Fun stuff happens, even when you don't plan it, so be excited!
Author: Adventures of Dan and Lisa
When the boat broke down the nice lady from England exclaimed "oh goody, an adventure!" That changed the possible problem into a great story and improved attitudes. It has become the motto for our travels. We hope you enjoy the stories as much as we enjoyed the adventure.
We have returned to Portugal! Porto is our starting point, as it would be a gentle re-entry thanks to already figuring out the transit, and we had a list of things in the region we knew we wanted to see. The decision on where to stay was easy too, thanks to a great experience on our last stay. For those who know us in real life, we do like having our bar preferences known and a familiar greeting. Well, from the “Welcome Back!, how long will you be here this time?” at check in, the “you take one coffee and one tea” at breakfast, the bartenders remembering which beer we preferred-and that they could offer us “guidance” as to which Portugese futbol team was best, the servers all knowing they had seen us before, and the dessert whisperer smiling with glee as she contemplated which desserts to recommend, we certainly made a great decision!
Our hotel overlooks a park with fountains, and lots of space for wheeled activities. The weather was great for early November, so the people and dog watching has been fun!The Chocolate Hazelnut dessert. We were talked into this on our first visit, exactly 6 months to the day before we were again tempted. On the first visit, it was observed that we must really like each other, because this is seldom shared.And, the remains of another dessert – this time the chocolate brownie. It’s actually not on the dinner menu, but was brought over (10 feet or so) from the cafe because the Dessert Whisperer knew we had tried all of the other desserts.The hotel is in Matosinhos, just north of Porto on the Atlantic Coast. There are a lot of beaches, and a very nice walking path. This view is from a small park that offers shady places to sit and enjoy the waves.There are many buildings with skylights like this, not all of them are colored glass, nor do they line up with the setting sun for a photo so nicely.This is the cruise port lit up at sunset. And the beach, which is just down the street from our hotel. One of the things we really like about this location is being able to take a short walk down to the ocean. There are always things going on, from surfing lessons and futbol matches, to beach volleyball and a paddle ball game that looks like fun.One of the items on our list to do during this visit was ride the transit to the far flung stops and see what was there. Povoa De Varzim is at the north end of the red line, so we bought some tickets and headed out. It was a nice ride out at mid-morning. We arrived in town, and this is the city building. The fort for the city. This is a coastal fishing village and the fort provided protection from Pirates! The gates to the fort. Beginning in the 1400s, these fortifications protected the city. It took its current form in the 1740s and was restored by the city in 2015.Povoa de Varzim is on the Way of St. James, a pilgrimage that goes through northern Portugal. This church sits on one of the routes. Lapa Church, built by the local fishermen and near where the fishing boats dock. On the back is a small lighthouse. The Main Church, this church is away from the coast and a bit out of the city center, but the sun was shining on it and it looked nice.Back in Matosinhos, another scene from the walkway along the ocean. They aren’t kidding, between the spaces in the boardwalks, the gneiss boulders protruding on the walkway, and the risk of wandering to the edge of the path while watching the waves, a tumble is certainly possible! But, so far, we have managed to fall in love with the area and not make an actual fall.
Road Trip! We had an excuse to head west to Kansas City, so we made it a Road Trip! As I looked for things to see and do I found the Illinois River Road Scenic Drive. Peoria is well situated at a wide spot in the river known as Lake Peoria. We shared our hotel with 3 different wedding parties, so it was a very positive vibe as we waited for our “historic” (read small and slow) elevators.
A cool piece of art along the Riverfront Park in Peoria.Dan Fogelberg, crooner of songs from my tween and teen years, was born in Peoria. This lovely view is a fitting Memorial.Peoria is one of many communities that has a “solar system walk” where you can get a sense of how big our solar system is, and learn about the planets. The final lines of the description of Earth made us giggle. “Speculation abounds concerning the possibility of intelligent life on Earth. The Planet hasn’t always been hospitable for humans, and isn’t guaranteed to remain so.”
Caterpillar is headquartered in Peoria, and they have a Visitors Center. It is a Cat Museum! Lots of information about the history of the company, how the huge machines are made and used, and hands on ways to see what the innards of machines look like. So, you can see a lot of the equipment with way less mud and dust than you might expect. Plus, they have simulators! You might think the simulators would fairly straight forward, but Lisa can tell you it is easier to wreck the bulldozer (and, remarkably, even the backhoe) than you would think.
