Day 5 literally just the day time, there will need to be a night post too.

So it is the last sign of these times.....


Ok, so this morning was time for one last hefty breakfast of our glorious hosts before the short drive over to Guimares. We said our goodbyes and were presented with our first engagement present of a bottle of wine from a local producer. It was a very sweet thought from some lovely hosts.

I have to say here two important facts here.
Number one, I cannot recommend more highly the house of Casa Cimeira http://www.casacimeira-douro.com/uk/index.php

The entrance to our hilltop accommodations

The view of the main building.

Number two, more wine as an engagement present will certainly be greatly appreciated and eagerly consumed at some point.

So off we went to Guimares only a short drive away. It was easy to find, even if we missed a couple of turn offs for towns we were thinking about seeing.... Portuguese road signs are not so straight forward..... but we made it to Guimares early just before lunch (for us this is about 1400). It was a really nice warm and sunny day when we arrived. This made it perfect for strolling about the town to learn about the surroundings. Also what the heck was going here, in the old Portuguese capital, as there was lights being strung up, tents being erected and a lively atmosphere about.

We walked about the old town the small fruit stalls,

the pastry shops and admired the very old buildings. Many of these are run down, and in desperate need of loving assistance, I just wish I had the money to help...... Some being purely the facade with nothing at all behind.


Others were lovely tiled fronts, and large windows. I remarked to Marta that in any other country if you had a house with a tiled front it would probably look tacky and ugly, but in a place like Guimares it just fits and livens up narrow streets, and like this one below just glow from mustard yellow tiles.

There was also some pretty cool public art in the centre of town, this one being a big finger print.


So before venturing too far, as I mentioned earlier, we arrived just before lunch. So as we again had stuffed ourselves for breakfast, we weren't keeling over with hunger, so we decided it was time again to hit a bakery. Yay, for baked food. Of course I required a coffee.


Ham filled pastry

Eggy custardy tasty and yummy, sounds like a Peter Combe song! For all of you not from Australia or familiar with the great mans work, and/or are interested in kids entertainment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Combe
Orange tarts

A window full of tasty looking pastry.

I know this photo isn't sharp and crisp, but you try and stop Marty attacking a strawberry tart to take a photo and you see how hard it is!


My coffee, as you can see a little burnt, and our first custard tarts, the national sweet of Portugal, or so I am led to believe. They weren't to be the last either.... rather tasty little morsels.

So off we went into the areas that was the old workers districts. It is amazing to see these old buildings in this area. They are run down but still maintain their distinct beauty and appeal. I would love to be able to buy a lot of them and do them up. There was one, and old textile factory, that was screaming out to be made into a hotel. In a perfect location near the markets. Below you can see the mail boxes of all the traders in the market.



For all of you who are smart arses, and think you know lots of useless information. Have a look at the below and tell me what this is.....


It isn't as easy as you think! I will be interested to see what you come up with.....

Now the sun sets and we move to the night.... in a new post, so this isn't too long.

Day 4, the big one.....

So once again we arose to a great breakfast, I swim my way through coffee and devoured, I swear it was, half a pig, combined with, what must have been, a weeks worth of bread. After our visit to the tourist office in Lamego, we had heard that there was a possibility that maybe there could be discovered, if it was plausible, a location that made cider. Which, as some of you may know, is something we would dearly love to learn to make here in Poland and maybe start a small cottage industry.... if only we had a cottage! (yes, the jokes get no better!) The location was the small town of Alijo, the other side of the river and a windy drive away. We set off post haste, ignoring many Quintas with the thought of Cider in our minds. We drove through some gorgeous and remote country side, down tiny little roads where we wouldn't see another car for extended periods of time. The Lonely Planet was right, as soon as you turn off the main roads, cars are rarely seen. Which was great, with the exception that Marta was slowly turning green from the constant hairpin turns and precision driving of Garth Schumaker.

We made it into the town of Alijo and it was indeed a pretty little place with a lovely shaded parque on the edge of the 'old' town. We parked here (or is that parqued?) and strolled the street, as we were hungry (yes, again). We found a nice little cafe and I bought the cheapest coffee I had found in all of Portugal, at 40cents, not only cheap but it was actually the best. I really enjoyed it, hence my demands of a second being met with a slight frown from Marta for fear of me bouncing off the car interior with caffeine. She allowed me another as long as I bought us icecreams too. Sold! We asked around about the address we had been given by the Lamego tourism office, but no one had heard of it! So the drive was fruitless but not bean a total waste (apple is a fruit so fruitless and coffee is in bean form... ok, Garth, if you need to explain your jokes they aren't funny!)
So, we jumped on a larger and much straighter main road to cruise into Vila Real. Famous for its football team and another age old tradition of Mateus wines. You know, the one which so many restaurants and people of the 70's-80's put candles in. The green bottle was flask shaped and had the palace on the label.

