Ferries and Royal treatment

The return ferry timing from Bilbao to Portsmouth was a bit more civilised (13:00 Dep and 17:00 arrival with only one night at sea) which meant more opportunity to take some photos of each port. Bilbao has a remarkable river crossing which makes the journey every 10 minutes and hence appears to be pretty popular. Its design enables pedestrians to be at river level while tall ships can pass under.
As mentioned in the blog of the first crossing, whale and dolphin spotting was a major activity on the ferry. This time I saw several whales (OK spouts) with 2 blowing at the same time. Portsmouth is festooned with ships and with low tide and a mooring right at the back of the harbour we were close to the quay and had some great views. The Warrior was one of 3 tall ships at the port and was commissioned in 1860 by Queen Victoria. She was iron clad and steam driven which was a first in her day.

While just upstream is HMS Ark Royal with her upturned deck to assist take offs (initially developed to assist Harrier Jets). She was commissioned in 1985 and is the fifth vessel to carry the name.

HMS Victory was also visible in the background in a dry dock. She was commissioned by the Admiralty in 1778 (by King George III era), served until 1812 and is the oldest commissioned ship in the world. These would make a good day visit as the Mary Rose commissioned in 1545 by Henry VIII is also here.

All these warships need protection and the port has several large defences. The initial round fort which is tied to the shore was built in 1420 while there are several more modern forts (this one is called Horse Sands) which protect the channel into the port.

We decided to break our drive back to Solihull and overnighted at Winchester where Sue and Martin spent the night with us and helped finish the last of our alcohol supplies. It is nice to have such thoughtful friends!

On our return Jo surprised us with tickets to travel to London and tour Buckingham Palace followed by afternoon tea at Claridges. The day was cold but the palace was awesome. Each state room has its own theme and colour scheme but gold features in each if the decors. The palace is without doubt the best presented and maintained of any heritage building we have visited. It is open over the summer months and is used by the Queen as her home, office and of course many state functions throughout the year.

The trip was a present to celebrate both Helen and my 60th birthdays. (Helen wanted it emphasised that hers is ahead of time!)

Despite the cold we opted to walk to Claridges and work up an appetite. The route took us through Hyde Park corner with its familiar Wellington Arch and statue of Wellington.

What was not familiar were two new memorials. The first recognised the part that Australia has played in supporting Britain through numerous wars. It is an imaginative design made from West Australian granite and opened in 2002. It has 24,000 place names of where Australians were enlisted. Several of the sections have a surface water fall over them.

At the other end of the square is a memorial for New Zealand. Each of the columns have some background to NZ. The tidbit that caught our eye was that the 1905 NZ rugby team departed as the Colonials and after a successful tour returned as the All Blacks.

Also enroute was a living wall on a hotel on Piccadilly. It was designed by Patrick Blanc who has similar flower arrangements in cities world wide and appears to use similar techniques as that used for the Bilbao puppy.

Tea at Claridges was terrific (apart from eating too much). The choice of teas ran to 3 menu pages so that was a bit of a challenge! This wonderful day was a terrific way of ending what has been a great holiday. The SIPS venture has taken some 2 months but like all good trips does not appear to have been anything like that long. Now about next year…..

Madrid & Gibraltar

Our next stop was El Escorial some 80 Kms to the NW of Madrid and we promptly set off to explore this outstanding city. Many of the buildings have recently undergone major cleaning. The City Hall in the Plaza de Cibeles was still being cleaned and hence only partly visible but nonetheless imposing.Other buildings had been completed. The Parisian facade of the Edificio Metrópolis built in 1905 was outstanding with its bright gold and black roof and sandstone walls. As can be seen from the background historical buildings are everywhere.

The Plaza Mayor is as large as any we saw with its statue of Felipe III (who ordered construction of the square) offsetting the Allegorical paintings on the Casa de la Panaderia. The Plaza saw bull fights, executions and inquisitions which were started in 1480 to try and create a single Catholic ideology and ran for almost 400 years.

One building that caught our eye was a bank with two chariots on top. These were lit up and formed much of our view during our terrace dinner (see below).

One of the reasons for travelling to Madrid was that Royal Canberra had reciprocal rights with the Casino de Madrid club and golf course. Our first point of call was to the club which was set up on 1836 and is wonderfully “old world”. We met the secretary who gave us temporary membership for the week. The building has some 3 level which are accessed by beautiful timber lined lifts (with the addition of glass doors presumably for safety reasons). These also led to the rooftop or terrace restaurant. This was clearly the place for a memorable dinner so we booked a table for the following night. We had wanted a 7:30 booking but being Spain it opened at 21:00 so we were in for a late night.