This truck, used for mining, is 2 stories high with the truck bed down and a whopping 5 stories high when fully extended. They put a theater for the introductory movie in the truck bed. The seats rumble as you watch the movie so you can experience the power of the engine.The tires of that beast are 14 feet high!Why is it called Caterpillar? Because a photographer brought out to document one of the first pieces of equipment made a comment. So, pretty much how many nicknames are assigned.For our loyal readers, the random building with copper that has achieved that beautiful green patina.It is the City Hall, so maybe less of a random building.
We did spend some time on the scenic drive. The road itself
The road itself is mostly a two lane highway with access roads to the wetlands and river area. We turned down one access road and came across a whole herd of river pelicans. There were also a lot of swans, but they were on the other side of the car.
One place of interest listed with the scenic drive is the Dickson Mounds State Museum. The museum is on land formerly owned by the Dickson family. When a family member noticed what appeared to be burial mounds and did some shovel based exploration, they discovered a burial site for the Native Americans who originally inhabited the land. in the early 1900s, he turned it in to a private museum by putting a tent over the remains and charging admission. The one “good” thing was that the remains and artifacts were left in place. Over the years archeologists, historians and others studied the site, it was sold to the state for a museum and a building and interpretive center were built. In the early 1990s the state agreed with the descendants of those buried that the display was not appropriate and updated the museum to focus on the natural history, the human history and the culture of the area. The grounds offer some hiking trails as well, so it is a good stop.
One bit of weirdness though – the area showing how the Native Americans would have lived seemed a bit “off” at first. Well, by the time I got to the second display showing the activities usually done by women I realized that they had added really bad shirts to cover the breasts. They also added coverings for some of the two dimensional displays. It was very off putting and so distracting that anything I learned in the museum is lost behind this fact. Later in the day we came across some signage by the conservation area that included some photos from the museum that included the display – minus the weird togashirts – that were dated about 2011, so the shirts are a recent addition. A quick internet search netted zero results, so apparently the dressing was done stealthily enough to avoid any commentary that would show up for those of us curious as to who thought this was a good idea. Apparently, the excess of culturally inappropriate modesty only extended to the displays of women’s activities.Lovely flowers.A fungus, it was about the size of a football.If you look closely, you can see two cranes in this photo. The estuaries and wetlands along the river were drained in the last century or so and used for farmland. The river went from being one of the most lucrative fisheries in the United States to being overfished and impacted by farm runoff. In the last twenty years or so conservation groups have obtained the land and restored it to a more natural state. Part of the recovery is seeing the return of many native species, plants and migratory birds. We also saw kayakers, campers and lots of people fishing.
Visiting State Capitol Buildings is a side travel hobby that has been going on for over 20 years, there are only a few left, so there won’t be too many featured on this blog. But, our fall road trip took us through one of the remaining to be seen Capital cities, Jefferson City, Missouri. Our hotel was perfectly situated on a hill opposite of the rise where the Capitol was built. The building was situated above the banks of the Missouri River and is visible from a long way away – intentionally. We lucked out with a beautiful evening view and a nice day for the walk to take our tour.
Our view, the hotel had a great outdoor space, with firepit, so we spent the evening out there. Three women who were locals joined us after a successful evening gambling at the local Veterans club and were very enthusiastic about what we would see and learn about on our tour.The Capitol from the Missouri River side, they had several nice plazas.Barges being moved down the river as seen from the plaza near the Capitol Building.A Rotunda Picture. The Missouri Capitol has a lovely, layered Rotunda. It is the third capitol, replacing two previous buildings both destroyed by fire. When the second one burned, the state budgeted $3 million for a new building and sold bonds. They raised almost $4 million, but stayed on budget and completed the building with about a million dollars left over.After the Attorney General ruled the extra money could not be returned, and had to be used on the Capitol Building, they allocated those funds to art and decor, and boy does it show. There are many decorative flourishes, including stained glass windows, murals, and statuary.This little guy lives at the base of the banister on the stairs in the rotunda near the visitor center.The House Chamber was getting new carpet, so they had temporary desks set up for the upcoming special session. They were also upgrading the voting system, so there was a lot going on. The stained glass here was made by a company set up by two men who had recently left the Tiffany Company to set up their own shop. The folks in charge of spending the money on this building were always on the lookout for a bargain.More of the stained glass and the pillars, which are made to look like marble using an Italian method known as Scagliola. This method was used on the columns in the Ohio Statehouse’s Judicial Annex Building as it was a favorite design method in the early 1900s. Yes, one of us is a little bit geeky about this stuff.Did we say the patio at our hotel had a great view?
