Douro River, Portugal Excursions 2018

Castelo Rodrigo is a medieval town in Portugal	The Fort of Castelo Rodrigo (1209) has cross-shaped embrasures for lookouts	Cristovao de Moura Palace (1209) was destroyed by villagers in 1640 in protest of Spanish rule	The Church of Our Lady of Rocamador was founded in the 13th Centrury in Castelo Rodrigo, Portugal	Medieval houses in Castelo Rodrigo, Portugal
Um cachorro (dog) and um gatinho (kitten) in Castelo Rodrigo, Portugal	The medieval cistern of Castelo Rodrigo is thought to have been a Jewish Synagogue before the Jews were expelled (1469-1521)	No one is sure what the wheel-shaped openings were for in Castelo Rodrigo	Only about 50 people still live in Castelo Rodrigo	Um gato (cat) enjoying the sun in Castelo Rodrigo
Climbing back up the hill in Castelo Rodrigo	Almond Liqueur Cocktails in Castelo Rodrigo	Wine and Liqueur Tasting in Castelo Rodrigo	Almond Sampling in Castelo Rodrigo	Bell Tower of Castelo Rodrigo
View of Valley from Castelo Rodrigo	Castelo Rodrigo's walls initially had 13 towers	Visiting the Avessada Winery	Avessada Winery is over 100 years old	1950 Borgward B-1250 Pickup
Avessada Winery Tasting Room	Statue in Avessada Winery	Harvesting Grapes at Avessada Winery	Harvesting Grapes at Avessada Winery	Full Bucket at Avessada Winery
In the Vineyards at Avessada Winery	Fruits of the harvest at Avessada Winery	Entertainment for fruit pickers at Avessada Winery	Cruise Director, Patricia, at Avessada Winery	Ready for Wine Tasting at Avessada Winery
Climbing into the Granite Tank for Grape Stomping	The temperature in the tank is about 40 degrees Fahrenheit	Grape-stomping is known as 'pigeage' and avoids breaking seeds which can lead to a bitter taste	Lunch at Avessada Winery	Lunch at Avessada Winery with Ron and Carol
Luis Barros, owner's son and host, tells wonderful stories at lunch at Avessada Winery	Luis Barros (Mr. Bean look-alike) was hilarious	Portuguese Soup at Avessada Winery	Portuguese Soup at Avessada Winery	Potatoes and Cabbage at Avessada Winery
Really good beef at Avessada Winery	Dessert Table at Avessada Winery	Entertainers at Avessada Winery	550 small vineyards are members of the Favaios, Portugal Wine Co-op	The Favaios, Portugal Wine Co-op produces 6 million liters of wine annually
The Favaios Wine Co-op uses French, American, and Portuguese Oak Barrels	Wines of Favaios, Portugal	Tasting Moscatel Wine in Favaios, Portugal	Fleur-de-Lis in Favaios, Portugal	Post Office in Favaios, Portugal
Favaios, Portugal was occupied by the Romans between 218 AD and 201 AD	Entering 150-year old bakery in Favaios, Portugal	8 bakeries in Favaios produce 1,000 loaves of 'four-corner bread' every day	'Four Corners Bread' (trigo de quatro cantos) is made of wheat flour.	Centuries-old brick oven still in use in Favaios
'Four Corners Bread' is baked using pine for the fire	Sao Domingos Church in Favaios, Portugal	Saint Dominic, Favaios, Portugal	Azulejo tiles in Favaios, Portugal	Stationery Store in the Historic Town Square of Favaios, Portugal
Bread and Wine Museum, Favaios	Inside the Bread and Wine Museum, Favaios	View from the balcony of the Bread and Wine Museum, Favaios	Crosses in Favaios, Portugal	Mendiz Valley, Portugal
Vineyards on Terraces in the Mendiz Valley of Portugal	Grapes from vineyards on terraces have to harvested by hand	Azulejo tiles on Pinhao, Portugal Railway Station	Visit to Quinta Da Roeda (wine estate founded in 1588) in Pinhao, Portugal	Fall Colors at the Roeda Wine Estate
Croft bought the Roeda Wine Estate in 1889	Dog on the Roeda Wine Estate in Pinhao, Portugal	Concrete Fermentation Tanks at Roeda Wine Estate in Pinhao, Portugal	Most of the Concrete Fermentation Tank is underground to help maintain temperature	Building at Quinta da Roeda in Pinhao, Portugal
