by Pete Barba

Douro River Valley

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” – Charles Dickens

We have been looking forward to Portugal since we started our trip and it did not disappoint.  Best friends, great food, wonderful people, and sunsets to take your breath away.  At the same time, illness and weather dampened our spirits but did not extinguish our joy and love.

We started our exploration of Portugal in the Douro Valley, east of Porto.  The Douro Valley is one of the major wine and agricultural areas of Portugal, similar to Napa Valley but 10x cheaper.  Imagine terraced vineyards, orange orchards, and old towns with cobblestone streets overlooking a steep river valley.  Our first stay was at a wonderful Airbnb on the river’s edge, with the charming Maria as our hostess.  The rental is an old stone house that reminds you of its hundreds of years of history (in a good way).   The property had winding trails through grape vines, citrus trees, and patios.  Maria truly made the stay special, as she opened her heart and house to us.  On our first night she had dinner, a bottle of wine, and basic groceries waiting for us after a late arrival from the airport.  On another night, she made us a homemade dinner that fed us for 3 more meals.  She also arranged a wonderful wine tasting for us with Tiago and Sylvi at Sapateiro.  Finally, when Kate was sick, she volunteered to take her to the hospital.  When we said that wasn’t necessary, she brought her “water rock” aka mineral water for her upset stomach.  We had plans for hiking and river play as the property was perfectly set up for outdoor adventures with bikes, kayaks, and canoes.  Unfortunately, our stay was plagued with 5 continuous days of rain, plus ongoing illnesses.  Instead, we pivoted and filled our days with school, resting, some games and cooking.  The kids and I still braved some (wet) hikes, ping pong and pool, but we’ll have to go back in the future to explore the area properly.  I can’t say enough good things about our Airbnb, if you go to Portugal, find Maria here.

Porto

Next up was a treat we have been looking forward to since the beginning of our trip: seeing our friends!!!  We moved on to Porto to meet up with the Cappelli and Russell families, close friends from home who travelled halfway around the globe just to see us.  We feel so loved!  ❤️

Unfortunately in Porto, Jon and Abigail fell ill to the “crud” (that’s a bonafide country doc diagnosis) which slowed them down but didn’t stop us from exploring this wonderful small city.  Porto, as you can deduce, is where port wine comes from, so we had a chance to explore some rich, sweet wine.  The food was wonderful with lots of fresh seafood and pastries, and the architecture, tiled facades, bridges, and colorful buildings kept us in awe.

Finally, to the kids’ joy, some of the Harry Potter books were written in Porto.  We set off on a Harry Potter tour to some of the places influenced J.K Rowling.  We visited a lavish bookstore that reminded us of the moving staircases at Hogwarts and the bookstore in Diagon Alley, “Flourish and Blotts”.  We climbed a huge church spire that is said to be like the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts, and we even passed by the Majestic Cafe where the author is rumored to have written her first ideas on a napkin!

Praia das Macas

After our brief stay in Porto, we moved on to a long stay on the coast at an another amazing AirBnB.  This one overlooking the stormy Atlantic.  Our house was literally steps from the beach and our 5th story porch overlooked crashing seas.  Unfortunately, once again, we were plagued with illness and weather.  Next to fall was Carlo, followed by Gwyn and Pete.  In addition, the near constant cloudiness and misting rain slowed our adventures.  When weather and illness permitted, our time on the coast was spent making sandcastles, watching massive waves crash on the rocky shore, walking the cliff trails and wandering the local village.  

Mafra

We did manage a couple of side trips to nearby Mafra, Cabo da Roca, and Sintra.  Mafra has an impressive castle/monastery/cathedral combo with the most impressive library I have ever seen!  Cabo da Roca is the westernmost point in continental Europe and was a beautiful cliff where you can imagine the Portuguese explorers sailing off into the Atlantic to points unknown.

Thanksgiving

Greater than illness or weather, our friendship and joy brought smiles to our faces.  We shared a Thanksgiving feast that will be remembered for a long time.  The Cappellis brought us Stovetop stuffing and jellied cranberry sauce for a taste of home.  The local butcher provided us with the most flavorful turkey we have ever tasted.  The green grocer contributed cauliflower and greens picked fresh that day, which Marco made into outstanding side dishes.  Finally we had wonderful Portuguese wine and desserts.  While we were far from home and family, we felt lucky that we could share our thanks and blessings with some of our closest friends.

Sintra

Sintra is a magical town with fairytale castles, due to its history as a summer retreat for the royals.  One castle, called Peña Palace, is a brightly colored and whimsical palace built in the 1800s.  Despite wheezing lungs and incessant coughs, we climbed the castle grounds exploring one of the major expressions of 19th-century Romanticism in the world.  The castle exudes bright color and creativity, like a Disney park.  Bold reds, yellow and purples, while saturating the eyes, somehow also seem fitting for such an over the top display of art and architecture mixed with wealth and power.

After perusing the Pena palace, we moved on to Quinta da Regaleira, a 20th century masterpiece of architecture and landscaping.  Instead of the grander than life vibrancy of the Pena Palace, Quinta da Regaleira is a blend of stone architecture meets botanical gardens.  The highlight is the Initiation Well, an underground inverse tower lined with spiral stairs.  Imagine walls lined with stones and a 100 ft spiral staircase that does 3 corkscrews into the dark, all covered in moss and roots, and so deep that from the bottom the sunlight seems dim.  Very mysterious and exciting when one imagines the stories that those walls would share if they could speak.  

Back at the beach

After many wonderful meals, sand castles and much joy, it was time to say goodbye to our friends.  They had to return home for school and we had to return to world schooling by moving on to Paris, with its wonderful food, art and history.  After hugs, smiles and some tears, we were off to the airport to continue on our journey…..  

Thanks for reading to the end.  Next up: France!  Don’t forget to check out our past stories and subscribe for future articles as well.  Find us on Facebook and Instagram for bonus content!  Please note that any links or business names provided are for information only, we did not receive any compensation for our opinions or recommendations. As always, if you are planning a trip to any location we visit we are happy to provide more details and opinions, so feel free to contact us.