Today we were able to sleep a little later and not have to rush off. We ate a leisurely breakfast and Lori went for a swim.
Then we left for the Douro Valley for our tour of the Sapateiro Winery. We arrived at this beautiful Vineyard and were greeted by two adorable dogs and a young man. The other people coming for the tour were running late and we were early, so we sat and chatted with the Winery owner, Tiago. We learned that his father, who was a shoemaker, started making wine as a hobby. Tiago joined him and built it up. The word "Sapateiro" means "shoemaker" in Portuguese. He showed us how he makes wine, and then brought us up to the terrace of the family home (magnificent!) His girlfriend brought over two stunning charcuterie boards just for the four of us. The other people had their own! We then tasted five different wines from his winery. The food was delicious and we liked the wines as well. We enjoyed the beautiful views and weather while we ate and drank! Before leaving, we all bought some wine as well as the homemade honey made by the father of Tiago's girlfriend.
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| This was the home of the winery owner. |
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| The vineyards in front of the winery |
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| The table before we sat down |
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| We had two of these platters! |
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| One of the winery's dogs |
After leaving, we wanted to tour some of the quaint towns of the Douro Valley. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anywhere really quaint. We first drove to Amares, and drove in a circle three times trying to figure out where we wanted to go (we didn't). Then we drove to Guimaraes, and toured the Palace Duques de Braganca. It was lovely! Then we walked around a park and outside of the Vila de Flor. Finally, home to relax for a while.
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| One of the many, many super narrow streets we drove down. |
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| The Palace Duques de Braganca |
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| This and next 5 pictures inside the Palace |
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| This is a typical sidewalk in some of the smaller towns |
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| The outside of the Vila de Flor (this and next two pictures) |
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| The park behind the Vila de Flor |
Since we finally got home at a reasonable time, I took a few pictures of the inside and outside of this home. It's a mostly lovely place, but lacked soap, paper towels, coffee, or any other similar amenities. And as I'm writing this, the hot water isn't working.....
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| To get an idea about how far off the beaten path our rental is, the dirt "road" on the right is the road and the path on the left is our driveway! |
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| Upstairs kitchen |
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| Downstairs kitchen and living room |
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| Near entrance, looking towards living room |
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| Path to the pool |
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| By the front door |
We went out to a local restaurant called Francois' for dinner. It was just a place we drove by, near to our rental. What an amazing choice! The food was outstanding, and served by a personable, lovely server, Nela!
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| Lori and I each had one of these amazing salads. David and Raymond shared bruscetta, but I didn't take a picture. |
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| My pasta with clams (unbelievable!!) |
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| Raymond's pasta carbonara |
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| Lori had margherita pizza |
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| David had lasagna |
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| Raymond ordered the tiramisu, but we all helped him with it! |
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| Our lovely server, Nela! |
