Ok, so this morning was time for one last hefty breakfast of our glorious hosts before the short drive over to Guimares. We said our goodbyes and were presented with our first engagement present of a bottle of wine from a local producer. It was a very sweet thought from some lovely hosts.
I have to say here two important facts here.
Number one, I cannot recommend more highly the house of Casa Cimeira http://www.casacimeira-douro.com/uk/index.php
The entrance to our hilltop accommodations
The view of the main building.
Number two, more wine as an engagement present will certainly be greatly appreciated and eagerly consumed at some point.
So off we went to Guimares only a short drive away. It was easy to find, even if we missed a couple of turn offs for towns we were thinking about seeing.... Portuguese road signs are not so straight forward..... but we made it to Guimares early just before lunch (for us this is about 1400). It was a really nice warm and sunny day when we arrived. This made it perfect for strolling about the town to learn about the surroundings. Also what the heck was going here, in the old Portuguese capital, as there was lights being strung up, tents being erected and a lively atmosphere about.
We walked about the old town the small fruit stalls,
the pastry shops and admired the very old buildings. Many of these are run down, and in desperate need of loving assistance, I just wish I had the money to help...... Some being purely the facade with nothing at all behind.
Others were lovely tiled fronts, and large windows. I remarked to Marta that in any other country if you had a house with a tiled front it would probably look tacky and ugly, but in a place like Guimares it just fits and livens up narrow streets, and like this one below just glow from mustard yellow tiles.
There was also some pretty cool public art in the centre of town, this one being a big finger print.
So before venturing too far, as I mentioned earlier, we arrived just before lunch. So as we again had stuffed ourselves for breakfast, we weren't keeling over with hunger, so we decided it was time again to hit a bakery. Yay, for baked food. Of course I required a coffee.
Ham filled pastry
Eggy custardy tasty and yummy, sounds like a Peter Combe song! For all of you not from Australia or familiar with the great mans work, and/or are interested in kids entertainment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Combe
Orange tarts
A window full of tasty looking pastry.
I know this photo isn't sharp and crisp, but you try and stop Marty attacking a strawberry tart to take a photo and you see how hard it is!
My coffee, as you can see a little burnt, and our first custard tarts, the national sweet of Portugal, or so I am led to believe. They weren't to be the last either.... rather tasty little morsels.
So off we went into the areas that was the old workers districts. It is amazing to see these old buildings in this area. They are run down but still maintain their distinct beauty and appeal. I would love to be able to buy a lot of them and do them up. There was one, and old textile factory, that was screaming out to be made into a hotel. In a perfect location near the markets. Below you can see the mail boxes of all the traders in the market.
For all of you who are smart arses, and think you know lots of useless information. Have a look at the below and tell me what this is.....
It isn't as easy as you think! I will be interested to see what you come up with.....
Now the sun sets and we move to the night.... in a new post, so this isn't too long.
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