When we arrived I had to borrow a jacket (I am on holiday) but Helen had the necessary "appropriate" attire. We were escorted from the lift to our table (there were only 10 or so tables occupied) where we could see the aforementioned rooftop chariots beautifully lit up. The menu was a degustation of 25 dishes starting with a whiskey sour chilled at the table using liquid nitrogen ranging through to lobster, Wagyu and Raspberry spirals. The Sommelier suggested a bottle of a Spanish wine (Fefiňanes III Aňo 2005) which was excellent.

The service was without doubt the best we have experienced (in our short lives). Each course was explained by the waiter after new cutlery had been set (none of this hold onto your knife and fork scene) and the course presented. When Helen had a brief trip to the ladies her napkin was replaced with a new one using a spoon and fork so it was not touched by the waiter. We ended the evening being presented by a copy of the menu as a souvenir and which had been printed off with our specific meal including the wine. A nice touch, reminiscent of what we were told happened when eating on Britannia. We arrived back to the ‘van at 1:30 and with an early start the following morning's golf was not all it might have been. The course is young but after a climb on the 14th hole the view from the 15th tee was panoramic looking over the plain to the distant mountains.
Any RCGC members should go out of their way for both experiences!

The caravan site was one of the largest we have visited and had extensive facilities. The 3 pools were brilliant although surprisingly invigorating (or as Helen would say cold).

We both wanted to see Gibraltar and had hoped to catch a train down. This would have been a slow journey to Algeciras and then taxi into the rock so we opted to leave the ‘van and drive down after the golf. It was some 450 miles and we stopped overnight at Malaga. The hotel was good but the town left a bit to be desired. We arrived in Gibraltar for lunch which we had in the square; now about the coffee…

The rock was fascinating and busy. It is steeped in history and has many cannons and guns on display.

We took a cable car to the top of the rock where the first item to greet us was a small family of Apes which originated from Algeria. These were originally brought to the rock as pets and there are now several large groups of them. Interesting to watch but on no account should you have food with you as they can be vicious in the pursuit of any tidbits.

The views from the top of the rock were sensational. To the South was Tunisia, the North Spain, West the straights of Gibraltar (about 30 kms wide) and east the Mediterranean.

Gibraltar has its own international airport. Fortunately there are only some 6 planes a day as the main entry road crosses the runway and has to be closed for any landings and take offs. This causes quite a back up of traffic.

The rock was subject to a number of sieges over the years and in the second World War various caves and man made caverns were used to house several thousand people to operate radar and a hospital. The latter was in a huge limestone cave system called Saint Michaels. We were allowed in for a brief look just at closing time. It has 3 levels including a lake in the bottom. The top cave is huge and has an auditorium in it where concerts through to Miss Gibraltar are held.

The most interesting aspect for us though was where a huge stalactite had fallen several thousand years ago and cemented itself to the floor. In 1972 the top was cut through to reveal its history. Rather like a tree, wet years give rise to thicker lighter lines. There are also two areas of crumbly white material that are believed to have been formed during glacial periods.

Gibraltar is expanding through land reclamation and the main industries revolve around tourism (particularly cruise ships), the financial sector (only a 10% business tax) and the shipping industry (dry dock repairs and bunkering). We thoroughly enjoyed our visit despite being faced by a return 450 mile drive.

The drive included a spectacular gorge where the dual carriageways take different valleys to traverse the range (tunnels are currently being constructed to straighten the route). The other main point of interest was the extensive plantings of olive trees. There are thousands of square kilometres of them. It must be the world wide capital of olive oil.

After a lazy day in back in camp sharing a bottle of wine with some Brits on the site we reluctantly started our return journey North via Santander and the ferry back to Portsmouth. Spain and Portugal have been wonderful places to visit and we would happily return to Madrid, Porto and Gibraltar, however there are so many other places we haven’t seen yet…..

Lisbon and Salamanca

We decided to make a day trip by train to Lisbon which required an early start. We were rewarded by this ghost like view of the Douro.
From Santa Apolonia station we took another yellow top bus to get a feel for the city. This took us past the 1998 World Expo site which had some interesting structures.

