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| Ribeira is along the river at the base of the hill |
This was also where Prince Henry the Navigator was born. We saw lots of old tiled houses as we walked along the Duoro River.
This street happens to be on the Portuguese Camino de Santiago, as witnessed by the yellow arrows and pilgrims that we saw. We wished them all well with the traditional Spanish greeting, “Buen Camino!”
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| We hope this young Ukrainian couple find peace on their walk |
After strolling across the lower level of the famous Luis I bridge, we made our way to Gaia, the community across the river from Porto and home to all of the wineries.
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| Gaia as seen from Ribeira |
We proceeded up the hill to a new tourist attraction called the World of Wine. This cool complex built in repurposed warehouses, has 6 museums, a wine school, several restaurants, shops and event spaces. There is also a great terrace from which one can look across the Duoro to Porto.
Judy and I paused for a little refreshment at a place with the clever name the Root & Vine. At the server’s recommendation, we tried a light cocktail called a Pale, which is a mix of white port and tonic water with a slice of orange. It really hit the spot and we have made a point to find some white port when we return to Georgia.
We did have another reason for visiting Gaia that day. On our previous trip to Porto we had purchased a bottle of vintage 1977 port wine. Not only was this a 35 year old classic vintage of a very nice wine, 1977 was also the year that Judy and I were married. Since port is a “fortified” wine, one can drink an open bottle for years. We decided to have a small glass of this delicious beverage every year on our anniversary.
Alas, that wine is long gone so we needed to buy a replacement. A few months ago I emailed the Fonseca winery in Porto to make arrangements to pick up another bottle of the 1977 during our short stop there. She kindly responded that they did not have any wine that old and that the oldest one available was a 1985. When it dawned on me that this wine would actually be older than the one we originally bought, I asked her to set one aside for us. True to her word, on arrival at Fonseca, she was waiting with a smile a our precious souvenir of Porto.