Here in Vila Real, we popped into the tourist office again to ask about simplest directions to see the Mateus Palace, and then we looked for somewhere to eat. We found a place that was a hubbub with activity.

All locals (it appeared) packed into a simple looking eatery. We ducked in to see what this commotion was about. We were seated promptly, even though the two levels of the place were heaving with hungry punters. We had a delightful couple next to us, a little tipsy, but delightful none the less. They gave us some recommendations from the vast menu.

House Special Cod. Also the entree servings of black pudding and grilled sausage can be seen on the left along with the vinho verde, yum yum.

Daily Special Baby goat (cabrito) Deeeeeeelicious!
and we tried in a bravest Portuguese to say "thank you", and ask them more questions. Many were lost in the noise or the happy alcohol haze that was in their minds at the time. Then I commenced my attack on the innocent baby goat.

It was indeed delicious, washed down with some delightful vinho verde. I was in heaven. This was probably one of the greatest meals I had during my time in Portugal, it goes along with one of my adages which is "if you can't get messy while eating, there is no point eating", or something to that caveman effect. Food is some of my greatest memories in life.... yes, Asta, even Hakarl in Iceland...... well maybe Hakarl..... For non-Icelanders or people who know not of Hakarl, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakarl . I do vow to try it again though... surely, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Anyway I digress..... often!

After the meal it was off to tackle the next challenge of my day, more will be revealed later. The stop was to be the Mateus Palace on the edge of Vila Real. It is really a pretty place and we spent some time strolling about the beautiful gardens admiring the scenes that had been well sculptured over time (the last 2 centuries to be exact).


The coat of arms of the Palace.

The view that greets you as you walk down the drive and around the corner to the Palace.

The manicured hedges are really nice, I couldn't imagine the patience required for topiary.

Vine covered walkway

Grapes of said vine

Ok, I think it is time to go on a diet when you get stuck in the hedge tunnels!

So after strolling we decided to taste some wines, so the first distinction to be made is something that is also hugely emphasised by the people of the 'new' Mateus wines is that the wine you can still buy in this odd flask shaped bottle is not the Mateus now. That is what they refer to as "coca-cola". The estate now has a new label with new and better wines. That, I can personally indeed attest to. We were lucky enough to have a delightful young lady behind the wine counter, who after talking to us, realised that we were fabulous people and connoisseurs of fine wines. So instead of giving us just the normal three wines, she took us on a journey through their entire collection from the 4Euros through to the 50Euros. I love it when people restore your faith in humanity!

Wine Eye.


Wine Try.


Wine Cry


And Wine buy!

Due to her assistance, generosity and devotion to information and customer service, we bought a three pack of wines! It had nothing to do with the wooden box (I am a sucker for them!) and the fact they all tasted great, nothing at all......

Marty was a little tipsy now, so we hit the road and drove on towards our accommodation, so that maybe, we could sun by the pool. On the way home we saw the name of a Quinta which caught our eye. Dona Matilde.

This was because a long story which is when Marta and I first spent some time together I sung her "waltzing Matilda", the Australian anthem of stealing and escapism. She loved it, we have also said that when we have a daughter, we will call her Matilda as it is really a lovely name, and hopefully she can steal us sheep too! Anyway, we eyed the advert across the river, so we ducked off over the weir/lock bridge and headed up a very rickety and rough road to the Quinta. On arrival we found a really beautiful place, full of Hydrangeas and other beautiful flowers, but no people and no cellar door to taste wine! So instead I decided to propose that Marta marry me. She said "No" cried a lot,

and then explained, that she meant "I can't say, no. Things this good aren't meant to happen".

So yes it was a nice cover up by her.

I gave her my late mothers engagement ring, and it seems to make her pleased.

Thanks little winery of no wine!

Later in our travels we discovered that this winery was part of a large corporation, and it now has been bought back by the original owners. So it soon will be making their own branded wines again! We will endeavour to locate these to celebrate with. Maybe that will mean we need to return to Portugal... what a shame that would be!

After this and some rapid phone calls home to Poland to explain that we aren't pregnant, Australia was later in the day due to time difference, we headed off to taste some more wines. This time we headed to Quinta Royal Porto.



