Portugal: Part 2

When last we left off Jim and I had spent two nights in lovely, historic Porto.  We headed out of town on Sunday morning and drove about an hour and a half east into the Douro river valley.  We were staying another two nights in the town of Lamego and I had arranged some Port tastings and tours at the vineyards nearby. 

After checking in to the B&B we were fed a delicious lunch.  There was just enough time to check out the house and orchard before a huge storm rolled in.  There was also hail, which according to the owners was not normal. 

Monday:

We headed out early and took a tour of the Sandman production at the Quinta do Sexio vineyard.  Most large scale wine producers own a few different vineyards or buy the grapes and bring them together to make the wine.  Then we had a lovely lunch by the river and went to another tasting.  Quinta Santa Eufemia, was pretty small scale compared to Sandman.  No fancy shop or tour, but really nice people who graciously taught us about their wine.  

Portugal: Part 1

This year when thinking about Jim's birthday I decided to plan a long weekend getaway.  After many hours debating over locations and things Jim liked to do... Golf in Scotland, drink beer in Germany... I decided we should check out a place new to both of us, and since we'd be going on late March, preferable warmer than Geneva.  I settled on Port tasting in Portugal.  Jim seemed really excited when I told him about the trip on his birthday.  Just one week later we were flying off to sunny Porto, Portugal.

A 2 hour flight from Geneva, Porto is in in the northern part of Portugal.  The city lies on the banks of Douro river, which played a very important role in the manufacture and exportation of Port wine. 

The agenda was to spend two nights in Porto, then drive about an hour east into the Douro river valley and spend two nights there before heading back home. 

Friday:

After picking up the rental car and getting downtown, we celebrated the start of the trip with beer and grilled meats.  Yumm!  Then we checked into our hotel, which had the most amazing original detail on the ceiling. Then we headed out to Porto and explored the city for a few hours.

Lost my sunglasses in Verbier, doh!

building across the street

Church of Saint Ildefonso

Livraria Lello (bookshop)

inside Lello

Carmelitas Church on the left, Carmo Church on the right

Things I learned while walking Porto.... it has to be one of the hilliest cities in the world.  Every where we walked, we went up and then down.  Up and down.  I felt really bad for people with strollers because there are also an incredible amount of stairs.  No. 2. there are ridiculous number of churches.  Practically one on every corner.

Saturday:
Our agenda for day 2 was a little more walking and sightseeing and then an afternoon of Port tasting.  

another new Fanta

Porto Cathedral

 

overlooking the river Douro

Front door to our hotel

Alba, Italy : Part Two

When we last left off Jim and I had traveled to Alba, Italy and ate so much food we practically rolled back to the hotel.  On Saturday we met the group in Alba for the white truffle festival.  

Celebrities love Truffle too

Inside the tent.  I wish there was smell-o-vision.  Truffles are quite pungent.

black and white truffles

400 Euro per kilo for the white truffle.  That's approx. $237 per lb.

Jim, Richard, Aneta and Dorothy

Bowl of thick potato soup with bread 4 Euro.  Add truffle 20 Euro.  It was delicious!

After some truffle, wine tasting and checking out the kiosks full of truffle products we headed out to lunch.  Dorothy made a reservation at Osteria dell Arco, which turned out to be one of the best Italian meals of my life. 

Mmm Gnocchi

A lovely local wine

After lunch we had to get moving again before the food coma set in.  So we walked around Alba for a little while before heading to our next wine tasting.  Did I mention that Alba is also the home of Ferrero Rocher chocolates?  The whole town smells like chocolate!  Another amazing reason to visit Alba.

The rest of our evening was spent... you guessed it, eating and wine tasting.  We had such a great time in Alba, we are planning to make the trip again this year.  Even though Jim has a strict only-visiting-a-city-once policy, he is making an exception.  Plus we brought home 7 cases of wine, and I'm sure we'll have to restock by October :)

Paolo Manzone winery

Us with Paolo

A brief stop in Asti before heading home Sunday

2 days of eating and some how Dorothy and I find room for gelato