Sunday 1 February
We began our first full day in Porto with breakfast at the hotel.
The four of us then got our act together and left the hotel for our first day's outing. Our objective today was the World of Wine (more about that shortly). Since it was across the river and we didn't fancy walking two or three miles in a constant state of being vertical we opted for the Metro. The nearest stop, Trindade was a short two block walk from our hotel and off we went. After a few minutes fussing with the ticket machine (tickets are only available from machines) and with the help of one of several staff helping lots of others figure out how the machines work, we set off on line D across the river.
I should say here that what we've seen of the Metro so far it seems newer and fresher than the one in Lisbon. And all the trains are in fact light rail trams. Very nice, quiet and smooth ride.
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| the train and platform on the left is a line to the airport |
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| queueing up for tickets |
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| on board the Metro |
From the park overlooking Porto (the other side of the river is actually called Gaia) we began our walk in the rain downhill and through a tangle of streets in search of the World of Wine.
At long last we found the entrance to the World of Wine. Located in a complex of old port lodges the WOW consists of 7 different museums and some 11 restaurants and cafes although only 8 or so were open this time of year. The complex is also located next to both Taylor and Fonseca port lodges. (For more specifics about the WOW visit their
website.)
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| inside the main entrance |
The spaces were largely deserted as we made our way from the information and gift shop entrance upstairs to the main ticket counter (there are four) and spied a cafe on the same floor. We took a break to use the WC and have a coffee while we worked on how to approach this place. We four opted for a two-museum package and we chose the Planet Cork museum -- which was right next to the cafe -- and the Pink Palace experience, all about rosé wine.
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| coffee stop |
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| cafe for coffee |
Each museum requires a separate ticket which one scans to enter, much like how one enters the Lisbon Metro. Anyway, our first stop was the Planet Cork museum - and we were almost the only ones there.
The museum begins with a look at the cork tree and how it's harvested. We were genuinely amazed at the resilience of this incredible plant. The self-guided tour wends it way through the process of making cork stoppers where we also learned how many cork stoppers each of us weighed. Useless information you might say but fascinating nonetheless.
Leaving Planet Cork we popped into one of several restaurants on this floor for lunch. The Root and Vine has a lovely terrace with stunning views of Porto but of course with the persistent rain we opted to sit inside. Still, the food was delicious. Three of us had salads while Pauline went for the avocado bagel.
Fueled up for the afternoon we bundled up against the wind and rain and walked the 100 yards or so to our next museum, the Pink Palace.
The entrance was located at the end of a large, dimly lit building that was virtually devoid of any other people. Not surprising, I suppose, given the time of year, but eerie still.
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| the entrance |
And the fun begins! Because, frankly, this was one cool experience. Of course you learn how rosé is made and the tour focuses on the major countries that produce rosé beginning with France. One unique feature of this museum is that it includes five tastings of wines as we progress through the various exhibitions.
One thing about this museum that makes it so popular -- and there were a few other folks passing through -- is how really fun rosé is meant to be.
And of course there is the sparkling rosé exhibition that was a gas.
As we neared the end we passed through the California rosé exhibition. We still wonder how they got that car inside. . .
The museum concluded with the old west, which honestly I couldn't grasp how that connected to rosé. And there was no explanation aside from a whimsical look at how to make cocktails, such as in the use of gentian bitters.
We took an Uber from the WOW back to the hotel where we relaxed before dinner. The four of us agreed straightaway to have dinner in the hotel -- the weather being such a nuisance. The food was very good: Susan had a turkey club and the rest of us each had a burger, which interestingly enough had bacon and onion rings on it. Very scrumptious indeed!
Tomorrow we hope to tackle a couple of the sights along the Porto waterfront.
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