A day in Valença & goodbye Viana

This region of northern Portugal - Minho - which we're continuing to explore for the second year in a row, is stunningly beautiful. Although often overshadowed on the "tourist-trail," it's an area that encompasses beautiful beaches, rugged mountains, wide rivers, traditional villages and is rich in history. Once again we admired it all, as we took the 1-hour journey to Valença.
We travelled through the lush, terraced landscape of this fertile area, on a 1-hour train journey northwards, that follows the coast and then the river Minho to Valença.
Apart from selling good quality, low-cost linens - something that draws the Spanish across the river to this "border town" - Valença is all about the historic fortress.....which is really a town within a town.
At over 2,000 years old, this fortress - a candidate for a UNESCO World Heritage Site - is one of the largest and best preserved in the world. With 5.5 km of walls, on 3 levels, it also has open squares, fortified enclosures and 2 areas - or sides - which are reached through ancient arches. Strangely, pedestrians are helped through these "gates" with the aid of a traffic light! With all this + cannons and a moat - we felt immersed withIn an open museum.
Back to the linens. The main streets do have other items to sell, but mostly the shops are full of towels, tablecloths, traditional tea-towels & aprons.....the whole picture being somewhat gaudy. The people who are selling these wares are friendly, but not pushy.....and if we had a car to transport them, I would surely be stocking up - there are some great buys of good-quality products - but sadly my suitcase is small!
Getting away from this textile "overload" we wandered the narrow streets, which are full of churches and other historical areas. We also walked atop the walls, from where the views over the river into Spain are magnificent.
Along the streets we found many restaurants & cafés - all had outside areas, shaded with umbrellas and trees. Two of these are worth mentioning if only for the fact that they sit side by side on a grassy part of the upper walls - sharing the same fabulous view. One has tablecloths and a pricey menu, the other one has a smaller menu, for sure, and no tablecloths - but unless a gourmet meal is required on this hot day we had to wonder - a simple hamburger or sandwich at the place without tablecloths was less than 1/4 of the price than the one with the covered table......as travellers on a budget....just saying!
This fortress has a long history. We walked through an archway from which archaeological finds have dated back to Roman times. Two roads dated from that era also provide proof of its military use. A Roman milestone, dating from the 1st century marks 42 Roman miles from Braga to Tui - the town just across the river in Spain. The inscription on this milestone tells us that the construction of the road was ordered by the Emperor Claudius.
The area was populated throughout the 12th & 13th century, when the first walls were built to defend against Spain. The walls were upgraded during the 17th & 18th century, for the same purpose - and - although destroyed several times - these walls have always been restored and are still very well preserved today.
Later this week we decided to do a little more investigation of the "hotel in the woods" that we had seen at Cabedelo Beach.......consequently we spent a pleasant couple of hours on the terrace of FeelViana Sport Hotel. In the late afternoon we enjoyed a drink on their outdoor terrace. With the dunes and pine forest acting as a buffer to the beach and ocean, there is a wonderful feeling of peace here. This upscale hotel adds to the calm atmosphere by using modern, minimalistic (but comfortable) furniture - mostly made of wood and natural fabrics. Although the outdoor pool is at the end of this terrace, and dress is casual - there was virtually no noise during our time there.
One other thing worth a mention.......when I placed my drink order for a glass of the house rosé - the young waiter told me they had none available - but promptly opened a bottle of Portuguese Rosé from the Douro region for me to taste. His quick thinking and attention to customer satisfaction allowed me to enjoy a very cold, very fine wine - and for the same price as the house wine!
With time in Viana running out for us, we've crossed the Eiffel bridge into town a few more times - on one occasion deciding to achieve two things....track down the Municipal Market and visit the Museum of Art & Archaeology.
We never did get to the market.....on the way there, when checking out directions with a woman on the street, we were told that the market had burned down quite a few years ago and there was only a temporary market on Fridays.....and that it "was not very pretty." So - as it was not Friday, we continued on to the museum.....great decision!
Installed in an 18th century palace is one of the most important and precious collections of old Portuguese earthenware of the 16th, 17th & 18th centuries - with several pieces from the now extinct Crockery Factory of Viana. In addition to paintings and furniture, the place is filled with traditional azulejaria (tiling).
Although the exhibits are displayed in only a small number of rooms - 4 downstairs & 6 small, interconnecting rooms upstairs - they are outstanding......and, we found, somewhat overwhelming, in their scope and beauty. The house itself is lovely, with high, carved wooden ceilings. The staircase is wide and the walls are tiled all the way up to the next floor.
Downstairs we saw oil paintings (many by unknown artists), ivory plaques, alabaster statues and a wooden Indo-European chest.... all from the 16th century and in incredible condition. The adjoining room contained Portuguese pottery - also from the 16th century - predominantly glazed in blue and white, which we discovered was copied from the Chinese. With scenes mostly depicting animals and flowers these jugs and plates were made locally when the much-admired, imported ones from China were banned - by royal decree!
Another piece of interest on this floor, was an 18th century desk with 6 small, painted panels, under glass, on its upper section. All three paintings on one side were of people in dress of that period - interesting & brightly coloured - but "normal." The three on the other side were also brightly coloured but completely different in content - being very similar to something Salvador Dali would paint......sorry - no explanation!
Upstairs were high-ceilinged rooms with walls fully tiled on the bottom half, with large oil paintings displayed above. One room had tiles depicting hunting scenes, another room had tiles dedicated to the senses - both with the paintings above containing the same theme.
We saw elaborately carved furniture of sandalwood and ebony and a 19th century bedroom with a coat of arms in the ceiling & a four-poster bed with red damask hangings. A small chapel next to the bedroom was, except for the ceiling and the altar, totally tiled - with Christ on the cross carved from ivory.
At the end of this great museum - strangely, we thought - the far upper end of the house contains something completely different - a small, ultra-modern gallery with abstract artwork from the mid-20th century.
One more thing that we liked about both this and the costume museum - because they're both operated by the municipality, the entrance fee that we paid at the costume museum gave us entry to this museum too.....at only 1 euro each for the combined entry to both - a very good deal!
Due to the fact that we're on the Cabedelo side of town, we've had the choice of two very different areas. So as we get ready to leave Viana do Castelo, we had one last walk to the beach where, as always, at least 30 or more kite-surfers were riding the waves. Along with sounds of the ocean, the smell of the surrounding pine forest is always in the air.....we'll miss that!
We'll also miss the Casinha da Orquidea - our "Little house of Orchids" with its huge garden and patio - just for us.....and of course we'll miss our gracious and generous hostess, Maria along with her faithful dog, Nero.
Viana do Castelo will be missed too - it's a lovely town of palaces, statues, fountains, squares & churches and is filled with history......there's always something "new" to find there - perhaps some different decorations in one of the tiny back streets, or bus-loads of Portuguese families in the park on a Saturday - eating, drinking and dancing the afternoon away.
.....so as we leave here....there's just one thing that I have to say that we'll definitely not miss.....the long walk over the windy bridge to town!