Our day in the Douro Valley was perhaps the most spectacular of the trip. Our first destination was the Quinta Santa Eufémia, a family winery now run by the 4th generation. The scenery and steeped terraced hillsides were incredible. We toured the farm and watched some of the last harvesting of the season taking place. We saw where the grapes were crushed and the wine was aged. Lunch was a multi-course affair overlooking the vineyard and included a sampling of the excellent wines made there. It turned out that our favorite meals of the trip were the private lunches prepared for us at the two farms we visited—something we would not have experienced had we traveled on our own. 

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We ended the day in the small town of Pinhão in a lovely hotel with a view of the Douro River. We walked around town and visited the train station, which had an interesting collection of painted tile scenes outside. Before dinner, we relaxed on our hotel balcony and soaked up the view of the river and surrounding hillside. Our next-door neighbors Barb and Jill had the same idea and we chatted across balconies as the sun went down.

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Side note: Pinhão, in the Douro Valley, is the home of the fictional Theo in the fabulous book “Theo of Golden”.