thesimpleHOUSE

Now that we are retired, we want to travel more. We live in such a beautiful state that there are so many choices to do short day hikes and see some amazing scenery. Our first day trip this year was the Silver Falls State Park, just east of Salem. In just a relatively short five mile loop, you can see seven amazing waterfalls.

There are ten falls in the park, but the other three are a bit less accessible and, in fact, inaccessible this trip. Our winter had some landslides and downed trees on the northern paths that had not yet been cleared.

We packed a lunch and arrived just about noon. Eating first, we set off on the loop. It was early April, but we had a beautiful sunny day.

Starting from the main parking area, we headed for what is probably the most popular falls in the park, South Falls. I think a lot of people, if they don’t have all day, visit only this falls. It’s a fairly easy in-and-out. But you can also start the loop for the other falls from here.

From South Falls (which you can hike behind; several falls here are like that), we continued to Lower South Falls. Along the way, we met a woman from Kansas who exclaimed “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven!” We’ve been to the midwest (Missouri) and would have to agree with her. Total contrast.

This trail loop has uphill and downhill and going clockwise is generally the way we go. Mostly uphill at the beginning and downhill at the end.

We like that.

Lower North Falls comes next. It’s nice, but “only” 30 feet high. I didn’t include a picture here. After Lower North you come to Double Falls, which is just a few hundred feet up a short trail from the main loop.

Continuing along the trail loop, Drake Falls is the next stop. Again, it is a small falls, so I don’t have a picture here. Too many taller, more spectacular falls to focus on!

Middle North Falls is probably one of my favorites. A toss up between it and Lower South Falls. All the falls are spaced out in such a way that it doesn’t really seem like you’re hiking five miles.

The last falls along this particular loop is Winter Falls. It makes a nice end to the loop.

But while it makes a nice end to the loop, you still have to make it back to the main parking area. And that’s a part of the trail that is a nice wooded path (for the most part), but nothing spectacular like you have seen on the first 4 miles of the loop.

This is a trail we try to do every year and I think it’s been a few years since we did it last. It was a beautiful day and a very scenic hike.

Not to be outdone by the doors, the floors (and streets/sidewalks) were also notable in Portugal. Known for cobblestone streets, we always tried to remember to “look down”.

Not only cobblestone streets, but patterns that reflect the local culture. Fishing, geometric patterns, etc. And some of the wood and tile floors were intricate and amazing as well.

As I did with the doors, here are floors and streets for your visual enjoyment without commentary!

There were so many unique doors, I started photographing them. I’ve seen people do this before in various social media posts and now I know why. It was fascinating.

So here, I will simply post many of the doors we saw on our trip. No narrative, just enjoy the photos.

Our last full day in Portugal before we were to get up at 3:30am for our early flight out and our 27 hour trip home. We had booked a tour of the Palácio da Bolsa, the stock exchange building. In Portugal, this is more like the local Chamber of Commerce.

It was formerly a convent that burned during the siege of Porto in 1832. Attached and adjacent is the Igreja de São Francisco, which was not destroyed. I’ll leave the jokes about separation of church and state to your imagination. But it made for some interesting thoughts.

The interior is extremely detailed in the neo-classic style, generally, with an eclectic mix of other styles as well. The Arab Room is called “the jewel of the palace” and is definitely the highlight of the tour.

We also toured the adjacent Igreja, which did not burn.

Since we were in the neighborhood, we walked across the Dom Luís I bridge, designed by the Eiffel Tower engineer. We walked across the top, enjoyed the scenery, had lunch in Gaia, then walked back across the lower level.

That evening was our last dinner in Portugal and we found a little cocktail bar just a block from our hotel. The host was Lucas and the bar was Cais Nobre, Bar Et Cocktails. We thought it was amazing. We later found out it has 96 reviews on TripAdvisor. And 96 five star reviews. Nothing lower. Unheard of.

Wanting to eat light, since we were getting up very early, we just had a chicken wrap and some mushrooms. And I FINALLY found a good hazy IPA.

On our last night here. Go figure.

We walked back to our hotel and set our alarm for 3:00 am.

We had a full day lined up. It started with a trip to Aveiro, billed as “the Venice of Portugal” due to the canals. We had a short boat ride through town (it’s a small town) and saw some now-familiar architecture. Still wonderful weather.

We then had a walking tour through some of the main streets.

We then went a short distance to Costa Nova, where they are known for their brightly-painted houses. We walked down the main “house street” and enjoyed the architecture.

We then went back to Porto and went for a walk. There was a restaurant known for their hot dogs and made “famous” by the late Anthony Bourdain. So we had to try it. They were quite good! And, from the delivery while we were waiting, apparently quite fresh.

From there, we went to the train station, which was nearby and enjoyed the architecture and decor. Tile everywhere.

Then we just had to have an afternoon snack. We heard there was a Time Out Market in Porto, too, so we ventured over there. Had some good espresso, a macchiato and some pastries.

Sitting outside, we watched workers as they renovated some buildings just across the courtyard. There is construction/renovation activity just about everywhere in the cities we visited.

After that, we went back to our hotel and rested. We had just one more full day in Portugal before we were to head home.

Our next day in Porto was largely a free day. We decided to walk down to the bridge (more about that, later), take the funicular to higher parts of town and just wander around. We had tickets to the Livraria Lello, a neo-gothic building housing a bookstore that is so famous you have to pay to get in. And wait in line. Long line. With timed entry. And buy your tickets a day in advance.

The bookstore was totally worth it. As an Architect, I appreciate the intricacies. And a lot of what looks like wood is painted plaster. Well done.

Adjacent to the bookstore was the Torre dos Clérigos, a baroque tower that you can climb to the top of. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was built from 1754 through 1763 and was restored in 2014. There are 225 steps to the top, which is 246 feet high. The steps get steeper and narrower as you ascend. But the views are worth it.

After this day, we returned to the hotel for a little rest before dinner with the larger group. We chilled in our hotel courtyard. We certainly got our steps in this day and were glad to kick our feet up for a while.

Our second day in Porto brought a road (and boat) trip through the Douro Valley. This is the home of Port wines as well as just some amazing wines in general. As I’ve mentioned, I hadn’t found a beer I liked. It’s probably because this isn’t beer country.

It’s wine country.

While I never found a beer I liked, there wasn’t a wine I DIDN’T like. Even the Ports, which I normally find too sweet and too strong. But the Ports we had this day were awesome.

We toured two wineries. The first had a variety of wines. All amazing. The second specialized in Ports. Also amazing.

We had perfect weather (again). A good lunch. Beautiful scenery and a nice, relaxing boat trip on the Douro River for a very scenic stretch.

This trip was probably one of my favorite days on the whole trip. Relaxing. Great wine. Nice boat ride.

After we returned to Porto, we decided to take a walk up to the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal. The building there is a stadium/arena and not much to look at. The gardens were average (wrong time of year, I think). But the view of Porto and the river was wonderful.

Especially at sunset.

Afterward, we walked to a nearby restaurant to try some Francesinha, a layered sandwich that originated in Porto. Layers of bread, meat and cheese. And cheese. And cheese.