杜羅河谷火車遊 @ Pinhão / Douro valley train rides @ Pinhão

Measure Website Visitors

【杜羅河谷火車遊 @ Pinhão】

【Douro valley train rides @ Pinhão】

葡萄牙最具代表性的藝術品, 當要數傳統藍白色瓷磚畫。 在波圖 (Porto) 一帶, 除了最著名的聖本篤車站 (São Bento Railway Station) 內的藍白色瓷磚畫, 還少不了杜羅河谷小鎮 Pinhão 的火車站外牆的裝飾藍白瓷磚畫。

The most representative works of art of Portugal must be the traditional blue and white decorative ceramic tiles. In addition to the beautiful ceramic tile decorations at the famous São Bento Railway Station in city centre Porto, the Douro Valley town of Pinhão also possesses its majestic work of blue and white painted ceramic tiles.

嚴格來說, Pinhão 這小鎮並沒有怎麼景點 (除了風光如畫的葡萄園景致和參觀葡萄莊園), 最震撼是乘坐火車一到站, 見到站的整幅牆壁上都掛滿了漂亮的傳統葡萄牙藍白色瓷磚畫, 瓷磚畫描繪了許多不同的場景, 包括 Pinhão 的葡萄園山景、農民耕作、工人收割葡萄等。

Strictly speaking, Pinhão does not offer much to see itself, besides its superb vineyard scenery and visits to the Quintas). Upon arriving at the train station, one will be amazed by the delightful painted blue and white ceramic tiles covering the external walls of the train station. The tile paintings depict various scenes, including Pinhão sloping vineyards, panorama of Pinhão, farmers working on the farms and workers harvesting grapes etc..

趣談葡萄牙語&葡萄牙旅遊講座 / Talk on Portugal - The country and its language

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【趣談葡萄牙語&葡萄牙旅遊講座】
【Talk on Portugal - The country and its language】

1) 葡萄牙探險家 Vasco da Gama (瓦斯科·達伽馬) 早在公元1497-1499年, 就已是歷史上第一位歐洲人完全經由海路的方式到達印度, 接下來其他葡萄牙人也相繼以海路方式首先到達中國、日本等, 足跡遍布亞洲多地;

2) 澳門曾經是葡萄牙的殖民地 (1557-1999年); 雖然如此, 葡萄牙和葡萄牙語, 對不少朋友而言好像有點陌生的感覺。

友人和我將會在 2月27日 (星期六) 下午舉辦一個名為 「趣談葡萄牙語 & 葡萄牙旅遊」的活動, 目的是希望分享一點葡萄牙文化和旅遊的資訊, 和讓大家多了解精彩的葡萄牙語, 同場亦會介紹即將在香港開辦的葡萄牙語課程的詳細資料。 講座詳情如下:

日期: 2016年2月27日 (星期六)
時間: 14:00 - 16:00
地點: 香港灣仔駱克道88號19樓全層 (大厦入口位於盧押道面對匯豐銀行分行), 灣仔地鐵站C出口
費用: 全免

由於場地座位有限, 需要預備出席人數, 因此有興趣出席的朋友們請以私人信息方式, 留下姓名及聯絡方法, 先到先得。如有查詢, 亦歡迎在此留言, 我們會盡快回覆。

希望到時見到大家!

請注意: 活動將以廣東話進行 (Please note: The talk will be conducted in Cantonese)

杜羅河谷火車遊 / Douro valley train rides

Measure Website Visitors

【杜羅河谷火車遊】

【Douro valley train rides】

杜羅河谷 - 砵酒的發源地。

Douro Valley - the birthplace of Port Wine.

遊覽杜羅河谷, 就是為了欣賞河谷兩岸風光、到酒莊參觀和品嘗各種在此地一帶所生產的葡萄牙餐酒和砵酒。要到杜羅河谷, 可以從波圖市中心乘坐郵輪, 或由São Bento Railway Station 開出前往 Duoro Valley 的火車, 兩個方法各有特色。當然開車更理想。這天我就坐火車, 沿著Douro River 杜羅河, 前往 Duoro Valley 的小村莊 Pinhão。

Visiting the renowned Douro Valley wine region is so much fun! Enjoy the majestic views on a cruise or a train ride. One major attraction of Douro Valley must be joining some quinta and wine tasting tours. "Quintas" are farms that produce Portuguese port and table wines. Driving in a car along the Douro Valley gives even more flexibility, of course. This day, I visited a small village called Pinhão in the Douro Valley by train.

火車在下午1:15 從波圖的 Campanhã railway station 火車站準時開出, 沿著杜羅河行駛, 大約3:45到達 Pinhão火車站。 要欣賞絕佳風景, 提議大家坐在右邊位置。Pinhão 很小, 到達後大家可立刻 步行或坐車去個別的 quintas 參觀和試酒, 或周圍走走欣賞風景也很不錯。

My train departed from Porto-Campanhã Railway Station at 1:15pm sharp. Spectacular riverside journey for most of the trip. Suggested to sit on right hand side of trains for best views. My train arrived at Pinhão Railway Station at about 3:45pm. Upon arrival in Pinhão (it's a small village), you can walk or take a cab to visit quintas. Or you may choose to simply just have a picnic at the riverside and enjoy the scenic views of the Douro Valley.

有關波圖的地鐵 / About Metro @ Porto

Measure Website Visitors

【有關波圖的地鐵】

【About Metro @ Porto】

波圖的地鐵系統很現代化和新穎, 而且都有很清楚的指示牌, 分成A至F六線, 以不同顏色顯示 (藍、紅、綠、黃、紫、橙)。 波圖地鐵系統有一樣東西較特別, 就是, 它們的地鐵出入口, 是採取開放式的! 也即是說, 使用地鐵是靠乘客自律買票。

我不敢以身試法不買票... 一來自認膽小, 二來如被捉到罰款額不少。以前在意大利時曾見過幾次有亞洲遊客被地鐵職員捉到沒有買票, 當時罰款已是50歐元! 聽說意大利地鐵、巴士由於發現不少亞洲旅客不買票上車, 所以集中抽查亞洲旅客。 我暫時沒有聽說過葡萄牙地鐵同樣這樣做, 但遵守法律買票就肯定安心, 另外, 請記緊上車前先將票拍卡生效。

Porto's metro system is modern and new. It is clearly marked with different letters (A to F) and by different colours (Blue, Red, Green, Yellow, Purple and Orange). One thing that makes it pretty special is that there are no entry barriers. It operates in an open way - relying heavily on the self-discipline of metro passengers to buy tickets.

I do not dare to defy the law ...I had seen several times when I was on the metro in Italy that Asian tourists got caught by metro staff for not travelling with validated tickets, and were each fined 50 euros! There have been rumours that the Italian train and metro authorities found that many Asian tourists didn't buy tickets and therefore they have inspectors making surprise checks on trams at all hours, targeting in particular Asian tourists. I'm not sure if it's the same in Portugal, but obeying the law and buying tickets is the only secured way travelling on the metro. BTW, remember to validate your tickets before boarding.