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| Porto, Portugal |
We are in northern Portugal now, in the coastal city of Porto. Porto is known for its Port wines, so guess what our first adventure will be! 🍷🍷
Douro Valley:
The Douro Wine Region Valley is the oldest defined wine region in the world. The river carved the deep valleys out of the land and then man built walls and planted grapes and olive trees on terraces to better expose the vines to the rays of the sun.
We took a Douro Experience Tour to traverse the historic path taken to carry the Port wine barrels from the Douro Valley to Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia wine cellars.
We had a scenic drive into the Douro Port win region. We arrived in Pinhão, a beautiful Portuguese village on the banks of the Douro River. We then boarded a rabelo boat which is the original type of boat used to carry the wine from the quintas where it is produced to the mouth of the river.
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| Rabelo boat tour |
We enjoyed incredible views while gliding along in the Douro river.
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| Douro River |
We docked up river and walked to a local restaurant for a fabulous lunch, with wine of course! And check out the view!
Next we boarded a train that took us through the lush Valley back to Pinhão.
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| Train ride! |
There we visited an olive oil museum where we learned how they press olives to make olive oil.
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| Olive Presses |
Our tour was followed by a tasting of olive oil (with focaccia bread & homemade honey) plus a tasting of four different Port wines.
More gorgeous views of the Douro River Valley on our way home!
The Douro River Valley is a World Heritage Site: a must see whether by road, by train, by boat or by all three modes!
Crystal Palace:
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| Palácio de Cristal |
Our Airbnb host highly recommended a visit to the Crystal Palace gardens. The original building, built to host the 1865 International Exhibition, was inspired by the Crystal Palace in London. After falling into disrepair, it was replaced in 1951 with a Sports Pavilion.
The gardens surrounding this Pavillion are beautifully landscaped and feature views of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia along the Douro River.
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| Crystal Palace Gardens |
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| Views from Crystal Palace Gardens |