The House of Mateus in Portugal

People with long memories will recall a flat bottle of wine called Mateus Rose.  The label showed an ornate manor house.  Although The Casa de Mateus exists and produces wine, it never produced Mateus Rose - just provided the illustration for the label.

During my visit to the Valleys of the Douro I visited this fantastic house and its beautiful gardens.  The house was built in the early 18th century and is a National Monument.  It is of the Italian Baroque style in cream with beige dressed stone trim, red tiled roofs and ‘oriental’ style pinnacles.

The main entrance is on the first floor (second to my American readers) and is reached by staircases from the central courtyard.

Our group was divided into two for the house tour.  I don’t know what the other guide was like but the young lady who escorted us was not only informative but also very amusing - and enjoyed sending up the Establishment.

I’m not going to be boring by describing all of the rooms - you need to go there to see them.  There are some pretty stupendous things to see such as the octagonal wooden ceiling in the library with its carved central panel.  Wood is used extensively throughout the house, especially chestnut, on ceilings, for doors and door decoration.

The rooms are, of course, filled with antiques from various countries and include some ornate cupboards, ceramics worth a fortune, glassware and silverware.  Most of the paintings are of the family.

I think the items that left everyone breathless are some fabulous 18th century religious satin and taffeta garments which are heavily embroidered and, apparently, were only used once.  The thought of the number of hours women spent working on them is mind blowing.

Despite the number of people milling about in the gardens, because they are divided into sections it is possible to find quiet corners.  Near the house is the formal garden with paths between the trees radiating in all directions from a central pond.  Further away is the 20th century Parterre which, because it is on a lower level, is beautiful when viewed from the terrace.

The most well known part of the garden is the reflecting lake at the front.  As well as reflecting the facade of the house it also reflects the nearby trees.  In the lake is a sleeping figure.  It is a sculpture by Joao Cutileiro and has been in the lake since 1981.

The grape treader is on lunch break.

The Casa de Mateus does produce its own wine.  As we were there during harvest it was interesting to go into the Adega to see the vats of grapes.  We were told that the grapes are still trodden by human foot.  By one man - who was on his lunch break.

It was a lovely two to three hours and I could have happily spent the rest of the day enjoying those gardens. 

This was another of the days out during the Saga River Douro holiday.

 

Saga Holidays

A Rail Trip through the High Douro Valley

The River Douro from the train

Even if you aren’t an avid train buff, this journey is a MUST as it is one of the most scenic in Europe.

We caught the train in Ruega and travelled alongside the River Douro to Pocinho.  For most of the journey we were higher than the river so the views were fantastic.  For the first part of the journey the river was on the right and on the left it was rocks, trees and bushes but eventually the scenery appeared on that side.  Vineyards, valleys, lakes and rivers.

Between the steep hills of vineyards there are tributaries of the Douro looking like sparkling ribbons throwing back reflections of the trees and sky.  Dotted here and there are mansion houses guarded by yew trees.  Now and again can be seen a small holding with orchards of olive, walnut and almond trees.  I even spotted an ‘orchard’ of prickly pear cacti.

One of the beautifully decorated stations

Further along the route the train crosses the Douro so passengers on the lefthand side of the train can watch the green waters of the river gliding past.  Along the way the train made a few stops which wasn’t a hardship as some of the stations are beautifully decorated with blue and white tiles.

The coach met us at Pocinho to take us to Meda which is the eastern limits of the port wine region.

The Pillory in front of the castle at Penedono

Following lunch and some free time we were then taken to Penedono.  This is an ancient village perched on a rock crest 974m above sea level.  In the square was a display of instruments of torture - anyone for the rack?  Across the road is a crenellated medieval castle. In front of the castle is a tall and ornate stone pillar.  Locally it is called a ‘pillory’ and has been there since the 16th century.

This was a great day out but for those requiring a steam train, you have to go on a Saturday.

This was a part of the River Douro trip with Saga. 

