Travels through Alentejo – A Changing Landscape: If the start of my trip to Alentejo took me through the ancient villages to the historic palace in Estramoz where I first fell in love with Portugal, the second part of our trip was focused on the changing landscape of this rural region which accounts for a […]
The Grape Harvest – Porto and the Douro
Exploring Porto and the Douro Valley At any time of the year, RIB Beef and Wine in Porto would be a great place to enjoy a meal. Arriving, as we did, in Porto on a warm and sunny September day, our hearty lunch was the perfect introduction to the City. Part of the Pestana Vintage […]
Three unique hotels to visit – North Portugal and the Douro
Three Wine Themed Douro Hotels Exploring the wines of the Douro Valley in Portugal should be on the wish list for all wine lovers. And, there are a number of wonderful options if you want to experience the wine harvest in Northern Portugal for yourself. We’ve picked three of the best hotels for you and […]
Marble, Heritage, Wine and Food in the Alentejo
Borba, Estremoz and more in the Alentejo: Some twenty-five years ago, one of the first places I visited in the Alentejo was Estremoz. I can remember being overwhelmed by the stunning town and even more so by the Pousada where we stayed. So, I was really looking forward to a return visit to that part […]
Five Reasons to Fall In Love with Porto
Porto and the Douro Valley: We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe […]
Eat, Sleep, Do in Porto
A quick guide to Porto – Northern Portugal – Porto Part II While for some, the whole point of Porto is Port Wine, there is a lot more to discover in this UNESCO World Heritage Site. The second largest city in Portugal, Porto really does have a charming personality of its own. A brief visit […]
Porto and the Making of Port
Northern Portugal – Porto Part I – Port For a while now I’ve been wanting to visit Northern Portugal. I have a real love for port so, apart from anything else, I wanted to learn more. My recent trip took me to Guimarães and Braga and then on to Porto. And, although we received a fitting […]
The Birthplace of Portugal – Guimarães and the North
Guimarães and Braga – a different Portugal One of my favourite countries, the Portugal I know best includes Lisbon and two regions to the South of the capital, Centro and the Alentejo. For whatever reason, I’ve never journeyed North before, though a passion for port makes that a somewhat surprising admission. And, for me, the […]
Four Spas and a Barrel of Wine in Madeira
Funchal, Madeira. Spa-Testing and Madeira Wine Tasting: Much of my recent trip to Madeira was taken up by exploring and trying some of the spas in Funchal. Having just spent a week on a boot-camp in Spain I was really rather thrilled to be invited to spend a few days being pampered. And to make […]
Rugs and Bones – Arraiolos and Evora, Alentejo, Portugal
The Alentejo – Arraiolos and Evora: Evora in the Alentejo region of Portugal was not entirely new to me; I’d visited this Unesco listed Heritage City twenty years or so ago on my first trip to Portugal. At that time we were Pousada hopping. The State-owned and (at the time) run historic hotels are scattered […]