Vineyard at Quinta da Roeda in Pinhao, Portugal	On the road to Lamego, Portugal	Lamego, Portugal is considered the birthplace of Port Wine	Castle of Lamego, Portugal (12th Century)	Museum of Lamego, Portugal
Inside the Museum of Lamego, Portugal	18th century St. John the Evangelist Chapel in Lamego Museum	18th century Holy Family Altarpiece in Lamego Museum	Large 1525 Tapestry in Lamego Museum	Painting of Saint Sebastian from the early 1600's in Lamego Museum
High Cross of Senhor bom Despacho (1480-1525) in Lamego Museum	1722 Niche of St. Joseph in Lamego Museum	19th Century Vases in Lamego Museum	The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Lamego was opened in 1129	The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption is also called the Lamego Cathedral
Frescoes on the ceiling of the Lamego Cathedral	Altar of the Lamego Cathedral	Back view of the Lamego Cathedral	Monument to the Unknown WWI Soldier, Lamego Portugal	Main Street of Lamego leads to the foot of the Church of Our Lady of Consolation (1761)
Staircase of 686 Steps to the Church of Our Lady of Remedies took over 100 years to complete	Arriving at the Church of Our Lady of Remedies (by bus--not by climbing 686 steps)	The Church of Our Lady of Remedies is a major pilgrimage church in Portugal	Facade of the Church of Our Lady of Remedies, Lamego	Our Lady of Remedies
View of Lamego from the Mount of St. Stephen	Inside the Church of Our Lady of Remedies	Small dam near Lamego, Portugal	Rabelo boats are the traditional Portuguese boats used to transport 40-60 Casks of Port wine on the Douro River	Chickens at the Douro Museum in Regua, Portugal
Tasting Port Wine at the Douro Museum in Regua, Portugal	Wine Shop in Douro Musuem in Regua, Portugal	Manor House at Quinta da Avelada dates to the 16th Century, Pinafiel, Portugal	Quinta da Avelada has been producing wine since 1870	Chickens and Peacock at Avelada wine estate
Building at Quinta da Aveleda, Portugal	Fall Foliage at Quinta da Aveleda, Portugal	Mice-proof grain storage at Quinta da Aveleda, Portugal	Guard's Cottage in Quinta da Aveleda Gardens	Helter Skelter Goat Shed in Quinta da Aveleda Gardens
Helter Skelter Goat Shed in Quinta da Aveleda Gardens	Goat in Quinta da Aveleda Gardens	Quinta da Aveleda Gardens	Manueline Window from the 16th century where D. Joao IV was pronounced king	Fountain in Quinta da Aveleda Gardens
Summer House in Quinta da Aveleda Gardens	18th Centruy Gate in Quinta da Aveleda Gardens	Fountain of Our Lady of Vendome in Quinta da Aveleda Gardens	Four Seasons Fountain in front of Manor House in Quinta da Aveleda	Four Seasons Fountain at Quinta da Aveleda
Chapel at Quinta da Aveleda	Old Brandy Cellar at Quinta da Aveleda	Grape Arbor at Quinta da Aveleda	Wine, Cheese, and Sausage tasting at Quinta da Aveleda	Outbuilding at Quinta da Aveleda, Pintafiel, Portugal
"Taylor's Fladgate" in Gaia, Portugal is one of the oldest of the founding Port houses	St. Anthony hanging above pool at Taylor's Fladgate in Gaia, Portugal	Lion at Taylor's Fladgate in Gaia, Portugal	Coat of Arms at Taylor's Fladgate in Gaia, Portugal	Historic straw suit worn by workers in Portuguese vineyards
Visiting Taylor Fladgate's 300-year old wine cellar	20,000 liter Ruby Port Wine barrels in Taylor Fladgate's wine cellar	Opening in 5,000 liter wine barrels for person to climb in to clean	Bill's hand showing size of the opening in wine barrels for person to climb in to clean	Time to taste a red and a white Taylor Port wine