For this trip, we decided to check out the Queen Mary 2 as transportation, and we booked on the seven-day Transatlantic crossing for our return to the US. My parents had done this trip several years ago and really enjoyed it, we like travelling by ship, and it’s the QM2, so…
In part because of the labor actions impact train travel, one of the strikes was scheduled for the day before the ship was set to sail, we decided to spend some time in Southampton, which was an easy decision because even a quick search brought up plenty to keep us entertained. After all of the historic buildings in London and York, and even after seeing newer neighborhoods in Lancaster built to replace places damaged during World War 2, Southampton definitely brought home just how much bombing the Germans did during the war. There were just enough remnants of the older structures to get a sense of how much was missing.
One place that survived was a medieval merchants home which is tricked out with period furnishings and accessories so you get a really good sense of what life was like for a prosperous family of the time.This was likely a very good sized and comfortable bed, with bed hangings to keep you warm, but it was a bit cramped even for those of us with a more diminutive stature (so only one of us).One of the older buildings that survived the relentless bombing of the war. Because Southampton was a major port and the place where the British Spitfire Fighter Planes were manufactured, it was a pretty attractive target.While out wandering around the city with no set goals, as we often do, a nice man standing outside of the Aviation Museum chatted with us and when he found out we were from Ohio, let us know he was interested in getting to the Air Force Museum in Dayton. Then he encouraged us to visit the museum, which we had been discussing once we figured out what the building was. So, we went and grabbed lunch with the air of people who had plans for the afternoon and returned. And it was very worth it. If you ever find yourself in Southampton, don’t let the small size of the building fool you – there is a whole lot of aviation history in there. Added bonus, they have the police and firefighters museums too. We learned a lot that afternoon.Like I said, a lot of stuff in that aviation museum, and they made the most of their space and the unique attributes of some of their artifacts. They also had several planes-or at least cockpits-you could get in to!We also visited the Southampton City Museum. It had a very good exhibit about the Titanic focused primarily on the impact to the city, given that many of the crew were from the area and had families there. The local focus, including showing the perspective of particular crew members ranging from bridge crew to 1st and 3rd class stewards to mechanics in the engine room, gave the sense of a very complete picture of life on board. They also had an area to highlight the inquest and the maritime practices that were changed and standardized in the wake of some of the failures that increased the number of deaths. Of course, this photo has nothing to do with that. It was one of the many late 1800s “games” on display. There were a lot of animatronic games that would have been at theme parks in the Victorian era. Many were elaborate.The Queen Mary 2 as we approached dock. Our hotel was situated just close enough to where the ship was docked that we couldn’t bring ourselves to hire a cab. And it was pretty cool to walk through a port area where large car carriers, freighters and cruise ships all dock.While these may look like cool pieces of sculpture, they are actual spare propellor blades for the ship. They are stored on the fore deck and – unless it is too windy – accessible to folks walking around the ship. They were not accessible several days on our journey as we had a lot of wind, and one full day of very heavy fog so it was a bit like sailing in the clouds.This is about as close as we got to the site of the Titanic. Interesting choice to highlight that site on a ship making a similar journey. Part of the reason we were further north is because taking that “high” route exploits the curvature of the earth to make the journey shorter. The QM2 is an Ocean Liner, not a Cruise Ship, and as such, is designed for these long sea voyages. The ship moved along at a pretty fast clip of about 24 knots, as compared to the cruise ship we took over which kept the pace at no more than 18 knots. Not only were we going faster, the ride was incredibly smooth, even on the days when we had higher swells.Entering New York City, one of several impressive bridges.The sunrise as we approached Manhattan Island. It was a very dramatic way to come into port.The Statue of Liberty.Another bridge, hey – they don’t have labels!
