Take me to the nunnery - Convento do Espinheiro

The convent was built in the 15th century and now converted to a wonderful hotel.  There is even a chapel within the now resort.  This Starwood establishment is just outside of the walled town of Evora. A lovely setting in the Alentejo region, which is less than two hours from Lisbon, and also another wine region of Portugal.  

There was even a statue of St Anthony to top it all off

Our sanctuary in the Douro Valley - Casa Do Visconde De Chanceleiros

We've stayed in some lovely hotels in Napa and the Amalfi coast, and although this wasn't a five star resort and didn't have a spa, it was absolutely lovely.  The setting could not have been more majestic.  It really allowed you to slow down and take in the wonderful setting.  I wanted to share some of the beautiful shots of the grounds.

From our patio

The second level had a sitting area and deck

The well fed bulldog was the owners, an esentric German woman, who was as easy going as the atmosphere.  

The Pike Place Market of Lisbon

We visited a couple of "markets" in Lisbon.  One where you would go and buy your fish and vegetables, and another that wasn't so much a market but an upscale food court.  Many of the local restaurants had a booth in this market and it was a wonderful opportunity to try a variety of local cuisine. 

The fish market

The food court "market"

The food of Portugal

Even though there are uniqueness in every city, and specialties within a city, there is one food that could be called the National food of Portugal, and that would be cod.  They say they have 365 recipes for this fish, one for every day of the year.  We tried it multiples ways and enjoyed it each time.  The typically eat most food with potatoes.  Sardines were popular, but I didn't try, neither did I attempt the pigs feet or blood sausage.

Of course the cities by the sea had wonderful seafood, we enjoyed octopus, mussels and squid.  Inland in the region of Alentejo east of Lisbon, where the countryside had a similar look to eastern Washington, it is known for black pig.  Although all the meat, including lamb, was wonderful.  They purée their vegetable dishes with various spices and these were very tasty.  

Cod dishes

The octopus, this one was my favorites in Porto

Fried was different

And as a salad

Then the squid and the mussels

Now for the meats

Fall off the pone roasted pork with puréed spinach 

Roasted pork chops with puréed asparagus 

The lamb

Pigs feet (did not try)

Douro Valley wine tasting

Most of our travels revolve around wine and food, so we've been to more than a few wine regions; Italy, Spain, France, Croitia and of course California, Oregon and Wahington.  I will go on record saying, the Douro Valley is the most picturesque.  The hills are so steep leading down to the river, it creates some spectacular views.  This steepness adds to a uniqueness of the region, they can't get machinery into many places, so the grapes are all hand picked.  In addition to hand picking, some still stomp the grapes, or use these concrete vats called Lagos, for the first days of fermentation instead of going straight into the steel vats.  

The temperatures swing from very hot summers to very cold winters.  They say the grapes don't swing as dramatically because of the slate in the soil. Slate is every where, I'm so jealous of their abundance of this material, it's beautiful.  They use it not only for floors, but stairs, sidewalks and the walls to terrace the vineyards.  

Another uniqueness in this wine region is the variety of the grapes.  Some of the old vine vineyards have more than 40 different grape varieties in one plot.  They are still classifying many of theses.  Even the vineyards newly planted have 3 to 5 varietals.  So almost all of the wines from this area are blends which adds complexity and some softness. We didn't taste many that were highly tannic.  

Of course they have been using the grapes from this region to make Port for hundreds of years.  They've always transported the grapes to Porto and all of the winemakers have their tasting rooms there.  However over the last 10 to 20 years, many are now starting to focus on great "table" wines.  

We visited;

Quinta do Crasto

Wine and Soul

Quinta Vale Dona Maria

Quinta do Portal

Quinta da la Rosa

Ordered by my favorite wines, but Portal had wonderful food in a lovely setting.  If you are looking to try a wine from Portugal, look for a 2011, it was their very best vintage year.

Views from Quinta do Crasto

Quinta do Portal

The train station in Pinhao is full of these tiled murals depicting the sciences of the valley

The Birthplace of Portugal

We day tripped from Porto to the town of Guimarães, which is referred to as the birthplace of Portugal.  The first king was crowned here.  It is a lovely city with much history.  

The Castle of Guimarães is the medieval castle built in the 10th century in order to defend its monastery from attacks by Moors and Norman.  Set on top of the hill, it is a prominate site.  

When visiting the city we stumbled upon a wedding, and the band from the University, both treating us to an experience.  Although we missed the riveraly game to be held the next day between here and Lisbon, which we heard could cause riots to breakout in the streets. 

The main dining hall, with a ship for the ceiling. 

The chapel

The college band

The wedding.  In twenty years this kid is going to say, " Mom, really purple shorts". 

Beautiful town square