Go Team Porto!

Many helpful drivers in Lisbon and Porto have made sure we understood the intense rivalry between Lisbon and Porto – both on the soccer field and in the tourism arena. And I am happy to report to you that – as much as we loved Lisbon – we are firmly on Team Porto.

Porto is fabulous – centuries old buildings mixed with 19th century buildings, many with tiled facades, sitting right on the Duoro River. The architectural mix is awesome! Here’s a few shots:

Road Scholar is in charge of our touring now and I’m reminded of why I loved that trip to France so much last fall. Road Scholar has no fear of packing their itineraries with things I didn’t realize I was desperate to see.

We started with the basics: the Sao Bento train station – a 20th century railway terminal, which is on every tour plan:

Then we moved over to…wait, stop for elaborate three course Road Scholar lunch, where much like in France, I was served a perfect omelette and French fries…the Palacio da Bolsa – the Stock Exchange Building, from the 19th century, Neoclassical and Palladian inside. Here’s the main hall:

My favorite parts were the mosaic floor, above, inspired by the Greco-Roman floors at Pompeii and the Moorish hall:

After these two buildings, Mayra said we were going to have a wine tasting at a family port wine operation. Being a veteran of 6 wine operations from my France tour, I had a pretty good idea of where we were headed…wine barrels, some production equipment, a fancy tasting room. Well…

The Quinta de Villar d’Allen is a leisure manor right in Porto, which has been in the Allen family since 1839. Our bus pulled over onto the side of the road and…skirting traffic…we entered through this gate, welcomed by Alberto and Isa Allen:

While I guess we really were there for a port wine tasting, the bulk of our visit was a leisurely walk through their fabulous gardens, which manage to be decadent and decaying at the same time. Isa can tell you the history of the hundreds of camellia plants and Alberto can tell when that tree from Australia was planted or why he has a stand of American Linden trees. Sometimes, in their frenzy to horticulturally orient you, they talk over each other, adding to both the confusion and the charm.

Finally, you get to approach the house, and after a momentary pause to ponder the structural integrity of the building, in you go:

The house was built in 1780 and added onto in 1839. The Allens try to live in it exactly as it existed in 1850 – no updating has been done and everything inside is original. Check out this candlelit reading chair from 1850:

And here’s the “tasting room”, where the Allens sat down and had a glass of Port with us: (Note: I actually thought it tasted pretty good and, as I was seated right next to Isa and Alberto, I dutifully drank most of mine.)

It’s both a heartbreaking and highly entertaining place to visit. Isa and Alberto are approaching 80 years old. They’ve been married for 52 years – since he met her when she was working as a flight attendant on a Mozambique Airways flight. They are clearly devoted to their gardens, their antique-filled home, and their port wine. We left happy and highly entertained – but also very hopeful that there is a plan in place to keep this important place running in future years.

Tomorrow we leave Porto and head out into the countryside!