After arriving in Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, we enjoyed a welcome reception and dinner. It was here that we tried the famous Porto Tonico, met our entertaining tour director Manuel Alberca, and started to get to know our fellow travelers.  

We were up and out the door to explore the historic city center of Porto, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Joined by a local guide we learned about the 20,000 tiles at the São Bento train station and the stories the beautiful tiles tell. We strolled the streets down to Palãcio da Bolsa where we toured the multi-architect designed palace. The details and artwork within the palace kept getting more impressive as we moved from room to room, eventually ending up in The Arab Room, a magnificent reception hall built in Morrish Revival style, similar to that of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

We said goodbye to our local guide and had free time to wander along the beautiful Porto waterfront. After lunch, the group took a ride down the Douro River under the city’s famous six bridges. After the boat ride Manuel introduced us to Portuguese artist Bordolo II via his piece “Half Rabbit.” For this art lover, discovering Bordolo’s work was fascinating. A street artist, Bordolo creates large outdoor pieces from junk that can often be seen attached to multilevel buildings.

The day concluded with a tour and tasing at Ferreira (Est. 1751). It was here that we learned all about port wine and the importance of the product to the region and country. And thanks to Manuel, we had a little chocolate to go with our wine!  

Saying goodbye to Porto we boarded our bus to Coimbra. The highlight of Coimbra was our tour of the University of Coimbra, Portugal’s oldest and most prestigious university. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. Walking through the university’s Palace Gate we were transported back in time. Each room we visited was unique and beautiful; the chapel, Grand Examination Room, and Joanine Library were the favorites. Our guide also provided stories about academic traditions such as Queima das Fitas and the history behind those famous Harry Potter robes students wear.

Back on the bus we headed to Evora, our home, for the next two nights. After checking in to our hotel, we walked to Parque dos Leitões for a group dinner. The dinner turned out to be a completely private dining experience as the restaurant was normally closed on Mondays, but the owner opened especially for our group. The meal was very traditional starting with olives, bread, and wine. We then moved on to the soup, a cod casserole, and dessert. It was a beautiful meal and another opportunity for the group to share UD stories and get to know each other better. At dinner we learned that several people in the group read 50 books a year, so recommendations were swapped on the walk back.

Today was all about Portugal’s signature products - cork, olive oil, and wine. It was fascinating to learn how they harvest cork from trees, take it through the manufacturing process, and then create so many products from the material. Everyone thinks of wine corks, but we sat in cork chairs, shopped for cork purses, and bought cork bookmarks. After the cork factory, a local guide showed us around the town of Evora, including a stop at Chapel of Bones. Yes, it’s as unique and intriguing as the name suggests.

That afternoon we traveled to the Monte da Oliveira Velha estate, a small farm that produces Amor è Cego olive oil. The family story brought a tear to the eye as we learned how the family came to own the land, struggles each year to pick the olives by hand, and produce their small batch each season. At the end of the tour, we sat down at their table and learned to taste olive oil like a professional.

As if the day couldn’t have gotten any better, we made our final stop at Quinta da Plansel for a wine tour, tasting, and dinner. On the tour we learned of how this family business came to be, which involved a shipwreck and a daughter’s vision for producing wine. If you’ve toured many wineries this tour started much the same, until we were allowed to climb the metal steps and stand above the wine tank as they circulated the wine, super cool for this wine lover!

Thanks to the generosity of Lauren Simione, Associate VP of Alumni Engagement, we received an extra excursion to a tile making company prior to heading to Lisbon. The tour of Azulejos de Azeitão demonstrated the tile making process from rolling, stenciling, and painting the tiles which is all done by hand. Tiles are one of the signature products of Portugal and decorative tiles could be seen on houses and buildings throughout our trip.

After Azulejos de Azeitão we traveled to Lisbon, our final trip destination and Portugal’s capital city. Prior to checking into our hotel and having a free evening, Manuel took us to LX, a renovated industrial area filled with restaurants, shops, and artist studios.

Today was all about Lisbon! We picked up our entertaining local guide and learned all about key places in the city; Torre de Belèm, Monument of the Discoveries, and Empire Garden. It was at Monument of the Discoveries that Manuel sneaked off for a secret mission and we’re sure glad he did. What waited for us were fresh/warm pastel de nata from the world famous Pastèis de Belèm (Est. 1837); amazing!

The food journey continued with ice cream from Santinis (Est. 1949) and cod cakes down by Praca do Comèrcio to enjoy the water view with wine.

On our free day, some of us ventured to the charming town of Sintra, another UNESCO World Heritage site. We toured the magical Quinta de Regaleira to experience the mysterious inverted well, 88 feet underground that leads to a series of tunnels. The next stop was the colorful Pena Palace that sits high on a hill. There were so many different styles of architecture and details as the owner wanted to incorporate all the things he’d experienced traveling the world. Both palaces we saw were a photographer’s dream!

After arriving back in Lisbon, we had one final time to gather as a group for the farewell dinner at DegustAR. We had one more opportunity to try another cod dish, raise a glass of wine, and share laughs with our fellow travelers. It was joyful and a bit sad, but we know that all good things must come to an end.

To my fellow travelers, what a great group of people. I will look back on my first UD Alumni and Friends trip with a smile and lifetime memories.

#BlueHensForever