We also met a friend in New York City. One of my (Lisa’s) friends from my hometown. Another person Facebook has made accessible. While we enjoyed a lovely dinner at a nice NYC restaurant, we figured out he and I had not seen each other since the mid 1980s. Not that anyone eavesdropping on the conversation would think that the way we chattered away. Dan is such a good sport.
We arrived in England with minimal itinerary and plans beyond checking out London and the Museum, seeing our friend in York and getting to the dock before our ship sailed! There were intermittent rail and tube strikes planned during the few weeks we were there which added to the degree of difficulty associated with our no plan planning strategy. So, we decided the easiest thing was to only take direct trains and travel on the non-strike days. Birmingham got on our radar because it had a site where we could use our shiny new British Heritage Membership, it had a direct train from York, and seemed big enough to keep us entertained for a few days. Beyond that, it was going to be an adventure. We got very protective of this city we knew nothing about when the reaction folks had when we answered the question “where are you headed next?” was often “Birmingham? Really? Interesting choice, what are you going to do there?” But we did get one more enthusiastic response from the lovely woman pulling our pints at the pub – “Oohh, I love Birmingham!” When I asked what we should do there, she replied “I have no idea, I went down for an interview, had a really good meal – can’t remember where – and came back, but it was nice.” Good enough recommendation for us.
Birmingham came into prominence during the Victorian Era and a lot of the architecture shows it.It is also a bustling, modern city and the Main Library shows it!The monument is to Queen Victoria, and the building behind is part of an impressive block of civic and public buildings.Our Missed Opportunity. The couple sailing away from us on that canal boat arrived at the lock as we were approaching. She got off and started doing all of the “water level management tasks” as he steered the boat through the canal. As we all waited for the lock to fill, I went over to see what their story was. They were meeting their son in Birmingham to start a longboat trip. He had recently had a hip replaced, so she was managing the locks. We offered to close the lock behind them and as they started up, they said – hopefully – “we have about 7 more locks in the next few kilometers, we’d give you a tour of the boat and a ride if you’d like to help.” And for some reason, we declined. Idiots! They weren’t to the next lock before we were kicking ourselves and wondering if we should race walk back to catch up. We didn’t, but we have spent a lot of time talking ourselves through similar situations so we’re more prepared to say yes to the next opportunity.
This is what “lock management activities” look like, and our help. We saw several of these stations around town – they are folding electric bikes you can rent. Pretty cool!The English Heritage Site that tempted us to go to Birmingham was a jewelry factory. It was a place where they carved forms and stamped items that were then silver plated and sold by various jewelers. This place was held by the same family for generations and was in operation from the late 1700s to the early 2000s. It was then sold to English Heritage, but the last remaining family member and company president will still show up and do tours. We didn’t have him for the guide, but it was very interesting. This picture is the display that showed the stages of making their signature candle stick. The family kept everything, so they have pretty much every form they ever used. In fact, some group was in town to celebrate their 100th anniversary and approached the company to see if they could recreate some piece that had been done for the organization in it’s early days. Well, a little digging in the files, and some rooting around in the shelves, and yes! they could recreate the100 year old design using the original forms! The tour guide had to warn everyone that this was a very old factory, so there were lots of hazards – trip hazards, random nails, and the like – and that it was a bit dirty, because “even our dust and dirt is historic!”The side of a canal boat, from the canal boat tour.Another canal boat and one of many pedestrian bridges over the canals. There is also a bridge that was renamed to celebrate a famous Birmingham Group – Black Sabbath.One of many of the original bridges used to for traffic over the canals. This is at a canal intersection, so there is a tow path below, and that bridge was part of the tow path for the canal we are on.
If you have hung in on this post this long, here is a bonus story. Liverpool has two football teams, Aston Villa and Liverpool FC. During our tour of the jewelry factory we got to the shipping department and were given the option of checking out the shipping room, but our tour guide would not be joining us. Did I mention that they basically turned over the whole place to English Heritage, and by whole place, every item, tool, record, metal shaving, dust, and office decor. Anyway, we entered the room and it was decked out in Aston Villa paraphernalia, posters, articles and player photos from previous decades. Didn’t take much to deduce that the tour guide was a Birmingham FC fan.
