Monday, April 2 – thought this would be a slower day, but still seem to have too many photos. Back to my morning 5K as Coimbra woke up. Then one more excellent breakfast at the hotel, though there were a couple of folks there I would have strangled if I was on staff. Why do some people believe they are more special than all the other guests in the room? A big thank you to all who work hospitality without committing homicide.

Onwards and upwards, we were headed to the Douro, but had some time so traveled to Lamego, home of the Santuario Nossa Senhora das Remedios, atop 686 stairs. One can drive up there, but where’s the fun in that?? Once on top, you can enter the church, but I think we can all agree we can skip church photos for today…no guarantees there won’t be more tomorrow, however!

We then drove along the scenic Douro River Valley, but still had some time before we needed to be at our final destination, so we stopped in Pinhao to check out the beautifully tiled train station. Tip to the wise…never let Dan loose around train related things. Actually, it was a nice stop and we were then ready to head to the winery where we had scheduled a tour and tasting as well as a night’s accommodations. If you are ever in need of amusement, please ask Dan to describe the joy of parking at a place carved between a river and a hillside full of wine grapes…

The tour was fun and we discovered we enjoyed tawny port (who knew???). I took a stroll around the grounds and, finally, we enjoyed a lovely dinner. The restaurant was staffed by several delightful young people. Not sure what they do for fun in this sleepy little corner of Portugal, but we enjoyed their energy and enthusiasm.

Only one night here, tomorrow we drop off our trusty rental car and do the rest of the trip using mass transit. Dan’s driving gripes to be replaced by my commentary on human behavior in public places. If that doesn’t give you a reason to keep following I don’t know what will

23,434 steps, 11.4 miles