July 17, 2024
Barca d’Alva and Pinhao
Happy Birthday Sydney!!!!
We bussed to Castelo Rodrigo and had a walking tour of an historical village. They grow a lot of almonds and olives. This village is very small and the buildings/homes are small and made of stone. There is a Jewish part of the village as well as an Arab and Christian area. Everyone lives peacefully and practices their preferred religion. This was not always the case. The first King of Portugal wanted to marry a Spanish Princess but she would only marry him if all people in Portugal that weren’t already Catholic would agree to become “new Christians” and give up their other faith. So the villagers practiced their own religions in secret and professed to be a “new Christian.” Oh! If someone did something that deserved death the punishment would be to be tied up and the pushed down the cobblestone road to finally roll off the cliff. Yikes. It seems that the drop at the end wouldn’t matter as by the time they rolled down the road they were already dead.
Can you imagine rolling down this hill to your death?
We shopped at several small shops. We tasted almonds and various liqueurs. There were at least 20 different types of almonds to try and all sorts of olive oils. They make real cork items (not the fake stuff) and I was pleased to buy 2 placemats of cork that I will use in a future quilt. We purchased a few other things that shall remain nameless in order to protect the surprise for the gifted.
We had a quiet and restful afternoon on the boat. I finished the book I was reading. We sat on our minuscule balcony and watched as we went through the latest lock. It was eerie to sink down and see the walls closing in on us. We could touch the walls without reaching far at all. It gets darker and darker and then a little wet. We finally decided to leave the balcony and sit in the cabin as we were getting wet! It was a fun experience.
We had dinner off the boat at Quinta da Avessada. This is a family owned winery and event center in Favaios. This winery is in it’s 6th generation of family. The views from the winery and as you drive up the roads is breathtaking. We had a lovely dinner of Portuguese food and three different wines from the winery. Lots of fun! The cake was very good as was were the wines.
Portugal is beautiful. Lots of up, down and winding roads, green, the people are so nice, the food is good, the little towns are quaint and the rows of vineyards curl all about on mountain sides in rows that are cut into the mountains. It’s a beautiful place to be.
Love, BC and GC
We shopped at several small shops. We tasted almonds and various liqueurs. There were at least 20 different types of almonds to try and all sorts of olive oils. They make real cork items (not the fake stuff) and I was pleased to buy 2 placemats of cork that I will use in a future quilt. We purchased a few other things that shall remain nameless in order to protect the surprise for the gifted.
We had a quiet and restful afternoon on the boat. I finished the book I was reading. We sat on our minuscule balcony and watched as we went through the latest lock. It was eerie to sink down and see the walls closing in on us. We could touch the walls without reaching far at all. It gets darker and darker and then a little wet. We finally decided to leave the balcony and sit in the cabin as we were getting wet! It was a fun experience.
We had dinner off the boat at Quinta da Avessada. This is a family owned winery and event in Favaios. This winery is in it’s 6th generation of family. The views from the winery and as you drive up the roads is breathtaking. We had a lovely dinner of Portuguese food and three different wines from the winery. Lots of fun!
Portugal is beautiful. Lots of up, down and winding roads, green, the people are so nice, the food is good, the little towns are quaint and the rows of vineyards curl all about on mountain sides in rows that are cut into the mountains. It’s a beautiful place to be.
Love, BC and GC
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