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  11/12/2024   We were up fairly early for breakfast as we were to meet the mini-motor coach at 8:30. Breakfast is included and so we didn’t have to pay the 28 Euros for Paul’s salmon bennie. The weather was clear and in the 60’s.  Our tour guides met us at 8:30 and introduced themselves (Sara and Javier).  They will accompany us today and tomorrow. We got on the road forthwith and had no traffic issues leaving the city. That could not be said for those going into the city, however. Traffic looked like Atlanta on I-75 at 8 AM.   Once out of the city, the country became hillier and we saw occasional fields with cattle.  No fields of grain etc. were in evidence. About 45 minutes out of the city, our guide asked us to look to the left (luckily, we had a left window).   Valle de los Caisos (nee Valley of the Fallen)   Franco had this built after the Spanish Civil War to entomb some 35,000 Spaniards who lost their lives between 1932 and 1936. It is reportedly immense. However, it is not wit
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  11/11/2024       Sunrise over the Prado   We arranged with the Concierge a pair of skip-the-line tickets to the Prado for the morning and so after a nice sleep in we sauntered across the street to the Prado.     Our Hotel from the Prado   There was a skip-the-line line and so we queued up at 9:50.  By 10, when they opened the line stretched another 100 yards.  We were in and viewing by 10:10.     The Skip-the-Line line (note St Jerome church in the background - over 1000 years old)   Pictures are not allowed in the Prado and so we only took one (pleading ignorance and we were not caught anyway).  The Hotel gave us a cheat sheet of the Must-See paintings and in which gallery they resided. We made a bee-line to the Hieronymus Bosch room.  Well, Paul tried to, but Shirley got distracted along the way. Soon it became clear to Paul that Shirley is driving the bus and he got in line.    And that is a good thing because while the highlights are spectacular, so is EVERYTHING else! We did man
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  11/10/2024     Adding Chattanooga to the Airport tree   We were up early putting last minute things in the luggage. It was all tic’d and tie’d by 5:55 and we were off to breakfast. It wasn’t open, so we chatted with our fellow pilgrims until time to eat.  After breakfast we turned our keys in and waited some more for the bus to take us to the airport.  By 7:45 we were on the bus with our luggage and headed toward the airport.   The Porto airport is modern and large.  We were shepherded by a group of 5 who specialize in VIPing VIPs.  We are VIPs just now and so we watched them load our luggage on carts and take us to the check in area.  It wasn’t open yet, and so we passed the time in an airport café outside security.  There was a fake tree there with restaurant receipts where patrons had written their place of origin and stuck it on the tree.  We did the same.   Before too long the check in counter opened and our VIPers broke lines and had us through in no time (except, of course, fo
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  11/09/2024     Sunrise on our last day on the river   During a beautiful morning we were making way through lifting fog toward Porto/Gaia. We spent a lot of time on the sun deck watching the ship going through 2 last locks. Brian and Donna managed an invitation from the Captain to join him in the wheel house.     Helping the Captain   And before you knew it we were docked in Gaia exactly where we boarded several days ago. We had time to organize and get on a bus to Guimaraes (pronounced gim-a-resh). We were off-loaded near a castle/palace of the Duke whose family went waaaaay back.  And bumped into the Camino (again).     Paul on the Camino (again)   And we continued down the quaint streets which reminded us of Sienna.  There seemed to be excitement in the air.  When we rounded the corner, we found out why.  We found ourselves in the middle of a rehearsal for a festival. Hundreds of kids with drums, adults with kids in tow, old men and women, and tourists thronged the central square.
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11/8/2024   We were up and ready for the 7:30 breakfast followed by a morning walk-about on the sun deck.     On the sun deck after breakfast   The ship got underway soon after that and we were cruising the prettiest part of the river – the so-called gorge.  It is really something to behold.  Here is a sample:     Scenic river cruising   Then we saw some workers repairing the tunnel exit (or is it an entrance?):     Working on the tunnel   We docked at Pinhao in the heart of the wine region to take a tour of the Quinta de Croft.  Quinta is Portuguese for farm or estate. There are a lot of Quintas. We rode a bus up the very narrow ‘road’ to the Quinta.  Along the way we passed the iconic Pinhao train station with its blue tiles depicting life in the late 19 th  century.       Blue tiles on the train station   Arriving at the Quinta we were ushered into a now familiar stomping pool where we listened to our local guide explain about Port wine.           After the spiel we started walking
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