Laundry day. Had an amazing Thai massage, and an excellent brunch!
View from our table:
Then we went back to the hotel, Michelle to have a seats and me to catch the bus to the coast.
Walked for a bit, watched some retired people play cards, and had a beer.
The change driving East toward Porto.
Dinner with our Intrepid group.
tomorrow we start our journey to Santiago de Compostela!
Bom Caminho!
After a rest, we got on another bus (public transportation!) and made it to Matosinhos, on the coast. We walked along the beach and relaxed until dinner. This was a special dinner for Michelle & I, as we finally turned 29.
Octopus (polvo) in garlic butter. Michelle says octopi have brains, so I felt it was ok to say we were eating brain food and it will only help our cause.
Strawberries with mozzarella.
Monk fish & shrimp.
The waiter was much nicer than any Portuguese thus far (aside from our hotel staff - Moov Porto Centro), but he also told us that Americans give good tips.
We survived the bus ride home, and made massage appts for after laundromat & breakfast. 🥰
Today we slept in until 0900!
Breakfast while planning the day.
Hopped on & off a few double-decker buses to see the city on both sides of the River.
Dragons!
Then we found lunch that was delicious but forgot to take a picture of. Our view was great tho:
The next stop was Favaios, famous for their Muscatel.
I did not take this picture, but I want to use the building as art inspiration, so I put it here.
6 generations of vintners, we learned a lot about muscatel, a sweet dessert wine that is not a port.
Hot & tired winery dogs.
Then we started back to Porto and stopped at Amarante. Sweet little town, with a beautiful church.
We paid a few Euros to light candles before we learned about St Goncalo, the patron saint of unmarried women & spinsters. Supposedly within a year we will have husbands. 😳
Another interesting thing… the town has a festival every June to honor Goncalo and makes penis cakes to celebrate.
Tomorrow (Thursday) we’re sleeping in!
Made it to a cafe for cappuccinos and croissants before our Duoro Valley wine tour. Short walk from our hotel.
First winery, at 1030, est in 1638! San Luis. Drank some ports and enjoyed the beautiful views.
Then a cruise on the Douro River. The vines are all terraced. Port can only be produced as real port is it from the Duoro valley, under 500m in elevation.
Picture stop on the way to the next winery. 🍷
