Portugal

Our trip to Portugal began on Tuesday evening, September 3^rd.  Air Tap flight #88 left Guarulhos Airport at about 10 PM. 

I took advantage of the entertainment offered by the airline to watch two movies I had never seen before, Creed (2015) and Creed II (2018), both starring Sylvester Stallone.  I was very impressed how he has transformed his character, Rocky Balboa, from a gritty young boxer to a wise old man.  I love the end of the second movie when Rocky shows up at his estranged son’s doorstep and meets his grandson for the first time.  As a grandfather myself, I almost cried.

After arriving in Lisboa at 11:30 AM on Wednesday, September 4^th, Cristina and I went to our hotel, the Fenix Urban.  After lunch, we discovered a very cool supermarket, Pingo Doce, where bottles of good Portuguese wine cost less than 2 Euros.

On Thursday, September 5^th, we took a bus tour of the Belem area of Lisboa, where many tourists partake of the delicious Portuguese pastry known as pastel de nata (Pasteis de Belem recommended by my student, Silvia).  This pastry is made from a combination of flour, milk, sugar, cinnamon, water, vanilla extract and 6 egg yolks.

On Friday, September 6^th, our bus tour took us to a beautiful beach area a little outside of Lisboa, known as Cascais, pronounced Cascaish.  It reminded me of the Hamptons on Long Island.  For dinner, Cristina and I went to Solar dos Presuntos, which was recommended by my student, Fernanda.  I had a delicious piece of salmon.  Good recommendation.

On Saturday, September 7^th, Cristina and I visited the Chiado district of Lisboa where we found (with the help on my student, Kim) the statue of the famous Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa.  As part of the statue, there is a chair where tourists can sit next to the poet for a photo-op.  We did.  Nearby is the Bertrand, the oldest continuous operating bookstore in the world.  I bought a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo written by Alexandre Dumas in 1844.

On Sunday, September 8^th, we flew via Air Tap flight #1944 to Porto.  When we arrived at our hotel, the Grande Hotel do Porto, we discovered a kind of Times Square in front on Rua de Santa Catarina.  There was such a mob of tourists our taxi had difficulty arriving at the hotel.

At 9 AM on Monday, September 9^th, we saw four men (Sao Joao, O Infante Dom Henrique, Almeida Garrett and Camilo Castelo Branco) come out from the Clock of the Galerias Palladium near our hotel.  On our walk down to the Douro River, we passed the Cannabis Store Amsterdam where I bought (and later consumed) a dark chocolate bar which contained some elements of the substance (but not THC).  Almost nothing happened.  I had shrimp for lunch at the very good nearby restaurant Cantinho do Avillez.

On Tuesday, September 10^th, Cristina and I had lunch at A Brasileira.  I chose an eggplant dish which I enjoyed.  In the evening, we went for dessert at the famous and very popular Majestic Café, where tourists line up to get in.

On Wednesday, September 11^th, we visited a winery (Quinta Da Boeira) which produces Porto wine (since 1850).  Cristina bought a bottle of Reserve Tawny.  As part of the tour, we discovered, almost hidden away, a fabulous restaurant where I had one of the finest meals of my life (quality of food and beverage, service, and ambiance).  We sat on the building’s porch overlooking a garden, almost by ourselves, on a beautiful afternoon, eating fish and drinking a bottle of Portuguese wine served by Joao, our friendly waiter.

On Thursday, September 12^th, Cristina and I took a 3 hour bus trip to Braganca, the largest city in the northeast of Portugal.  We dined at the Emiclau restaurant and sat under a full moon in a plaza in the center of town.

In 1925, Manoel and Ismenia, two young adults, got married and decided to move across the Atlantic from Portugal to "El Dorado" (Brazil).  Two years later, in their new country, Ismenia gave birth to a daughter, Irene.  My wife, Cristina, is Irene’s daughter.  

Manoel and Ismenia grew up in a very small village near Braganca called Nunes.  On Friday, September 13^th , we hired a taxi driver (ironically named Manoel) to take us to Nunes.  It’s about a 40 minute trip through the mountains on very winding roads.  I had no expectations, but it turned out to be a momentous journey.

 

First, we visited the local cemetery to pay our respects to Manoel who, when Irene was a child, returned to Portugal for the treatment of tuberculosis.  He died there, never returning to his family in Brazil.

Next, Cristina and I visited the Catholic chapel (built in 1545) where the young couple married the year before their trip to the new world. We also saw the house, made of stone, where Ismenia lived her early life.  It was an emotional experience for Cristina, returning to her roots.  We will never forget Nunes.

On Saturday, September 14^th , we took a seven hour bus ride from Braganca back to Lisboa.

On Sunday, September 15^th, we flew via Air Tap flight #83 from Lisboa to Sao Paulo.  Before the flight, Cristina and I bought (at the Duty Free shop) a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream and four bottles of Portuguese wine.  Again, I watched two movies on board.

 

First was the 1968 classic action film, Bullitt, starring the late Steve McQueen.  The movie's memorable car chase down the streets of San Francisco alone was worth the price of admission.  I was reminded of McQueen recently through the movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) in which he (portrayed by Damian Lewis) appears in one memorable scene.

The second, The Mule (2018), stars Clint Eastwood as a very old man, down on his luck, who goes to work for a drug cartel transporting cocaine in his small truck along the highways of middle America.  Like Stallone, Eastwood has successfully transitioned from young tough men to wise old ones.  Too bad McQueen didn’t have the opportunity to do the same. 

At 1 AM, on Monday, September 16^th, Cristina and I arrived home.  The Portugal we found was safe, clean, organized and beautiful.  We loved it.