Our Itinerary
Wednesday we traveled to Guimaraes, the first capital of Portugal and birthplace of the nations' first king. We visited the 10th century castle which was beautiful, but ran into a lot of 6th graders who were very loud!
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After the castle visit we had 2 hours in town to have lunch and a little shopping. The lunch was delicious and Terry enjoyed octopus for the first time! Our bus driver, Nuno, suggested the restaurant and said that they had the best octopus that he ever had and we now know why. We also had green wine, which isn't the color, but means "young" wine. Of course that was delicious also.
After visiting Guimaraes, we went to the Pousada Mosteiro Guimaraes, formerly a monastery but now a hotel. The setting is beautiful and has magnificent views of the city below. we enjoyed an interactive cooking class with the hotel's chef, learning the secrets of Portuguese cuisine. We watched and participated in making a ham starter (looked like a small ice cream cone), codfish salad, sausage risotto , and prawns sautéed with mushrooms. We tasted everything and then toured the pousada.
After the tour we then had the "main" dinner ! We started with a delicious salad of fruit, shrimp, and greens. Next was a main course of octopus (again) with cauliflower mashed with potato. Then another main course of veal, spinach, and potatoes. Of course the last was a huge table with about 10 different desserts to choose from and I think we all tried everyone ! With dinner the wines was flowing and the with dessert we had Port wine.
We had an hour drive back and it was a very quiet ride home! The weather has been rainy now for a couple of days and we hope that changes soon! We are on our way to Lisbon now and leaving our beautiful accommodations in Porto. More tomorrow !
After visiting Guimaraes, we went to the Pousada Mosteiro Guimaraes, formerly a monastery but now a hotel. The setting is beautiful and has magnificent views of the city below. we enjoyed an interactive cooking class with the hotel's chef, learning the secrets of Portuguese cuisine. We watched and participated in making a ham starter (looked like a small ice cream cone), codfish salad, sausage risotto , and prawns sautéed with mushrooms. We tasted everything and then toured the pousada.
After the tour we then had the "main" dinner ! We started with a delicious salad of fruit, shrimp, and greens. Next was a main course of octopus (again) with cauliflower mashed with potato. Then another main course of veal, spinach, and potatoes. Of course the last was a huge table with about 10 different desserts to choose from and I think we all tried everyone ! With dinner the wines was flowing and the with dessert we had Port wine.
We had an hour drive back and it was a very quiet ride home! The weather has been rainy now for a couple of days and we hope that changes soon! We are on our way to Lisbon now and leaving our beautiful accommodations in Porto. More tomorrow !
Tomorrow we leave beautiful Porto and travel to Lisbon.