Saga Holidays

Lamego, a beautiful town in the Douro Valley

The most spectacular view in town is looking up to the Baroque sanctuary of Nossa Senhora dos Remedios with its twin towers and flights of blue and white tiled steps.  Some people do make the climb but the preference is to walk down them.  The easiest way to reach the church is to drive up.  The views over the town are stupendous and, during September, the Jupiter trees were in full bloom with branches laden with mauve flowers. 

Following a look around inside the church and a part of the grounds, we were let loose in the town and while some people elected sit at an open air cafe for a refreshing drink I - and my camera - went for a wander.

In the centre of the main square - actually circular - is a remembrance statue of a soldier.  By taking one of the side roads to look at the shops I discovered a super modern statue dedicated to the fire-fighters.

A very popular food in Portugal is something called Bacalao which is salt cod.  There was a freezer full of it in a supermarket and I was amused to see a notice on the door of a nearby dress shop - “No entry with bacalao”.  Why not?  Out of the freezer it stinks to high heaven!

Back to the soldier statue.  Stand with your back to the Sanctuary and look straight down the road.  In the centre of the road looking towards the Bishop’s Palace are some colourful shady gardens through which to stroll.  At the end of the gardens across the road to the Bishop’s Palace look to the right and there is Lamego Cathedral.  To the left and on a hill is the Castle, which isn’t open to the public.  It is the headquarters for the Boy Scouts who, some years ago, worked hard on the derelict castle and were rewarded for their efforts.

 

The Bishop’s Palace has a museum in which there is a large collection of religious paintings (what else do you expect in such a museum?) and some sculptures.

As well as the shops there are many restaurants in Lamego - it is sometimes difficult to choose between them.  Me?  For lunch I bought some snack food in the supermarket and sat in the gardens to watch the world go by - an interesting pastime no matter where you are in the world.

The view across Lamego from the Sanctuary

Although I was on a Saga holiday, Lamego makes for a good centre if you prefer to hire a car to tour the region.

Saga Holidays

A Cruise up the River Douro in Portugal

Whilst in Portugal I took a cruise from Oporto, upriver through the vineyards as far as Regua where a coach met us to take us to Lamego for the rest of the week.

We boarded the boat at Vila Nova de Gaia which is the side of the river where the Port Wine Lodges are located (yes, we did visit one of them and got to sample some port).  Having sailed beneath the D. Luis I and Dona Maria bridges - the latter designed by Gustave Eiffel - we soon left Oporto and were out into the peaceful countryside.

Historically the River Douro was a vital link between the wine valleys and Oporto from where the wine is exported all over the world.  In days gone by when the grapes were picked by hand and then trodden the barrels of wine were transported down river on Rabello boats.  Throughout September - harvest time - the river would have been crowded with these sail boats.  Very picturesque.

Now that road and rail links have been improved the river is no longer used to transport the wine but the boats, which are often anchored in Oporto, are used during Fiesta times.

The Douro River Valley is a Unesco World Heritage Site so it is very unspoiled and delightful.  During the cruise we passed by woodlands, some coming down to the river’s edge, others with great granite boulders.  Dotted about the landscape are farms, houses, villages and towns.  We saw plenty of birds including herons and, by looking carefully in the wooded areas, saw a few mountain goats.

The landscapes are an artist’s (or photographers) dream, with the clean and pure air adding a luminescence to the scenery.  Add to that the sparklingly clear river water and you can understand why this cruise is so popular. 

The vineyards seem to be on every available space - flatland and hills.  Most of the rows of grapes go in one direction but sometimes due to the shape of the hill there will be one or two with the rows in different directions.  As the picking of grapes is now mechanised, rather than the rows being close together giving a lush aspect there is more space between them so the fields look like an ochre fabric with narrow bands of green.

 Those passengers not going to Lamego or further along the river, disembark at Regua and take a train back to Oporto.

A Trip to Orient

No, not to THE Orient but to Orient in Mallorca.

