One small part of the buffet, which only complimented the a la carte menu items.

…are you even on vacation?

Not a bad view down the Douro River.

Our first full day on the river cruise has come and gone. Sailing down the Douro River is as idyllic and beautiful as you’d hope. The morning is dedicated to knitting classes, or photobooks if you’re me, all while taking in the very distracting scenery passing us by.

The 35m tall lock!

We sailed from Porto to Regua. And for all of you sailing enthusiasts out there, we had to go through two locks, one of them was the Carrapatelo lock which is the highest lock in one single lift in all of Europe. We went up 35 meters! What a feat.

Yep, we went up and down all those stairs.

From there, we then took a bus into Lamego. Here we climbed 343 steps up to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies. It was quite the pilgrimage up, but going back down those 343 steps proved to be the bigger challenge. Apparently, for those that are truly looking for enlightenment, they will climb up and down these steps on their hands and knees. No thanks.

The view from the top.

More wine ma’am? Yes please…

Once at the bottom, we got to go for a wine, meat, cheese and bread tasting. It is important to note, that we just had a huge lunch with lots of different wines less than two hours ago. Somehow, I found room to enjoy the abundance of food set out in front of us. As well as the popular green wine. It’s like white wine, but so much better.

Tia Maria recounting her life story in front of the casks of port we’ll be drinking momentarily.

If you have enough clocks on the wall, one of them is bound to be close to the correct time, right?

Immediately after that, we went to a local Quinta, a country estate, for dinner. We were greeted here by the most vibrant and enthusiastic hostess, ‘Tia Maria’. We tried some lovely port wines, some green wines, some sparkling wines all while she was telling us about her fascinating life story as a countess. She led us through a few of the rooms in her home and I’ve never seen so many knick knacks in one place in my life. This estate was stunning, the fireplaces (yes, plural) were all lit adding to the charm and welcoming vibe Maria has perfected.

The dining hall.

Dinner was served in a huge rustic, yet very classy and elegant, dining room. Servers came around and served us individually from large serving platters. Pork medallions, potatoes, veggies, salads, meat pies, rice, more veggies, sweet potatoes and non-stop wine. We finished off the meal with deliciously baked apples and a custard pie. I may never eat again.

You can hear this picture.

We finished the evening back on the boat with some traditional, live Portuguese music. What a day!