The Pantzers parlay Portugal

June 24: Gaia

Today we took a cable car ride at Gaia, which is on the opposite side of the river from Porto, so we had great views of Porto.

A long bridge connects Gaia to Porto, and on the Gaia side lies the famous Monastery of Serra do Pilar

Then we visited Taylor’s estate, which makes some of the best port in Portugal, and where a couple of lions guard the entrance !

The grapes are grown upstream in the Douro valley and are brought to Gaia for storage. Did you know that vintage ports age in their bottles, and should be aged lying on their sides? Tawny ports are stored in barrels and are oxidised to end the fermentation process.

Not too hot today so spent some time on the sundeck (where you spend time reading your book, but really you spend time having a sleep!)

In the evening we toured the famous Palacio da Bolsa in the centre of Porto. Construction on this neo classical building started in 1842.It is now owned by the Porto equivalent of the Chamber of Commerce. Very majestic entrance

The chandelier weighs one tonne! Some of the floors were in beautiful parquetry. One of them created an interesting 3D effect.

We were treated to a “Fado” concert. Fado is a music tradition which can be traced back to the 1820s in Lisbon. It was performed by a group of musicians who played a Portuguese guitar, a traditional guitar and a bass guitar, together with a singer who really engaged the audience.