So, York is a pretty old city and you can find remnants from when the Vikings were in the area, remains of Roman structures and walls, and buildings dating back to the Middle Ages. Most of the medieval walls remain around the city center and are a fun way to walk around and check out the historic skyline. York got put on our itinerary for this trip mostly as an excuse to catch up with a guy we met on previous travels. We met Ian on the ship we took to Australia, he was looking for a place to eat his lunch one day, so we invited him to join our table. And, as you do on long sea voyages, we ran in to him all over the place after that. Super nice guy and thanks to the wonders of the internet we have been able to keep sufficiently in touch that we were able to schedule a day to hang out in his part of the world. It was great catching up with him!
Ian took advantage of the out of towners visiting to be a tourist himself, and got us to take the local, free walking tour. The tour guide was very informative and entertaining, and we had a great day. Afterwards we found a pub, had a good old pub lunch and I indulged my shandy habit! Here we are in front of the York Minster, the cathedral built by a bishop hoping to compete with Westminster Abbey and that Bishop. The Minster, referred to that despite no longer having a seminary, is under constant repair which has created a pretty impressive training ground for stone masons. We did not take the Minster tour this trip, it was pretty crowded, but one option was a scaffolding tour that allowed you to see the restoration work. One of several gates to the city on the medieval wall. The gates all have rooms in the upper floors, one is now a museum, one has been resorted to include the gate so you can see how it works. Another is currently a coffee shop but was a private residence as recently as the 1950s if the signage can be believed. We walked along parts of the city walls every day we were in York and were able to see the entire thing. A view of the Minster from the wall. Alas, my lackadaisical approach to blogging means I have already forgotten what the building in the foreground is. But I think this shot shows off the size and “fanciness” of the Minster pretty well.One of the newer buildings in the city, this one dates back to the Victorian era (I think). The stonework on the various buildings is amazing.Who doesn’t love a good Bluestocking? Also, the York the historical markers were varied and covered many topics.While this is not from the Minster, it is a good representation of what happens to stonework after a few centuries. The Minster has the stonemasons recreating the stonework and replacing it. Not sure if that will be done for other buildings.The River Ouse, one of many with that name in the UK (Hat Tip to my friend in Pittsburgh- you know who you are), as it goes through York. Apparently, it is connected to the canal system and used by the longboaters of England. I am not certain this photo does justice to how tiny some of these boats are, or to the fact the even the big ones have a width that would allow Dan to stand in the middle of the cabin and touch both sides (likely – we never made it on to one).
As we communicated with Ian leading up to our getting together in York, he offered suggestions for our time in Yorkshire. One recommendation was a day trip to the coast to see the city of Scarborough. So, we hopped on the train, enjoyed a scenic ride through some bucolic British countryside, bought the local tourist map for 1 euro from an interesting map vending machine, and headed – up hill, as usual – to the local castle. The views on the walk up were amazing as the castle was situated at headlands and the coastline in this part of the world is pretty good looking.
The castle – it took quite a beating during the Civil War in the 1600s, so what’s left is actually pretty remarkable. As we approached the site, we were greeted by an enterprising staff member who explained – with a map! – the benefits of an annual membership to English Heritage. Needless to say, we now have an incentive to visit sites covered by our new membership.Another view of the castle, this one closer to where the cannons of the Roundheads would have been as they aimed their cannons. The building to the left was used for many things over the last few hundreds of years, including during the Second World War, when it housed the garrison commander.A view from the castle grounds back towards the north. The site of the castle has been used by humans dating back several thousand years. The Vikings spend some time here and from here the English engaged in a lot of commerce with Europe before the Romans spent time in the area.Back in York, more evidence of the age of the city and it’s importance, if the number of fortifications and major religious structures can be a gauge. These are the remains of a monastery and hospital. There are several buildings in this complex still in use by the Museum of York, and the surrounding area is a lovely park. History and Architecture buffs will find so many things to learn and see here. Outside of the York Minster is this statue of a Roman Emperor. Seemed a bit out of place until we learned that the previous Emperor – and Constantine’s father – was using York as a base of operations for one of the northern most regions of the Empire. I guess at some point in the 200’s the Romans decided to ignore Ceasar’s report declaring England a “cold and rainy land full of barbarians and not worth the effort” (or something along those lines). I also have a recollection from the tour that the Roman general who came to take over England (at least 50 years after Ceasar wrote it off) used Elephants, thinking that would so frighten and confuse the barbarians as to ease