Ola!
With actual water coming out of the pipes today, I have to admit that we have absolutely nothing to complain about. Our weather today is somewhat overcast, but it is still warm enough for shorts and T-shirts, and the scenery here is just incredible; very, very peaceful and good for the soul!
Our plan for today was to 1) finally visit the Foz Coa museum (we missed it the last time we were here); 2) have an early dinner in their fabulous dining room(!); 3) explore the countryside. R says he really didn’t remember how good the food was there; it is certainly one place I’ve never forgotten! However, when we arrived at the museum this morning, the signage said the restaurante was open Tuesday – Sunday … bummer!
So, to begin at the museum. It’s very odd. I know that may sound weird in and of itself, but it’s a huge cast-concrete building with very high ceilings and very little lighting! You really are walking down very dark corridors to get from room to room. They have done a very good job of signage in Portuguese and English, which we sincerely appreciate, but the difficulty is that either the color of the English type has faded over the years, or it was never very readable in the first place. I know I’m very happy they have so much English about – I’d just like it to be easier to read! Additionally, they have a great deal of high-tech “stuff” going on – videos, animation - but not all of it works, which definitely detracts from the understanding of what we’re looking at. There are relatively few artifacts on display and it seems they made the choice to leave them in situ and show replicas and photographs – an interesting and laudable decision. Instead, the museum runs guided tours to the actual sites along the Coa River – which is what we did on our previous visit.
Lovely gold jewelry, even then! 
Interpreted by archaeologists as people! 
Small statue with head and hands! 
Can you find the auroch?
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| I'm telling you -- this place is DARK! |
The Foz Coa petroglyphs are basically etchings, which are very different from paintings, and traditionally many of the sites were re-used over the years, making layer upon layer of etchings going in and out of older forms and figures. Some of the petroglyphs in this area are on the order of 22,000 to 25,000 years old. In many cases, the etching is very faint and, as R remarked, you would have to have a very curious imagination to come up with some of the “figures” they’re talking about!
Truly beautiful view! 
R at lunch! 
Me at lunch! 
On the patio; I'm talking cast concrete! 
Find the animal!
We stopped at the museum store and picked up an excellent book on the area, and, while chatting with the salesperson, mentioned that we were disappointed we wouldn’t be able to have lunch at the restaurant today! She was very surprised – since, she said, she’d already had breakfast there, and it was indeed open! So – Yeah! I guess the lesson here is: don’t believe everything you read? Right…
So, into the restaurant we went! They were indeed open today, but it was only 11:30 am and they didn’t open until noon-time. That being the case, R got a cup of coffee and I got a coke, and we went out on their patio to enjoy the weather and the view until noon. Truly, outside with the wind blowing gently, there wasn’t another sound to be heard! So, so peaceful, and one of the reasons why I like this area so much!
At noon, we headed back inside the restaurant. Had we reserved? No … so we were given a table for two in the corner of the glass room. Stunning views of Robert, the vineyards and the Coa River!
They have a very interesting menu, and truly, the portions are huge – something which I had forgotten! For starters, Robert ordered the gambas (shrimp) in a wonderful onion and garlic sauce. I ordered their “revulto” – scrambled eggs with mushrooms and green asparagus. We were served both tapas style – to share, and they were both really wonderful! We had asked our waitperson to recommend a wine, and she came out with a rose from the local area. It was absolutely tremendous, with a snappy aftertaste like Granny Smith apples and even a touch of effervescence. Definitely a keeper!
(Photos came out in reverse order...so, as life is short, eat dessert first!
My pear poached in port and ice cream 
R's poached apple with cinnamon stick 
I've never seen this on a wine bottle before! 
My turkey with mushroom sauce 
R's sea bass 
My revelto - scrambled eggs with asparagus & mushrooms 
R's gambas (shrimp) with onion and garlic 
Excellent bottle of rose!
For mains, I ordered the turkey cutlets with a mushroom/cream sauce. They came with French fries and broccoli. Excellent dish! R (who swears he may never order beef in a restaurant again…) ordered sea bass, which came, as always in Europe, fully cooked from head to tail … along with some boiled potatoes and broccoli. He said it was really good, but I didn’t need to taste it myself. I do know there were a lot of bones, though … not my choice, certainly!
Finally, for dessert, R had a poached apple with cinnamon, which was really good. I had a pear poached in port with mint chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate sauce. YUMMY! All in all, as you can probably see from the photos, we basically waddled out of the restaurant and out to the car. We had thought about doing a bit of driving this afternoon, but after that meal, we decided to take the rest of the day off – and came back to our quiet, lovely, good smelling apartment and took naps! We have definitely eaten enough for one day, and as R said, we really needed this kind of lazier day.
Tomorrow we are off and heading in to Porto for five nights in what looks to be another lovely Airbnb. As we can’t get there until 4 or so, we’re putting together a driving tour to take our time and wend our way through the Douro Valley.
So, take care all, and sending all love your way!
m
xxx
PS - For those who wondered how we were going to cook pasta without water -- we didn't! We bought four HUGE jugs of water at the grocery store, so we are now awash (pardon the pun) in water!
m
xxx
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