Narrow Street in the Historic District of Porto, Portugal	Statue of Henry the Navigator in front of the Old City Market of Porto, Portugal	Azulejo tiles decorate buildings in Porto, Portugal	Portuguese Centre for Photography is housed in the old Relacao Prison (1765)	Vimara Peres was a Spanish nobleman and the first ruler of Portugal (868-873)
Porto Cathedral was completed in 1737	Azulejo tile on the Porto Cathedral	Inside of Porto Cathedral	Cross in Cathedral Square of Porto Cathedral	View of Porto from Cathedral Square of Porto Cathedral
The bell tower of the Clerigos Church in Porto is 249 ft tall	The Monastery of Sara of Pilar in Gaia, Portugal dates to the 1500's	The Church of the Congregations (built 1703) is next to the Train Station on the right	San Bento Railway Station in Porto opened in 1864	About 20,000 azulejo tiles decorate the San Bento Railway Station
The top 3 rows of the frieze are polychromatic azulejo tiles while the 'paintings' below are monocrhromatic blue and white azule	The azulejo tiles in Bento Railway Station date from 1905-1916	Entrance to the street with azulejo tile friezes between windows	Frieze in 'art deco style' in San Bento Railway Station, Porto, Portugal	Trains in San Bento Railway Station, Porto, Portugal
Looking at Porto Cathedral from San Bento Railway Station	Street performers outside San Bento Railway Station	Part of a wall from 500 A.D. in Porto, Portugal	Porto, Portugal City Hall (1920-57)	The Parish Church of St. Nicholas (1762) in Porto, Portugal
Livraria Lello Bookstore in Porto opened in 1906	Livraria Lello Bookstore in Porto is rated the 3rd best bookstore in the world	Skylight in Livraria Lello Bookstore in Porto	Livraria Lello Bookstore in Porto is thought to be the inspiration for Flourish and Blotts Bookstore in the Harry Potter books	Many think this was the inspiration for the moving staircase at Hogwarts
The second floor of Livraria Lello Bookstore includes busts of famous Portuguese writers	Fountain of the Lions in Porto, Portugal	Carmilitas (17th Century) and Carmo Church (18th Century) in Porto, Portugal	Carmilitas Church (left) and Carmo Church (right) are separated by a narrow house to prevent contact between the nuns and monks	Uniform worn by students at Porto University were the inspiration for those worn by Harry Potter
Narrow 'two-lane' road in Porto, Portugal	Busy restaurant on the dock in Porto, Portugal	Houses along the dock in Porto, Portugal	The 10th Century Castle of Guimaraes is referred to as the 'Cradle of Portugal'	The Church of Sao Miguel do Castelo is a medieval church in Guimaraes, Portugal
Legend says the Church of Sao Miguel do Castelo was the place of baptism for future King Alfononso I	Palace of the Dukes of Braganza was built in the 1420's in Guimaraes, Portugal	Alfonso I (1109 - 1185) was the first King of Portugal	St. Antonio dos Capuchos Church in Guimaraes, Portugal	Lar de Santa Estefania Church in Guimaraes, Portugal
1889 emergency notification system	Azulejo 'painting' on side of church in Guimaraes, Portugal	Lar de Santa Estefania Church entrance, Guimararaes, Portugal	Inside Lar de Santa Estefania Church entrance, Guimararaes, Portugal	Truck blocking medieval street in Guimararaes, Portugal
Town Hall of Guimararaes, Portugal	Medieval arch in Guimararaes, Portugal	Sweets from the Convent of Santa Clara in Guimararaes are made from spaghetti squash	Sampling the pastries from the Convent of Santa Clara in Guimararaes	Houses in Guimararaes
Old Town Hall (14th Century Arches) in Guimararaes	The Collegiate Church of Our Lady of the Olive Tree in Guimararaes dates to the 13th Century	Interior of the Collegiate Church in Guimararaes	Gothic shrine in Guimararaes, built to commemorate the Battle of Salado (1339)	Narrow house in Oliveira Square in Guimararaes
Church of Our Lady of Consolation (18th Century) in Guimararaes	Cemetery in Guimararaes, Portugal