Sao Domingos, which was damaged in the 1755 earthquake and a later fire. You can see where large sections of stone fell away during the earthquake, leaving the columns looking rough, it was cool:

At the park at the top of the Elevador da Gloria (a funicular):


Sunday, October 17, 2010

Sailing in Escanaba, MI, September 3-6, 2010

We flew to Detroit on Friday, met Hannah, then flew on to Escanaba. Detroit airport has a cute little red people mover train INSIDE the terminal building - pretty cool. Saturday the weather was a little iffy for sailing so we enjoyed the splendors of the upper peninsula instead. We headed down to Cedar River to see the baby sturgeon, then stopped for lunch at the Lighthouse Pub. We waited there, sucking down beer, for the day's whitefish delivery to arrive - it was worth it. Noam is showing off his new Huckleberry polo shirt, awarded only to those who serve with distinction aboard the Huckleberry:
Just inside the door of the Lighthouse Pub is one of those racks with brochures advertising the local outlet malls and dinner-theaters-with-jousting. We picked up a local driving tour which promised old growth forest at nearby J.W. Wells state park. The ranger at the entrance gate looked at us blankly when we asked about old growth forest (stupid lying brochure) but we still paid six bucks and hiked there. New growth trees at J.W. Wells:
Determined to get our six bucks worth from our state park pass, Dad turned north and floored it, determined to make it to Fayette historic state park before they closed. Fayette was the site of a Jackson Iron Company iron smelting operation from 1867 to 1891. The people have moved away, but many of the town's buildings are restored, though sadly not the two story outhouse that once graced Fayette's hotel. Snail shell harbor, where Fayette is located:
The smelting furnace at Fayette:
Sunday we sailed in the Little Bay de Noc. Behind the wheel of the Huck:
The upper peninsula of Michigan is known for pasties, a dish originally from Cornwall which is sort of like a calzone but is filled with meat, turnips, and rutabagas instead of melted cheese and things that taste good. Several times we drove by the fine eating establishment Dobber's Pasties, which had a sign out front with the changeable letters arranged to read something like "Yooper soul food. Now serving gravy." I begged to go there, and dad, Hannah, and Noam finally relented on Sunday. Highly recommended. Monday dad drove us to Milwaukee where we had lunch with mom, then headed to the airport to fly home.