Page 15 - Around Brussels in 30 days
Drink in the beauty of Porto Words by Lucy Mallows The locals of Porto have an apt saying about four of the most ancient towns in the country: “Coimbra sings, Braga prays, Lisbon shows off and Porto works”. The Portoenses work and play hard and the town, teetering above the banks of the river Douro, provides a sharp and refreshing contrast to Lisbon life. Porto is the beating heart of Portugal and provides the origins of its name. The name Portus described the harbour district that sprang up opposite Cale, a Lusitanian settlement in Roman times at the mouth of the Douro - the ‘river of gold’. Portu-Cale eventually became Portugal. I don’t think I have ever witnessed such a spectacular arrival by bus into a new town. The journey from the university town of Coimbra reached its grand finale as we passed over the impressive double Dom Luis I bridge and all heads turned to gaze west at the magnificent river panorama lined by houses clinging to an almost vertical cliff side. I almost put my neck out, spinning around to gaze in awe south at the Vila Nova de Gaia district, where port wine cellars and caves line up along the bank, east to even more steep cliffside and more vertiginous bridges spanning the chasm, while ahead of us lay the vibrant city of Porto with its red-roofed houses jumbled together in the area between the Sé (Cathedral) and the Torre dos Clérigos, once the tallest building in the country. Porto’s towering river panorama, which made
the Buda bank of the Danube seem quite flattened in comparison, is dominated by five equally impressive bridges, three modern and two built in the 19th century. Most of the business and commerce takes place in the northern half while, south of the river, they are busy with port wine. I spent the evenings sitting on a café terrace, watching the sun set over hoardings advertising port wine companies, many with English names: Sandeman, Cockburn and Graham’s among them. The Methuen Treaty in 1703 reduced the duty paid on Portuguese wine in return for the removal of restrictions on British woollen goods exported to Portugal. As a result, the exchange of cardies for bevvies has thrived for the three hundred years since. All the cellars offer free tasting sessions in an attempt to lure in the punters and the south bank of the river is a favourite weekend destination for locals and visitors alike. On a two-week whistle-stop tour of the entire country, I was still able to form an impression of the subtle differences in character in the long, rectangular land. I discovered I much preferred it ‘up north’ where the people were more friendly, welcoming and appeared to have more time to enjoy life and all the natural riches of the beautiful country, than in the stressed-out capital Lisbon and the tourist-swamped Algarve coast. Porto is packed with photographic opportunities. Turn a corner and there is yet another perfect shot of a fading yet elegant
building, or a church facade covered in the beautiful blue, illustrated azulejos ceramic tiles. Like Lisbon, Porto is extremely hilly and everyday felt like a mountain hike, walking from my pensao in the north west of town down to the heart of the old town. Trams are not so much in evidence, but the sweet little No 1 tram was a convenient way to head out along to river to the wide mouth of the Douro and the wild and windy beach on the Atlantic Ocean. I spent a glorious sunny Suny afternoon paddling and collecting tiny Cowrie shells washed in from the ocean. I was wafted back to holidays on Devon’s south coast and suddenly felt as if I were eight years old again. Situated on the coast, Porto is an excellent destination for pescatarians. I enjoyed countless plates of sardinhas assadas (grilled sardines) served with delicious boiled yellow potatoes and a huge mound of leafy salad, all washed down with freshly-squeezed orange juice and finishing up with a naughty custard tart. Lobster, king prawns, squid, tuna, swordfish and sea bass were also on the menu along with lampreys. I didn’t feel tempted to try the unusual eel-like creature, having remembered from a school lesson many decades ago that King John died in 1216 from eating “a surfeit of lampreys and peach wine”. They say that eating fish is good for the brain and the memory, well, there’s the proof.
Check out Lucy’s blog, Disappearing Budapest, here
Belgian flyers on course to take bite out of Big Apple After an absence of more than 10 years, Belgian aviation will soon be back in the United States. Martin Banks reports. The country’s national air carrier is revving up for a big day this summer - the launch of a daily direct flight between Brussels and New York. Starting from 1 June, Brussels Airlines will connect Europe’s capital daily with New York JFK airport. The significance of the occasion is not lost on company CEO Bernard Gustin, who declared: “June 1 is set to be a historical day.With the launch on that day of this new scheduled service between Brussels Airport and New York, we will be bringing Belgian aviation back to America.” All this is, of course, a far cry from the dark days of just a few years ago when Sabena, Belgium’s national airline from 1923 to 2001, went bankrupt. It was a grim period for both that once-proud airline and the country as a whole. After all, it isn’t day that a country’s national carrier goes bust. However, better news was soon on the horizon when the newly formed SN Brussels Airlines took over part of Sabena’s assets in February 2002. This later became what we now know as Brussels Airlines, with its corporate headquarters on the grounds of Brussels Airport in Zaventem. According to the company, there are several reasons why they have decided to connect the Big Apple to the EU capital. Gustin said: ”More than 300,000 people travel annually between
the two cities and this makes New York an important long haul destination for the Belgian market. “Also, we have received numerous requests from passengers who would like to fly with us to New York.” The new service will be operated with completely renewed Airbus A330 aircraft equipped with the latest in-flight technology and comfort. The sale of tickets for the Brussels-New York JFK route has already started with a launch fare of €399 (all taxes and service fees included). Ticket sales are via the internet and travel agents. There will be a daily morning service to New York, arriving early afternoon (local time) and an overnight service between New York and Brussels, arriving in Brussels the following morning. This scheduling enables the New York flight to fit in smoothly with Brussels Airlines’ European and African flights, so that, allowing for a brief transfer once at Brussels Airport, dozens of destinations in Europe and Africa connect perfectly with the transatlantic route. In JFK, the service will operate from Terminal 1 while at Brussels the plane departs from the company’s exclusive longhaul terminal. The planes will be equipped with a brand-new business and economy class cabin (flat bed in business, ergonomic seats in economy) and the latest hi-tech entertainment system. Passengers travelling on the new route will benefit from
what is a €30 million investment to boost the fleet’s facilities. This major refurbishment of the long haul fleet (including brand new business and economy class and a facelift for the lavatories and galleys) is also seen as a “green” investment - thanks to the use of modern materials, the weight per aircraft decreases, as does fuel usage and CO2 emissions. Said Gustin: “We are especially pleased that we will be able to serve New York, the main longhaul destination for the Belgian travel market. Not only are we investing in our own air connection to the States but, thanks to a completely new cabin, we are also offering our passengers a state-of-the-art product more than ever before.” He added: “Customers boarding our long-haul aircraft will have the feeling they are entering a brand new aircraft. If we compare this level of comfort to the product of other airlines on transatlantic flights we conclude that we will become a real trendsetter of quality in terms of seats, relaxation possibilities, leg room and entertainment technology.” With the bad old days of Sabena now a distant memory, Belgium’s national airline is, clearly, hoping its new daily trip across ‘the Pond’ will be a soaraway success. * Brussels Airlines was named Best Short Haul Airline for 2011 by Travel Magazine, presented by industry members to industry players. The airline has won every year since 2004. More info here.