Some village houses

Many years ago - more than I care to remember - I worked in Mallorca for a British tour operator.  One day it was decided to inaugurate a new half day tour, but the professional guides weren't interested in guiding it so it fell to me.

The first trip was decidedly an adventure.   We left the main road at Santa Maria and headed towards the mountains.  En route we were to stop for coffee in a small hamlet.  That road was just about wide enough for the coach and twisted and turned down hill then began to rise again but....  On the outskirts of the hamlet the road was up and the workmen nowhere in sight.  We got off the coach, found a couple of planks to put across the trench and I led everyone up towards the restaurant only to discover that it isn't open on Mondays.  Meantime the driver had found the workmen who, together with some of the passengers, laid the two pipes, cemented them together and filled the hole.  The coach was then able to cross, go up the hill, turn around and comeback down. 

As we all agreed, that job was probably supposed to last all day!

The Cafe Terrace

We eventually arrived at the village of Orient where we did find somewhere for coffee and cake and had time to stroll around the village.  But I was in for another surprise.  The driver had to turn the coach around.  Why?  Apparently the road further on wasn't suitable for coaches.  And there I had been under the impression that we were taking a circular tour.

The return journey wasn't that uneventful either.  We had to pass through another village which had a one-way system.  As the coach turned left there was a road sign attached the wall of a building which impeded the vehicle.  My driver simply leaned out of his window and pushed it back against the wall.  To my knowledge it stayed like that and could still be so!

The clients didn't mind the problems as we made a stop in Santa Maria for liqueur tasting and, as they said, it was a tour with a difference.

Beautiful mountains and valleys of Mallorca

Luggage Labelling

Whilst at Gatwick Airport I was amazed to see how many people advertise their names, addresses and telephone numbers on their luggage.

With some people I suspect it is a habit acquired many years ago when we were less security conscious.

By all means have a destination label giving the hotel and your surname, but put your own details INSIDE the suitcase or bag.  As we can no longer lock our luggage when flying, an outer label with this information isn’t necessary.

Obviously with so many identical suitcases I know some people are asking, "How will I recognize my luggage?”  Tie something colourful to the handle and use a label with your own private code. 

Pack carefully, travel safely, and have fun knowing that you aren’t telling undesirable characters where you live.

A Fantastic Miniature Circus in Sarasota

One of several circus costumes.

The name on the building - The Tibbals Learning Center - isn’t exactly riveting but inside is the largest hand made miniature circus you have probably ever seen.  The building is a part of The Ringling Museums.  The Ringling family began to winter their circus in Sarasota in the 1920s and John and Mable Ringling had a fantastic house built there.  That house, an art gallery and various museums now comprise The Ringling Museums.

Howard Tibbal’s miniature circus covers 3,800 sq. ft., has 55 railroad cars, 8 main tents, 152 circus wagons, more than 700 circus animals, 1,500 individual performers and workers, and 7,000 folding chairs (that actually fold and stow into five circus wagons). 

The display begins with a train yard where men are offloading the trains.  In the field others are setting up the circus encampment with the cookhouse, the mess tent and the commissary.  There are performers getting ready, a coach containing a beautiful “princess” and jugglers practicing.  In the stock tent are show horses and cages with the wild animals.  The Big Top itself is 4 ft. high and has three rings and two stages.

As a boy Tibbals loved it when the circus visited his home town in West Virginia.  As he grew older he haunted the circus, not just the Big Top, but behind the scenes, taking photographs of everything – the animals, people rehearsing, the cookhouse – and measured the wagons. 

In 1952 he read an article about circuses which was published in ‘Popular Mechanics’.  It described a 79-car circus train and the layout of the circus grounds.  A later edition of the magazine gave the dimensions for a model, which is when the young Tibbals started taking notes so that his model is completely accurate.  To learn about the historical items, as well as reading about the circuses he also watched over 100,000 ft. of films. 

This retired owner of a Tennessee wood-flooring company spent much of his spare time carving and sewing to create his dream.  Amazingly, every piece of carving is individual, even down to the food on the plates in the commissary.  

