It’s an early morning rise to meet our driver Marta who is taking us to Porto, a coastal city in the northwest of Portugal and a 3.5 hour drive from Lisbon. Porto, or O Porto in Portuguese, is the second largest city in Portugal and is also synonymous with the Port wine.

But first we opt for a stop in Sintra, a beautiful town in the cooling hills of the Serra de Sintra. There we find the The Palácio Nacional da Pena, a whimsical castle of vivid colours, whimsical creatures and stunning vistas. We climb the hilly path to the castle that is surrounded by a pine and sycamore forest.

It is the exterior more than the interior that fascinates us—like the mythical half-man half-gargoyle that is a sentry to the gateway or the wall walk on the outside of the castle which can be unnerving to those who have height issues (like hubby).

Three hours is gone in a flash and we are back on the road again to reach our final destination. The terrain along the way is a hilly topography of almost arid soil and then mixed forests, Sadly, on the way we see acres of forests devastated by fire caused by the 2022 summer heatwaves. According to estimates over 92,000 hectares of land have burned this year.

Our apartment, on the Vila Nova de Gaia side has the best terrace so far and an expansive view of Porto across the river. 

Wv e stop and listen to an impromptu rock band playing by the river. The mood is mellow and chill, everyone smiling and swaying to the music.

Once the bags are dropped, we head downhill and find a pretty little restaurant that has what we are looking for—Porto Tonico, which is white port and tonic water with a slip of an orange. Of course after a hard day of walking up hills, a little Portuguese board of cheese, cured meats and olives is required. Before we walk across the Ponte Luis I bridge, we join the crowds wandering the walkways along the Douro river. The Douro river at 897 km long is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It starts in central Spain and ends in Porto.

Our first choice for our restaurant doesn’t pan out so we walk a little further and find a little gem. We all opt for fish—cod and sea bream. Of course, with more vino verde!

The moon and the city lights make a gorgeous site and lots of photos are cramming up our IPhones.

The next day brings more clouds and possibility of rain yet none materialized. We stop at a little breakfast restaurant a few steps from our apartment. The lady who owns the place is the cook and the server all at once. The restaurant is quaint with antiques serving as shelves for the various olive oils, jams, crackers, soaps etc… she also sells. Breakfast is yummy, the presentation flawless.

Before we do a little marketing, we huff up the hill that is Miradouro da Serra do Pilar which offers a scenic panoramic view of Porto.

Most of the afternoon is spent at two museums from WOW, the World of Wine. We learn about Portugal and Porto’s history. Portugal became a republic in1910 but suffered decades of dictatorship when finally in 1974, democracy was restored. Unlike Lisbon, which was devastated in the 1755 earthquake, Porto escaped the catastrophe although it still sits within a fault line area and experienced a small 3.9 earthquake seven months ago.

We leave history behind then rush to the Wine Experience—a voyage of discovery on how wines are made. Have you ever tried eating a jelly bean with your nose pinched? You will not taste it until you are able to smell it! Decanters are lined up for us to smell various scents of some wines and you are left to decipher each one of them. The nose knows…or not! We each answer a quiz to determine which wine represent us most. The results are hilarious yet close to home. Finally, we taste a vinho tinto (red wine in Portuguese) and of course, port wine. The women select the white port, while our intrepid man goes with red. All are delicious.

The walk back to the apartment reveals a small shop that sells port. We walk in intending to just look but bond with the lady minding the store. Her English is not all perfect but hand gestures supplement her vocabulary. A few pours on the house for us are surely a thank you for all the purchases we did! Perhaps a port of the birth year of someone has been purchased? 

Back at the apartment we can’t help but feed all the stray cats right below our terrace. Prosciutto and cheese are on the menu!!

To make our night complete, we take a gondola ride followed by a walk on top of the Luis I bridge before we find our restaurant. The food is all about plate sharing and is exquisite!

The jewel in our trip is our day to the Douro region. Our driver, Ricardo picks us up along with a couple from Colorado and a couple from the UK. The Douro region is less than 1.5 hours to get there. It is a World Heritage Site and the oldest demarcated wine region in the world.

First we stop at a little cafe for some coffee and Pasteis de nata again and then we hit our winery—Quinta dos Castelares near a little town called Vilarinho de Sao Romao. Their wines—reds, whites and porto are organic and delicious. We try a white followed by a red. Many wine producers grow olive trees around their vineyards and they are no exception. We taste fresh bread doused in their olive oil and sprinkled with…sugar! What a surprise to the palate!

Lunch for our group is served in a large dining room. Cod or pork is on the menu. Again the white and red wines served. To finish off our meal we are whisked away through the courtyard to have one final tasting—their port. We can’t leave without buying a few for the road and ensuring some will follow us home.

Still, one more adventure is on the agenda. A boat ride on the Douro. The misty rain that followed us in the morning fortunately has disappeared and the sun shines on the verdant terraced hills where the vineyards grow. You can see rows after rows of grape vines strung on trellis with olive trees dotting the surroundings.

Growing a vineyard on a hillside requires more manual labour than flat ground as equipment cannot run safely in between the rows.

Portugal has more than 250 grape varieties which allows for a great diversity of wines such as red wine, white wine, rosé, sparkling wine, Madeira wine and of course, Port wine.

Our drive back sees us travelling at speed of 152kph at one point! Our driver, perhaps practicing for the next Formula one cuts from one lane to the next in order to be on the inside corner of each curve as we speed along the A4 highway. I’m sure I saw the speed limit was only 120kph in between blinking. No one dares to say a word in the van to distract our driver and we breathe a sigh of relief when we arrive back in Porto.

Drained from our day, it’s a sunset pizza night at the apartment and chicken for the homeless cats below!

On our final day, we try and pack in as much as we can. First we rush out to see the Livraria Lello, the coolest littlest bookstore in the world that has a forked staircase reminiscent of Harry Potter’s Hogswart. It boasts a gothic style exterior and a large stained glass in the ceiling.Our priority tickets entitle us to get a free book. I select The adventures of Tom Sawyer.

The day is warm and the sky is without clouds so we stop for a cold beer at this revitalized square that features a living green roof full of olive trees!

Later, we finish our visits to the museums. First up is the Pink Museum, dedicated to Rosé wines. Adults become children in this fun-filled museum as we taste five different rosé, but also swim in an IKEA style ball filled pool, ride a pink Cadillac, pop out of a champagne bottle and finish out in a cowboy saloon.

The cork museum is an eye-opener. We never knew the many uses of the cork tree’s bark! Vaccines, yoghurt, textiles, automotive flooring, NASA (heat shield), special effects in Hollywood to simulate explosions, furniture and the list goes on! 

A break is needed so we embark a small boat to ride the Douro through the six bridges. The sun is warm and the breeze delightful. Some of us are lulled to sleep by the gentle hum of the motor and slap of the waves on the boat.

While the women stop for a few bites to eat, hubby goes off to Taylor’s Cave for a tour.

The night is capped off dining at Taberninha do Manel, a popular traditional Portuguese restaurant on the Gaia side right but the Douro. It is fascinating watching traffic co-mingle with the mainly pedestrian walkway. A disagreement occurs between a garbage truck trying to back into an alley, a taxi and a random man trying to direct traffic. 

We try suckling pig empanadas and a stew of different sausages. It’s heaven! So thinks one of the waiters’ dog that travels between table waiting for food. One can tell that guests keep the dog well fed!

Tomorrow will come soon enough and it’s off to Bordeaux for a different kind of wine experience.