the conquest. But, since I am so far behind in posting, I share that as an interesting tidbit that may or may not be based in any fact. Anyway, Constantine led a Roman Legion and was in York supporting the Empire when his father died. He was named Emperor here in York. I am really hoping we find ourselves in a bar doing trivia one day and we can pull this fact out for the win. This photo also shows the extent of the scaffolding in use for the current phase of restoration – so the scaffolding tour of the Minster is probably worth it.Another of the York Historical Markers, this one outside of a very old church that is no longer in use as such. It is a very subtle way for York to claim to have been the location of the first same sex marriage in England. Anne Lister dressed as a man to conduct business and was known as Gentleman Jack. Since we do not have access to many of the streaming services around, I was not aware of the HBO Show Gentleman Jack until my Pittsburgh friend (yep, that same one – she knows who she is) was less surprised than I would have expected when I posted about this on Facebook.The back side of the Minster. The building to the left that barely makes in the photo at one time housed some naughty priests. Back in the day, due to primogeniture, wealthy families would by younger sons a post in the church where people would pay them to pray for them to reduce their time in purgatory and ease their passage into heaven. For some reason, this led to a number of members of the clergy who were, shall we say, less devout and pious than they might have been. This meant that the nearby streets housed a number of “entertainment establishments.” At one point, there were curbs put in place to improve the optics of this branch of the church, and there were some unhappy people.
York was a very fun visit and this post just touches on a few of the things that struck me or had a good photo. We will be back!
“Travel safely and with Reckless Abandon!” That was a text we got from my dad a few years ago while we were on a road trip in the US. It still makes us smile!
I am, as usual and not at all surprisingly, behind on blog posts – but I am working on them and will be sending a bunch out here shortly because we go back on the road again in a few weeks!
Based on zero planning besides “we should spend at least three weeks in England, so June 1st makes the most sense for our flight to London” we arrived the day before the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee activities were set to begin. Fortunately, our usual dumb luck with things had us find a very nice accommodation just far enough out to avoid the worst of the crowds but remain within easy distance to things we wanted to see. Dan decided we should go to the British Museum before they started to return some of the artifacts as they would be easier to see while they were all in one place, and we could always travel to see them again. While we were very close to a tube stop, there were numerous closures and schedule changes due to the Jubilee, construction, and intermittent “labour actions” so we will have to return to really experience London’s transit.
The British Museum. We booked our free entry tickets on line for opening time, and while there was a good sized queue before they opened the gates, the crowds were not bad for the early part of our visit. The building is lovely, with large halls and galleries in the older part and a very large expansion done as part of London’s Millenium building binge. I know there is a lot of controversy about the expansion, but I thought it was good space and it managed the large crowds that were in the museum as the day progressed.For some reason we are always surprised by the age of some artifacts – this one, in part because it was glass and remains in amazing shape.
We spent a fair amount of our time in galleries displaying British items, including the finds of archaeological digs of Roman, Celt, and Viking communities. There is a room devoted entirely to timepieces – clocks, watches and such. The level of artistic and mechanical detail was amazing. There was a Middle Eastern room that included a lot of information about coffee; Dan’s favorite item learned was how in one place the host served you strong coffee until your hand shook just the right amount. We then moved on to the Egyptian collection and WOW, the amount, the variety, the sheer audacity of the collection. The comments about the looting and arrogance of the collection are based in truth and well deserved. It was also extremely popular and somewhat informative, however the sheer volume, especially of burial artifacts, was overwhelming.
The Tower Bridge. The Jubilee meant there were large crowds in central London, and road closures meant there was some interesting traffic patterns on the bridges. The walkways along the Thames were busy, but a really good way to spend the day.In the heart of London – which is just one mile square, and is the central business area – holds most of the really ancient buildings. This is the remains of a very old church. The Clock Tower, Big Ben resides behind that clock face and rings out the time!For some reason, this view from the top deck of the Hop On/Hop Off bus tour tickled my fancy. Near Hyde Park, but I am so far behind on blog posts, I can’t remember any other details.We like to take the Hop On/Hop Off tours in big cities. It is a nice sampler platter to determine where to spend more time, and is also useful in figuring out where and how far away some places really are. The London Hop On/Hop Off offers a River tour too – son here’s another view of the Tower Bridge.We tried Marmite – it is a fermented yeast product with a tangy, umami flavor. Butter and peanut butter improve the taste, at least for us!