This insitu concrete suspended roof is some 50 metres wide beyond which is the wall to the boat harbour and gondolas. In the far distance is the 11 kms long Vasco da Gama bridge which crosses the Rio Tejo (Tagus) joining Montijo and Sacavém.

Lisbon suffered a substantial earthquake in 1755 so many of the buildings are relatively new with the central Baixa and Avenida areas neatly laid out in a grid pattern. Some older structures do exist such as the Castelo de Sao Jorge which was started in 1147 however much of the battlements had to be rebuilt after the earthquake.

The Baixa and Avenida areas comprise a series of squares between linear streets. The most central is the Rossio which is surrounded by numerous restaurants. This great view was obtained from the top of the Elevator de Santa Justa (more below).

Apart from the conventional buses and trams Lisbon sports a couple of unusual modes of transport. These small motorised tricycles were a bit of fun. One Asian couple went past operating one handlebar each, hence one was in charge of the brakes and the other the accelerator; as for steering……

There was also a funicular as the Baxia area is set in a steep sided valley.

An alternative to travelling up the valley was the Elevator de Santa Justa. This wonderful wrought iron structure was built in 1902 and initially was operated by steam converting to electricity in 1907. The two lift cars are beautiful wood lined affairs.

Continuing down towards the Tajo is the Praça do Commércio. This is vast and was quite a walk between the statue of King José I and the triumphal arch which leads up into the Baixa area.

The variety of some of the buildings is notable with Art Deco

and the very attractive Rossio station (although no trains now operate from here) with its late 19th century Moorish style horseshoe entrances.

Some of the shops are less spectacular but no less interesting. This one is about 2 metres wide with a vaulted ceiling. I suspect it must have been like working in a cell judging by the miserable old codger who sold us a postcard here!

Cobbled paving abounded with many attractive patterns some several centuries old. This one in the Rossio was not something to traverse after a couple of drinks.

Is it flat or are you walking up and down valleys?

At Porto one of our fellow travelers recommended Salamanca so we decided to spend a couple of nights there en-route to Madrid. The site adjoined what appeared to be a defunct windmill and on top of this was a large storks nest. We had noticed these on a couple of other buildings earlier in the trip.

These nests are actively encouraged and even on heritage buildings such as this bell tower in Salamanca there is (if you look closely) a support structure to assist nest building.

Salamanca is a beautiful university town with many old buildings and more importantly any new ones have been carefully designed to integrate with their surroundings. Even slightly quirky ideas work such as these sculptured shells on the walls if the Casa de la Conchas (a symbol of the Order of Santiago) combine with the arms of one of the Orders nights (Rodrigo Arias Maldonado).

Although there are many wonderful churches there is no doubt that the most spectacular is the double cathedral which predominates at the top of the hill.

Unusually the “new” cathedral built between the 16th and 18th centuries (on the left) did not replace the 12-13thC Romanesque cathedral but was built alongside. This view is taken adjoining the 1stC Roman bridge across the Rio Tormes which still has 15 of its original 26 arches.

Being a university town it is also very vibrant with a large younger population. We arrived at lunch time on a Sunday and the open air bars were doing a roaring trade. There was also a large stage being set up in the Plaza Mayor (through the arch) for a concert in the evening. We decided to dine early and retire before it got too noisy!

Porto, port, Pontes and parking

Our trip from Orio to Portugal was faster than expected and rather than staying as planned half way to Lisbon at Salamanca we opted to go straight to Porto. The site was a challenge to find but once located we had a great spot on the bank of the Rio Douro.A visit to Porto was the first item on the itinerary and we used an open car park next to the river and took an open top bus to get a feel for the town. Traffic is a challenge with double parking everywhere as the locals seem to do anything to avoid paying for a park. The bus drivers are very patient and can estimate gaps with only a few millimetres clearance.
This is the main square with the Pacos do Concelho in the background and a statue of D Pedro IV in the foreground.

Some of the pedestrian areas were packed although this was no longer the high season. Many of the streets are cobbled – this one is unusual as it is in good repair.

The sides to the river Douro are very steep and the buildings appear to have the smallest of footholds. Planning also appears minimal with the numerous variety of heights, shapes and sizes.

In addition to cobblestones the Portuguese like tiles and mosaics. They appear on churches and many other buildings, often wrapped around ornate windows.

