Last year, I visited a few areas within Portugal (prior post here) – all interesting in their own way, but Porto grabbed my attention and I decided I wanted to see more of Cidade Invicta (or city “invincible” a name earned during the 19th century Portuguese civil war).
I’d randomly selected the dates to be there, so it was happy timing that my visit coincided with a major annual happening in the city – the São João festival – joined by about 200K other revelers. This event has celebrated Porto’s patron saint, St. John the Baptist, for more than 6 centuries.
Sure, there’s a religious component to it, but on Monday, June 23rd, it seemed much more about partying in the streets and bopping others with toy hammers (nothing says honoring a saint quite like gently clobbering a stranger celebrating next to you). This playful addition to the day was added in 1963. There were also fireworks late night, and I woke just after 5 a.m. to hear festivities still going strong – people commit hard to this.
The next day, I headed to Aviero, the “Venice of Portugal” – approx. 40 min. away by train. A lively city, home to about 80,000 residents, it had some fun quirks.
First up was the Mercado do Peixe (fish market) was listed as being worth a look. However, I did not take note of the best hours to visit and alas, early afternoon was too late to see local fishmongers in action. But I exited through a side door and stumbled upon a cute little restaurant called Madrigal.
The waitress was extremely welcoming and when I was between two lunch options, she strongly suggested the “shrimp with rice” which she explained was a traditional dish. She’d described it as shrimp, rice and cream and while her English was fairly good, it seemed that there was a translation issue because this was so much more. I searched online later to learn it’s called Arroz de Camarão and this dish had plenty of shrimp but also a surprise cameo from a cluster of mussels (yes, that is what a group of them are called). And, definitely not cream, but a delightful balance of garlic, herbs, tomato and shrimp broth.
After the great meal, she pointed me in the right direction to have further insight into the offerings. I came across the canal with several small bridges that had colorful ribbons tied to them. This idea was inspired by some university students and obviously caught on. I watched a family excitedly tie theirs up, to join the many, many others. While taking in the view, a gondola floated below on the Ria de Aviero.
Nearby was an open air mall and from there, a short stroll to the old town area where, on the way, I came across Garfield enjoying the nice weather.
Wednesday’s adventure was to Coimbra, home to one of the most historic universities in the world, founded in 1290 (Morocco takes the prize for the very first on the planet, and the U. of Bologna gets the title for oldest in Europe, coming into existence in 1088). After researching online (and some helpful tips from locals via TripAdvisor forums), I pre-booked my train rides – and with wanting to visit the popular University library, I got the advice to also buy the preferred time slot in advance.
The train trip should have taken about 1 ½ hours but, as a local tour guide who happened to be seated next to me said, nothing operates on schedule in Portugal. Definitely a different vibe from Switzerland where transportation seems to run… like a Swiss watch. Thus, there was less buffer than expected to get to the library before my tour, especially given the steepness of the climb to reach the school.
Instead of going the slope-y route, my online map kindly directed me to a set of stairs that felt less like a helpful shortcut and more like a hardcore aerobic workout. Each step was about twice the usual height, and there were so many of them, I had to squint to see the top. Somehow (breathing harder than I’d like to admit), I arrived in time to join the group.
The library is the Biblioteca Joanina and it houses many first or historical editions of books that date back hundreds of years. It’s also quite pretty.
One thing I’d found especially intriguing before purchasing my ticket was that, in addition to books, it was home to bats. They’re on the payroll (taking on the 3rd shift) to eat bugs that would potentially harm the manuscript pages. To protect the desks at night, the staff rolls out large leather sheets so droppings can easily be cleaned up – basically turning the place into one big bat-bathroom. Alas, these creatures are nocturnal (every vampire movie seems to emphasized this), so no sightings on my visit…
An additional note about Coimbra’s University, I’d read that the students wear cloaks as a symbol of identity, generally on special occasions, but also – it would seem – when wandering around the shopping district. It’s said that this might have given J.K. Rowling some inspiration.
Before I left Portugal, I circled back to the Mercado Bolhão one more time (I’d already hit it up on Monday). This open air market boasts stalls with meat, fish, nuts, flowers, produce and enough candy to make a dentist dream about upgrading their vehicle. At a couple of the fruit stands, they sell fresh juice and while I’d already enjoyed a solid strawberry-banana number earlier in the week, the idea of a watermelon version had become seeded in my psyche.
A stop at a sunny park to catch some Vitamin D and relax, plus dinner at the hotel’s restaurant (truffle butter, truffle pasta, truffle-icious) closed out the evening.
Between the fabulous fête and flavorful feasts, relentless stairs and relaxing in the park, the experiences really hammered home how great this country is. Get it? “Hammered” home… because I’m now the proud owner of a shiny new toy version… 🙂