Greetings friends and family,
Hopefully you are all in good health and ready to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country, in spite of the Manchurian cantaloupe in charge. There is a big 4th of July celebration being held here in Porto for Americans beginning late tomorrow. According to the organizers, they can't believe how many Americans are living here in Porto, so, I guess I'll see for myself.
June found us in both Copenhagen and Amsterdam, traveling with daughter Erinn and two grandkids, Zoe and Owen. They arrived in Copenhagen on June 4 and we spent the next seven days exploring the city and having a great time. Surprisingly, the weather was a bit chilly on most days, with a few days of drizzle. The Airbnb we rented was located in what I would call an upscale, yuppie area not too far from downtown. There were canals beside and behind the building, and as we walked the neighborhood, we discovered that many apartments had ladders down from the apartments to boats and kayaks moored below. Grocery stores and restaurants were very close by, as was the Metro station that took us into town each day. And big surprise, there was a small coffee & wine shop in the building next door which carries Portuguese wines! In addition to doing the usual touristy things there, i.e. a canal cruise, visiting the Amalienborg Castle, where the King and Queen reside (we watched the changing of the guard), the Christiansborg Palace (home to the Danish Parliament, the Supreme Court and the ministry of State), Tivoli Gardens (Walt Disney's inspiration for Disneyland), the Rosenborg Castle (400 years of royal Danish history that includes the Danish Crown Jewels, which are still actively worn today, and the beautiful grounds surrounding the castle), and The National Gallery of Denmark (art/sculpture); we took the fascinating tour of the Danish Resistance Museum. I highly recommend this museum to anyone planning to visit Copenhagen. I had no knowledge of the Nazi occupation of Denmark prior to visiting, and they've done a remarkable job telling the stories of a number of the men and women who chose to resist, as well as showing you photos, videos and underground newspapers, etc. For anyone who is interested in history, this is a must-see. The cleanliness of Copenhagen made an impression on Erinn and the kids. And they loved Tivoli Gardens, in particular the size, because it's smaller and much easier to get around than Disneyland and the lines aren't so long. I think they rode every ride, some more than once, and stayed for the midnight fireworks display. Owen was also fascinated by the number of bicycles everywhere. During our canal cruise we saw one bridge that gets 18,000 bikes a day going over it to/from town and two other bridges that get 12,000 bikes a day. The Danes are in good shape!
Next up, we flew to Amsterdam and stayed in a fabulous home (Airbnb) in the town of Heemstede, a really cute town outside of Amsterdam. I would love to post photos of this home, but I feel that I would be violating their privacy. Suffice to say, it was fabulous! The train and bus stop were only a six-minute walk from the house, and the town of Haarlem was only an eight-minute bus ride away, while we could take a 20 minute train ride into Amsterdam. We also enjoyed dinner twice at a great little Italian restaurant two doors down from the house. On our first full day, we visited Haarlem and toured the Corrie Ten Boom House, where Corrie's family helped hide Jews who were trying to escape to safety. In 1944, that family of five was betrayed and hauled off to various concentration camps, where all but Corrie herself, died. There have been two movies made about this, both called "The Hiding Place." Haarlem is an adorable town, and I highly recommend a visit there. We spent the next several days traveling into Amsterdam to see the sites, go to the outdoor markets, tour the Anne Frank House, take yet another canal cruise, visit the Van Gogh Museum as well as the Rijksmuseum, and visit our friend Ron to see his new apartment. Our last full day was beautiful and sunny so we took a picnic lunch and went to Zandvoort Beach on the North Sea to catch some rays and enjoy some down time.
If you are on Instagram or FB, I posted many more photos there. It was a fabulous trip! I should mention that we all had trouble adjusting to how light it stays at night when you're that far north. Sometimes it was still barely dark at 11 p.m. and then the sun would rise at 4-4:30 a.m.
Once we were back in Porto, it was time for the big São João festival once again. That's the one with plastic hammers and billions of people on the riverfront (I might be a little off on the numbers) held every year exclusively in Porto on June 23. Our friends Ed and Rhonda were in town and had the primo view from the balcony of their short term rental. We watched the amazing fireworks show from there.
On June 29th we celebrated our 4th anniversary living in Porto. It's hard to believe, but it still feels great to live here, and we're both very happy with our decision.
Wishing you all a great July 4th!
Go Portugal!🇵🇹
Adeus, abraços e beijos,
MaryLou