As I opened the shutters grey skies and damp met me. Still, when you’re on holiday, every day is a good day. We has brought warm clothes and umbrellas just in case, but they were hardly needed. The day warmed up pretty quickly and the rain turned out to be nothing more than damp.
We had a great breakfast in a nearby café. Freshly squeezed
orange juice. Fresh fruit salad. A roll with jam. A muffin and cappuccino.
Britt had bacon, eggs etc.. all whilst making a frenzied call back to the
office about some unhelpful and misguided behaviour by a client. On the way
back to the apartment we swung by a local church tucked in behind out building.
It perched at the highest point of the hill and from the empty lot behind the
church there was an uninterrupted vista across the city. It was quite stunning.
A black cat and a sprinkling of tourists shared the sight with us.
Johnny has been reading about Guimaraes, a world heritage
site in the form of an extensive medieval town, one hour’s drive north east of
Porto. We got there by car after paying an incredible hundred dollars for our
three day stay in the car park. Still, it was a lot cheaper than renting a car.
As we approached the outskirts of the city of Guimaraes, it
looked very ordinary, but when we left the car in the vast underground car park
and ventured up to street level, everything changed. The streets fanned out in
a puzzle of laneways and squares that had remained true to the medieval past of
the place. The architecture had remained authentic and many buildings had kept
their character even though they had to be turned to contemporary uses.
The very first building we saw was a stunner. Housed in
historic skin, the business was a mixture of gallery and bookshop, it was
superbly curated with really interesting interestingly designed Portuguese
goods. The owner explained that the artists she sells are represented in art
collections throughout the country. The building itself was a treasure. Sharing
walls with a 10th century defensive structure, the building was
renovated by a renowned Portuguese architect. Its appearance belied its 50
years and it looked as fresh today as it did when first completed. Britt bought
several items with a plan to have them on display at the Adega after the big
renovation.
Immediately outside that shop there was a very modern
interpretation of a medieval soldier in full battle kit. It was carved out of the
local grey granite rock and seemed to stand guard on behalf of the city. Much
of the city’s historic fabric had profited from the city’s status as a
historically significant site and the money that the government made available
to preserve it. The city’s survival was also helped by the closure of several
industries, leaving spaces available to be turned over to cultural pursuits.
We stopped for refreshments at a lovely café and planned our
route through the city. But it was impossible to stick to the plan, as we were
forever catching glimpses of buldings that drew us off our route. There was an
amazing market stone hall in the centre of the town, that was today put to good
use housing the many restaurants of the city. Chairs and tables were already
set up in expectation of the diners later in the evening.
The city was rich in medieval architecture but the
proportions of the properties were unusually grand. This city was the
birthplace of the first king of Portugul, so even all those years ago it was a
rich and important place. Today, Guimaraes still has a very prosperous
appearance with grand churches, and well maintained gardens. At Easter, there
is a religious procession called the stations of the cross. The surviving sites
of this path continue to be marked with models in historical dress.
We had lunch just outside the castle in what must have been
at some time in the past, a very grand house. It was a very long wait for our
meal of asparagus risotto to arrive, but when it did, it was well worth it.
The crowning glory of the town is the 10th century
defensive castle set high on the hill. Both against the external curtain walls
and within the castle grounds there were enormous granite boulders the size of
a mini bus, that had been integrated into the architecture. We toured the
castle and walked the battlements and grounds, though for the most part, hating
heights, I shuffled my wat around, alternatively hanging on to Johnny and
Britt. We then moved on to the nearby restored palace of the Dukes of Braganca.
We toured the palace which was furnished with vast tapestries and the type of
heavy furniture that would have been typical of the period. There was also a
selection of weapons used by the residents over the years. Unlike other castles
we has seen, this one had several tall chimneys to vent out the smoke from the
vast open fireplaces that heated the formal rooms.
The original plan was to spend a couple of hours in
Guimaraes and then drive on to another town, but there was just too much to see
in Guimaraes, so we stayed on. We also met a local potter who invited us into
her studio. She said that the town had been very badly hit by covid and that
they had lost many residents, particularly the old ones. By the late afternoon,
the clouds that moved on and the sun was bathing everything in a golden light.
Britt had never heard of this town, but I think it has become a firm favourite.
It was late afternoon before we left Guimaraes for a return
to Porto. There was just enough time to check emails before we headed out to a
nearby pub like place called Musa. We rubbed shoulder with a lot of hip young
people, drinking beer and catching up with friends after a day of work or play.
Tables and chairs had been set up on the road, but many people had taken their
drinks over the road to the hill that overlooked the river. Sitting there,
watching the sun set, chatting with friends is such a lovely way to see off the
day.
After a big lunch, all we needed was a quick meal so for
dinner we ordered a plate of fried potatoes with salt and olives, and then a
chilli chicken hamburger each. By the time they arrived, the sun had set and it
was much colder. While Johnny and Britt were happy to stay on for another
drink, I had become so cold that I struggled to speak coherently. They took
pity on me and we walked the short distance “home” to thaw out under a hot
shower.
More adventures tomorrow. Goodnight.