Which is based right on the Douro on the fringes of Pinhao. We tried almost all the ports that we could muster.


Muscat, White, Tawny, Reserva, Ruby

We bought a Muscat which made me feel all creative.


We returned home, with smiles abound, and ducked out for a quick dip in the delightful pool. It over looks vineyards, on both sides of the Douro, and is certainly one of the most impressive locations, view wise, that I have swum in.


That evening we had some delicious House Port to start things, this was before we had another hearty home cooked, by our hosts, meal. They celebrated our engagement with the other guests at the house with champagne and lots of red wine.

Overall, I don't think the day could be better.

Day 3, It's Douro time

So after a pleasant, but squeaky, night's sleep we arose to a fantastic breakfast. It was freshly brewed coffee, fresh breads, home grown melon, ham (dry cured Presunto like Spanish Serrano), cheese, home made preserves, and I am sure port if you asked for it. This filling and bountiful meal allowed us a relaxed and somewhat slow start to the day. We jumped in the little Colt and hit the road. This time, it was to tour the Douro, with our current accommodation to be for 3 nights, which meant we could get around some more in loops, so we get more exposure to the landscape than just a highway.

So first thing we did was went up away from the river to the hilltop town of Tabuaco.



It is quaint and small, somewhere that I could easily dream of retiring to. If I ever owned a donkey, and/or didn't mind living so far away from water. After this, we cruised the little Colt along the Douro, and we drove along the main road between Pinhao and Peso Da Regua. Along here, we stopped at a couple of wineries ...... and then Sapos.

Maybe not the most classy, but certainly fun, not just for people, but the spiders seem to like it, too!


I am sure some think it is a barrell of laughs! (oh god sorry the jokes just get worse!)


This was where we bought our first wine. It was a white port called Lagrima, even though we bought this from Q.V Sapos, it is a Qunita de Marrocos wine.

The old lady of the cellar that we bought it from didn't really want to talk much, but allowed us to pour our own tastings. Shame I was driving really..... but we went through most of all their selections that were available, including brandy.

After here we headed into Peso Da Regua, as they have lots of tiles around

and a large tourist office there, we thought it would be good to get the low down of the area. Problem being it closes on weekends! Yes, just mildly insane as you would expect many visitors to visit on weekends.... but such is the life of the Iberian Peninsula, you will find oddly similiar things in Spain as well. So after taking photos of many varying doors and door features (aren't we just a riot! But you should see the looks you get from locals, that alone is a great reason to take such photos!), we were thinking it was about lunch time, but the only thing we could find that looked interesting was a Churrasco (BBQ grill). This was impressively busy, and a great sign, but we weren't really in the mood for either BBQ or waiting in the sun to get a table indoors.

So back to the Colt it was and off to the town of Lamego (which was supposed to have another Tourist office). Not just this, but things we dearly love. I had read it was a home of some regional smoked speciality meats.... hence the lunch you see below.

It is also home to some fabulous bakeries (where we should have had lunch instead of the overpriced meal that we did end up having).




To our surprise it is also the home to some rather charming and entertaining Grampapies, Grandpas, Poppas, Papas, or whatever you chose to call them. Something that I loved about Portugal, as it was in direct contradiction to Poland, is that there are lots more Old men either on the move or sitting around gas bagging and arguing. Sometimes drinking coffee, sometimes aguardente (firewater!) or other times, sitting around a backgammon/chess board or a deck of cards. Either way, it made a big difference to the Grannies of Warsaw and Poland in general.




We actually went to the tourist office (it was open!!), and the lady there was fabulous, she gave us more maps than we could imagine and some great tips and pointers on things to see. After Lamego, we headed off towards home, stopping in at a couple more Quintas along the way. The highlight was the Quinta do Panascal (part of the Fonseca group). This Quinta gives you an MP3 player and sends you into the vineyard to listen to a rather well-to-do English Gent tell you the story of not just Panascal and Fonseca, but the Douro as a whole.


Panascal olive terraces on the way to the Vineyard

The Vineyard with the Tavora river in the background.

Tinto Barroca grapes getting read to be Port!

Up close and tastiful.

So after this, we came home to a great home cooked meal from our hosts. It was an amazing meal of salted cod with roasted potatoes, roasted capsicums, olives and tomatoes, all washed down with copious amounts of home made red wine in three varieties. Followed by melon and cakes and, of course, port. In all a magical meal, and a great starting day to the Douro.