Also in the Tibbals museum is a display of circus posters and, upstairs, other circus memorabilia, including sparkly costumes.

John Ringling House

Sunken Garden surrounded by Art Gallery

As you can easily spend a day exploring the museums and gardens it is as well that there is also a handy cafe!

The Ringling Museums

Sarasota Tourism

The Tour Escort

A fabulous ice sculpture.

I worked - off and on - for many years in tourism under many guises.  Hotel Rep, Tour Guide, Tour Leader etc but the best one was Escort.  Okay for a man but.....  Thank goodness it was for American tourists and not British.  (For those not in the know, in the UK a female Escort is a euphemism for a high class prostitute - and that I definitely was not). 

The first job I did for the American tour company was to bring a group of tourists from the States to London for a few days, then on a transatlantic cruise back to Florida.

The problems began at Heathrow Airport.  The norm is for meeters and greeters to stand somewhere near to where their guests will be exiting and, of course, holding a big noticeboard.  I’m sure you’ve all seen them.  In this instance, no obvious meeter and greeter (M&G).  I asked my group to stay together while I went on a search.  Information pointed out that there was a special area for Ms&Gs - and small area away from the exit with a miniscule sign in the ceiling.  Yeah, right.  I eventually found the gentleman I was looking for - more by accident than design.  Instead of a prominent notice with the name of our agency on it, he had a small sign with the name of HIS agency - which we didn’t know.

I took him to the group where he explained that he would now go to find the coaches.  Coaches?  Apparently one for us and one for the luggage.  Don’t ask.  Of course at least one lady was loud in declaiming that she would not be separated from her luggage.  Anyway, he trotted off.  And we waited and waited and waited.

Eventually I led them outside to the pavement on the basis that the coach would turn up at some point.  After about fifteen minutes I went in search of a telephone to call my ‘emergency’ number.  Good job I speak Spanish - I got through to someone in Spain.  Obviously not the ‘emergency’ number. 

After about half-an-hour the coach arrived.  It had not been in the coach park but had been circling the airport roads.  Apparently the driver hadn’t known she was supposed to go into the coach park.

With great relief we piled into the coach - together with our luggage.  No, there wasn’t a second coach.  We were all so relieved at this stage that we were able to turn the whole thing into a joke.

Would you be surprised if I told you that neither the driver not the M&G chap knew the exactly location of the hotel.  They had a vague idea - we found it after a small circular tour.

As the worker bee I was allocated the most miniscule room I have ever been in - honestly.  As a single traveller I’ve had quite a few of those.  A loo and wash basin, no wardrobe and barely room for my suitcase and hand baggage.  Single bed, six inches, 12 inch wide table.  That was the width of the room!  Thank goodness I wasn’t planning to do anything other than sleep in it but it would have been nice to hang up my dresses.

My problems didn’t end there.  On my return to the reception area panic reigned.  One gentleman with breathing problems was missing a piece of his equipment.  All of it kept in a special case which they had used as hand baggage.  I discovered two telephone numbers on their instructions sheet.  One in England and the other in America.  Mrs. insisted on telephoning the American number on the basis that they would know what she was talking about.  It didn’t matter that, even though I explained it to her, the US company would probably contact the UK company.  The replacement part arrived a few days later as we were waiting to board the coach to take us to the cruise ship.  Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Where we all had an enjoyable cruise.

I was especially glad to get on board where for the length of the cruise I could relax and enjoy myself.  All I had to worry about on arrival in Florida was getting them onto their coach.

Did I enjoy myself?  Of course I did.  Who wouldn’t enjoy a free cruise?  Mind you I am addicted to them, having once worked on Royal Caribbean ships.

TIPS:

Midnight Buffet

If you have any medical equipment double and triple check to make sure you have every piece, and if it is unpacked at Security, double check that everything is back in the case/bag.  And, if you do leave anything behind - call the telephone number for the country you are in!  The replacement part will reach you much more quickly.

Medications:  make sure you have them and your prescription in your hand luggage.