As part of our “yellow bus ticket” we had a boat ride to see the 5 bridges (Ponte) of which they are justly proud. These are of necessity high and have quite large spans. The Ponte Luis is one of the oldest and has a train track on the top and roadway at the bottom. It is a little low so the local barges have bridges that lower. (This ones bridge stuck and wouldn’t lower so the barge parked midstream while some quite serious hammering occurred until it could be dropped.)

The third part of our yellow bus ticket was a visit to the nearby Calem port lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia. This is on the other side of the river to Oporto and was built by Afonso III in the 1200s as a result of a dispute over shipping tolls with the Bishop of Oporto. We were given an outline of port making and then reluctantly participated in some tasting. The main vats are enormous; the gauge on this one is measured in barrels. Calem is the name of one of the few Portuguese who started their own wine estate. Many of the others came from Scotland (Sandeman) and England (Taylor, Cockburn etc). The driver behind the development of port was to give wine a longer shelf life (to transport back to the homeland). It is a wine where fermentation (sugar being converted to alcohol) is cut short by adding spirit (eg brandy), hence ports are always sweet. We sampled white (a first for me) as well as red port. Red ports get lighter as they age and change colour from Ruby to Tawny. Apparently a bottle of port should be drunk within a couple of days from opening – I will have to change my ways. Also, unless it is a vintage port (ie has sediment in it so will continue to ferment in the bottle and should be decanted) they should be drunk soon after purchase as that is when they are freshest.

Outside there are flagpoles of the various ports available. The wine is initially made further up the Douro valley and used to be shipped down stream in these gondola like boats to Gaia, where the weather is more temperate, for longer term maturation. Transport is now by truck (where’s the romance gone?).
After all this information we needed another drink with some delicious soft cheese (3 animal) and ham. We had this at tables on the pavement and were entertained by a woman who was parking a small dented car (in stark contrast to her snappy attire). She initially stopped on a level crossing (blocking all traffic) got out and moved a metal barrier from a parking bay back into a second bay. She then reversed into the first bay so far and fast that she promptly gave the relocated barrier a good belt moving it a further half metre. As she was not happy with the alignment she went forward and had another go this time managing to mount the quite steep kerb. Embarrassed enough she got out, locked the car (not sure why) and scurried off to the nearby port bar.

We revisited Porto for a second day and parked in a paid parking area which was a little tight as it required a 3 point turn to make the 90º into the station and used a lift to move cars between floors.

We decided to use the local toilet which was a large 2x2 metre room. I was sitting contemplating and noticed a white chord held by eyelets screwed into the wall some 300mm off the floor. It went all the way round the four walls and then up to the switch by the door, a little Heath Robinson but it presumably worked. Part way through the lights went off so in pitch black I pulled the string. This immediately initiated a cacophony of sirens and alarms reverberating throughout the whole car park. Before I had time to get up and blindly cross the floor with my trousers round my knees the door was unlocked, a hand reached in and turned off the switch. This was followed by a loud warning “not to do it again”. The latter was somewhat superfluous as I had no intention of inviting a repeat performance.

We promptly opted for a bit of peace and quiet at the botanical gardens where Helen insisted on showing off a new trowel.

An evening stroll around one of the waterfront restaurant areas revealed a door (the only one left of 18) built into the city’s defensive walls. It has a gothic inscription from 1386 and connected Fonte Taurina Street to the harbour pier.

A drive up the Douro to the port wine making area was recommended. The road winds and climbs up and down at an alarming rate with several loops over 800 metres (from about 100 metres). On the way up we came across a pile of cork bark apparently drying out prior to collection and delivery to cork cutting machines. It was surprisingly light and soft.

The views were numerous but these give an idea of the country with little hamlets stuck onto whatever flat(ish) ground was available with the church taking priority.

The area where the port wines are grown is in the upper Douro some 100kms from Porto. The country is Schist which is a soft rock that holds moisture. Many of the terraces are only one vine wide (about 2 metres). The climate is dry and hot in summer and cold in winter with limited rain. This means smaller grapes with a high sugar content.

We visited Sandeman wine estate (or quintas) with its well known “Don” icon. The hat is a sombrero arrangement from Spain (where Sandeman makes sherry) and the cape is from Portugal. They have recently automated the whole process so rows of people treading on the grapes in unison is no longer required. The machines now mimic the various dances used!

After the tour came the tasting. The viewing room was high up the valley side with wonderful views.

This one rather summarises the key drivers for the week…