Sunday, November 6, 2011

DOURO VALLEY

We were leaving the flat lands behind and driving up and into the valley. The scenery changed to curvy roads, mountains, meandering rivers and beautiful vistas. For this part of the trip we stayed in a farm house called Quinta de la Rosa that overlooked the Douro River. The pictures show how tranquil and serene this place is. Not sure whether it was the altitude we were at, the creaky wooden floors of the Quinta or the mosquito nets that hugged our beds at night – but something about the Douro valley just put us in a very relaxed state of mind
The DouroMy bed with a machhar dani :)Quinta de la Rosa - our home in Pinhaovista'sTrains
One of our day jaunts in the Douro was to a place called Quinta de Romaneira. This Quinta is tucked deep in the valley and we got thoroughly lost trying to find it. The gentleman who owns this luxury farmhouse is an avid collector of all things unique which include interesting artifacts from various Portuguese colonies, an insect collection from Brazil, a dining table made from a huge African tree truck and old carved chairs from Goa. One of my favorite things about this place was the infinity pool that overlooked the valley – I could laze there for hours. Click below to see some pictures from the Quinta:
Another memorable experience was the dinner at DOC – which is Rui Paula’s restaurant by the Duoro river. My mouth still waters when I think of the scrumptious 7 course meal. The food was fantastic but never before have I been intrigued with the lighting in a restaurant as I was here. Below are some shots I took not of the food but the unique light fixtures.
 Rui Paula - D.O.C. - Best meal everLit furnitureLit Pot
We tasted a lot of wine in the Douro Valley. Wine from Portugal is not as well known; but they can stand up to some of the best wines in the world. The Douro valley was relaxing and surprising; sprinkled with many treats along the way. The next stop was Porto where we would discover the lovely world of Port Wine.