From Coimbra we caught another convienent and affordable train to Leiria. As we walked in from the train station – which was not quite as close to the center of town as we had hoped – we passed through some nice parks along the river, spied the local sports stadium, and saw the castle on the hill above town. Our adventure from the train station was a good lesson in the limitations of using your phone for navigation. We assumed the station would be close in, or have obvious busses, or cabs because that has been our experience so far. Alas, the Leiria’s station is situated on the edge of the city, and away from the central city. There were no cabs waiting to collect random travelers and the bus stop had no information. A quick search for directions on our phones offered no bus options to our hotel, but it was within 3 KM, so we started walking! It was a lovely and doable walk, even with our bags, but a little more than we usually like to take on. We discovered the busses do run from the station to close to our hotel, but for some reason even all knowing Google does not have their routes or timetables. Lesson learned, we’ll either do a bit more research or ask next time!
In Leiria’s old quarter, tight streets and interesting buildings. Leiria had a good sized Jewish population prior to them being persecuted and eliminated. There are efforts to acknowledge this history, but the conversion of synagogues to churches and the persecution means there are almost no physical reminders of the community.The alter of a church that was originally the main synagogue in the city.We ventured up the hill to see the castle. The city has an elevator you can take to get you part way up the hill and several people stopped us to point it out to help us avoid the climb, which is just another example of how kind the people in Portugal are! Once you get to the top the views are well worth it, whether you made the climb or enjoyed the elevator ride!The castle had an amazing porch with beautiful columns around the archways.Some of the detail in the stonework. This type of detail appears all over.Inside the castle church. The complex has been partially restored and the church is in very good shape. Evidence of Roman occupation has also been found in the area.
As we got to the top of the castle complex and wanted to explore the partially restored tower a group of college students asked if we could wait for 9 minutes to go in as they were taking some measurements. We explored the grounds as other groups of students also wandered around. An instructor correctly interpreted our curiosity and said they were devising a plan to rebuild the tower as a class project.
Statue of the King associated with the castle. Again, I gotta start making better notes.Some more beautiful tile work, this time on the side of the paper factory. Leiria was home to one of the first paper factories in Europe and also one of the first publishers. The first paper factories were in China and date back to 106, this one dates from 1411.One of at least three water wheels that powered the paper factory.Not to be outdone, Leiria also has a number of buildings with beautiful tile decor.We happened to time our visit to be during the month-long city festival. We wandered over one afternoon and saw the carnival rides, were able to resist the temptation of fried dough and ice cream, and checked out the market stalls.Like all good fairs, there were tractors! Not sure what level of status the Lamborghini tractor represents.And, some pretty blooms.
Another day, another delightful train trip! This trip wound through farmland more than from town to town and then along the river. One crop we were able to identify, rice! Figueira da Foz is primarily a beach town, known for having one of the largest beaches in Portugal and all of Europe. Foz shows up in a lot of coastal town names, including a pretty swanky neighborhood in Porto, and it means “mouth of the river.” There are several options for the source of the name of Figueira da Foz, but one of them is that there was a large fig tree near the mouth of the river, so that’s a pretty good reason for the name.
Just one view of the beach, and we are standing at least 100 meters from the roadway and sidewalk on the boardwalk, the beach is huge, even during high tide. It was still pretty early in the year, and while there were lots of campers parked by the beach and a good number of people walking around town, we never saw any crowds on the beach – but given the size there could have been a stadium full of people out there and it wouldn’t be too bad!There were a few places with “fair food” stands along the beach. Apparently, we have the sense of humor of 10 year old’s, because we always got a giggle out of the name of one of the delightful looking fried dough snacks.
We had a lovely few days in Figueira de Foz, but we apparently didn’t take too many photos. We will try to do better when we go back – because everyone was very nice, the beach was beautiful, and the food was good we will most certainly return.
Oh Goody! An Adventure 