Portugal-Too many choices,not enough time

All too soon, we have been back in Spain for three days.

We began by staying at a Parador in a small medieval village called Ciudad Rodrigo. A Parador is a luxury hotel, they are usually located in a converted historic building such as a monastery or castle. The concept is to open exceptional historic properties to the public and use the hotels’ profits to help preserve these beautiful buildings. Ours wasn’t especially luxurious, but it was fun all the same—and the medieval village was gorgeous.

Before ariving at the castle, where we spent the next two nights which was 30 minutes from Salamanca, we stopped at a rather beautiful hotel with gardens and a restaurant for lunch called Hacienda Zorita, although we were the only ones there it was a lovely setting sitting beside the river for lunch . Everywhere, Iberain cured ham and cheese is on the menu . Its hard to resist . But, this one was huge and would have fed both of us easily.

Posada Real Castillo had quite a few rooms, and I was thankful we weren’t placed in the dungeons! Unusually, we did turn down a room that was two floors up via some very steep stairs. My knee and hip issues have worsened, and I’ve now bought myself a walking stick. Our room which was located off an internal courtyard that once collected rainwater, was perfect. We also had time late each afternoon to relax by the swimming pool, which was just wonderful.

On our spare day, we explored the heart of Salamanca—what a beautiful city! The architecture is spectacular. It’s home to the second-oldest university in the world, though, unfortunately, the only tours available were in Spanish. The Cathedral—actually two built side by side—is the largest in Spain. The need for something extraordinarily grand and powerful meant it took over 100 years to complete. But the result is astounding, especially when the organist was practising.

We had to try the famous Hornazo pie filled with Iberian ham - pefect with a glass of beer in the heat.

We also tried to visit the beautiful Convent of San Esteban, but the siesta beat us—it didn’t reopen until 5 p.m. By that time, we’d walked quite enough. The comfort of another swim at the castle and dinner outdoors below the massive stone walls won.

Our previous three nights in Portugal were far too short and left us wanting more.

Driving from Santiago de Compostela, we stopped at Viana de Castelo—a lovely port village with narrow streets perfect for wandering and a modern, well-designed waterfront promenade filled with cafes and restaurants. Unusually, we opted for a Japanese buffet, which made for an easy, light lunch.

Porto was unexpectedly hilly and the traffic absolutely gridlocked, making the journey to our hotel quite frustrating. We had booked the Torel Apartments, but were pleasantly upgraded to their gorgeous hotel. Our room was enormous, with soaring ceilings. The service, dinners, and breakfasts were all perfect.

The hotel also provided a free historical walking tour on our first morning. Francisco, a young PhD student who grew up in Porto, gave us a fascinating three-hour tour filled with insights about the city's long and layered history. The river is the lifeblood of Porto, with many bridges linking the city side to the bustling cafes, scenic walks, and famous port wine cellars on the opposite bank. Gustave Eiffel ‘s company’s massive metal bridge was dominatining though. The train station which used to be a convent was right in the middle of the city and was unbeliveably beauitful with the walls covered in the most gorgeous tiles telling the story of Porto. After navigating steep hills and steps in 35°C heat, we took some much-needed downtime—feet up the wall! Later, we caught a bus out to the beaches and enjoyied a slow promenade stroll past hundreds of people soaking in the sun and sea.

For our last night in Portugal, we drove up the impressive Douro River through hillsides covered in vineyards to a guesthouse called Imaginário d’el Rei. Perched high above the river, we were warmly welcomed with a glass of port before settling into our room with a view—and the infinity pool.

It was a Sunday, and only one restaurant was open. Nothing starts until 8:30 p.m. here, and by 9 p.m. it was fully booked. A helpful local girl suggested we try the local Fiesta—which turned out to be the Food and Wine Festival!

We’re still laughing about the experience. After buying our plastic wine glasses, we sampled a regional red wine and tried the famous Francesina sandwich—a Portuguese favourite. It’s made with bread, filled with three kinds of meat, topped with cheese, grilled, and then smothered in a tomato and beer sauce. It’s supposedly Portugal’s version of the French Croque Monsieur—but there’s no comparison; the French win hands down!. However the Porugese custard tarts cant be beaten.

We ate at trestle tables alongside locals, surrounded by the growing crowd. Hundreds were arriving to hear a band that started playing at 10 p.m.—which is when we left. But what a marvellous experience to see the whole community enjoying the night together.

Our travel day back to Spain was exceptional. We started with a drive further up the Douro to a place called Pinhão, passing many long river cruising boats along the way. We had our only Port tasting at the only Portuguese-owned producer in the region—most others are English-owned.

Driving out of the valley and climbing to over 900 metres was glorious. We passed through a patchwork of vineyards, olive trees, almonds, chestnuts, walnuts, and wild figs. The iconic villages were all similarly beautiful, with whitewashed houses and orange terracotta roofs.

Eventually, the landscape transitioned to expansive olive groves, where cattle and pigs grazed beneath the trees. Then came fields of wheat, with high-stacked hay bales scattered across the parched, dry pastures.

What a pleasurable day of driving, the countryside  changed so much and although it wasn’t so far in distance it was fun stopping at little villages with their own special buildings and history .