ADVENTURES, CHALLENGES, AND INSIGHTS OF A COUPLE IN EARLY RETIREMENT
After our stay in Porto, we felt compelled, COMPELLED!, to head up the Douro River to seek out the sources of all of the port wine we saw being aged in the warehouses in Gaia. We were not disappointed by the visit, neither by the Port, we tasted, nor the stunning views the Douro Valley affords.
Our route north in Portugal finally took us to Porto. We have really been looking forward to seeing the Duoro River and Porto, in addition to learning about port wine. The Porto metro area is quite large but Porto is very approachable.
Sintra is a popular day trip from Lisbon because of the cute downtown, the five palaces nearby, the panoramic scenery, and the easy rail connections. Since we have a car, we decided to take the 30-minute drive to Sintra from Lisbon and pick up a tour from there.
In our roving retirement travels around the world, we try to not only see the historical sites and taste the food, but we also try to learn about the local culture. Nothing is more quintessentially Portuguese than Fado.
One of the places we wanted to visit on our roving retirement tour through Spain was Jerez the home of Sherry wine. Happily, we were able to stay for a few days and see the town and learn about Jerez and its namesake Sherry first hand.
