Strikes strike!

 Dear Marmite

Cadiz

Cadiz

Cadiz

This is the last full day of my trip to Spain and Portugal and in all, I have to say that Porto has been my favourite place despite the slightly cooler, sometimes rainy weather. Up until now, I have resisted buying things so I could keep my bag light. After a trip to a port tasting at Augusto's - an independent producer of fine wines and  rather nice ports - hic - my bag is a little heavier. 

On the guided tour round the oak barrels, I learnt a lot about what makes a port a good one. From now on Ruby port is not my "port of call". Ruby ports are the ones that have not been aged and like gin, 70% alcohol is added to the fermentation early in the process to stop the fermentation and keep the sweetness but it is the time in the barrels that adds the flavour. The longer, the better - I can vouch for that having tasted them.

PORTO - Sangria

More tales of drinking makes it sound like we have had a boozy time. This is not the case. It has just been some our more memorable moments. The drinking of Sangria in the early evening on the banks of the Rio Douro was another good drinking experience - marred only by a nip in the air and a table of really loud Brits! Brits get everywhere. It is understandable to be honest. Beer is 2 Euros, the weather is generally better and it is easy to get around on foot. 

Unfortunately, we were caught out by a rail strike so we have not used all our quota on interrail. So, not only does Britain have them! We did three of the five trains needed to get from Cadiz to Porto but at 7pm in the evening the strike meant that our trip could not be completed. So that it wouldn't delay our trip, I booked a Flixbus which left at 5 am the following morning and really expected that we could wander over to the bus staion in Badajoz and play Canasta all night... or something similar. We ended up sitting outside at the bus terminal with the wind howling and dogs barking for 5 hours of night time waiting for our bus. This wasn't what I expected. Vandana wanted to get a hotel but I thought by the time we settled in, we'd have to leave. 

I felt bad. It was not a good decision, We got frozen to the core as we only had light clothes and to top that, our bus change in Lisbon was two hours twenty minutes and not one hour twenty minutes as Portugal is on English time and not Spanish - errrr. This meant we sat in the early morning cold for a second time. By now, I was regretting ever wanting to get to Portugal. The trip was arduous and the weather miserable. In contrast, our last place, Cadiz, was warm and inviting.

The hotel in Cadiz was lovely. Cadiz is small so everything is "central". Cadiz had also had the "Santa Sermana" but unlike Seville where the cleaners walked behind the procession and dismantled the seating and stands, Cadiz left its ones up for the time we were there. I visited the cathedral and went up the tower - amazing. I also had a dip in the sea which was warm and inviting - lovely clean beaches and not crowded at all. 

Cadiz

However, the town area was crowded. A boat of Brits and their Filipino crew spilled out into the town, sat at the bars, spoke very loudly and drank all day. It is horrible of me to say this but, and it is a big BUT - our trip has been so much nicer where there are fewer tourists of any nationality. I don't enjoy queuing and I certainly feel uncomfortable in crowds these days. 

We did a 5 star dining experience... not advertised as such - the chef at his little authentic looking place told us which wines and the best choice on the menu. The restaurant was round the corner from our hotel in Cadiz and had a 2023 award in its window. The hotel I in Cadiz was also lovely, it had a roof top terrace and a restaurant / bar downstairs that we never managed to get to because of timing. The only naughty bit was the room cleaners who didn't clean. They turned our "door request" around and left the floor gritty and the beds unmade - ooopsie!

Throughout our trip we have had intermittent internet - a bit frustrating for booking things up and particulularly annoying when we were travelling. Internet here in Portugal is good though.  But for entertainment, who needs internet? As you remember Marms, I love my cards so I have been teaching Vandana Canasta. We started on the train trip down to Granada where an American sitting opposite kept asking questions about the game. We continued on our trip from Cadiz to Porto and sat for three hours in Merida playing. We still haven't finished a game. There was a restaurant in Seville called Canasta - in retrospect that would have been the place to pull my packs of cards out. Now I don't think we will have time to play before we leave.

Upcycling art in Gaia

Upcyling and holding a building together

Until now, I had never been to Portugal but I will certainly come again. So with heavier bags, and just one last day to enjoy Porto - a city my late friend Caz always raved about.  I feel at home here. I will sign off and say good bye for now. 

Love you

XXX

Porto

Porto