Porto and the Twelve Historic Villages of the Hill CountryThe

September 23, 2018

Porto

The Eiffel bridge and Porto

Portugal’s second largest city rises up the prominent hillside along the Douro River just before the Douro empties into the Atlantic. Our agenda was simple - wander and get lost in the narrow streets and neighborhoods, enjoy the food and wine of the region, and poke around in the city’s many historic buildings and cathedrals. Mission Accomplished! We had some excellent food and wine, walked ourselves up and down what seemed like every street and alleyway, visited the Liberia Lello bookshop, and crossed the famous Eiffel Bridge to The city of Gaia on the other side, famous for the many port cellars and tasting rooms from the grapes of the famous Douro wine region.

Our 4th course at Michelin star restaurant- Antiqvvm

The Twelve Historic Villages of Central Portugal

When Carol, Stuart, and I visited Portugal 17 years ago, our fondest memories were of the interior rural area, so when I read about the 12 villages near the border with Spain, we put it on our to do list.
As a bonus, on our way from Porto halfway through our 5 hour trek to the interior, we met our friends from Seattle, Susan and Paul, who are doing their own tour of Portugal France,. Paul had an inside scoop on a fabulous restaurant outside of Lousã in a beautiful setting below a castle. It was great to enjoy a leisurely lunch with friends from home and the food was fabulous. We sampled a wonderful array of entradas and then an array of meats and side dishes including wild boar, venison, rabbit and their signature goat dish.

Carol, Susan, & Paul at O Burgo below
the castle

Two and a half hours later, and winding our way through beautiful mountain roads, we arrived at our Airbnb in Belmonte, one of the villages, which lies closest to the middle of the 12. From there we made 2 loops on 2 different days and hit the road. The history of this area and of these villages goes back to the Roman conquest and beyond and then continues through the border wars with Spain.
http://www.localhistories.org/portugaltime.html