Douro Valley

We woke up to a cloudy, overcast day for our journey east, up the Douro Valley. Amongst low cloud, the first stop was Amarante, where the local market was in full swing.

We followed the river, with it's steep banks lined with terraced vineyards, and stopped in Pinháo for lunch. There were 2 river cruise boats in dock, but they must have been out wine tasting, as the small town was very quiet.

Rui made some calls to fit us in for a tasting at a winery that made table wines as well as port (many only make port) and we visited Quinta do Bomfim for a very relaxing afternoon of tasting on their wisteria covered pergola overlooking the Douro River.

Accommodation tonight is in Peso da Régua where we had dinner at a non-touristy restaurant (ie not on the waterfront). The staff spoke no English (the same amount as our Portuguese), so we had much laughter communicating our order. The staff always bring out olives and bread at the start of the meal - they are not complimentary, but added to the bill unless you send them back - and tonight we also received a mystery bowl... of chicken gizzards. And they were quite tasty!Read more