May 24, 2011
Day 11 Douro Valley
The next morning we got up and checked out of our Porto hotel. We had a bit of a drive to our next stopping point, Casa do Visconde de Chancelerios. Of all of our lodging, I was looking forward to this place very much because it promised to be a beautiful location. We had booked 2 nights, so we would rest on Saturday, run our Half Marathon on Sunday, then drive back to Lisbon on Monday.
Leaving Porto, it was (guess what?) cloudy and dreary. But as we crossed the mountains inland the sun came out, and soon we were treated to a beautiful view of the valley. Though later we would see rows of trees along the roadside heavy with fruit, we bought some cherries from these ladies while enjoying the view.
Stopping for cherries.
From there, we finished driving a long the river until we came to Peso de Regua, where we stopped, parked, picked up our race packets, and ate some lunch. For some reason the waiter at this restaurant would not let me order what I wanted, and he insisted we get these two dishes.
Salt Cod
Black Pork.
Uh, okay. So that was lunch. From there we drove about 40 minutes farther out of town until we found a narrow road winding up the side of the river valley. And I do mean narrow. But it was a big pay-off. Our casa is owned by a German couple who lovingly restored the hillside gardens and made a gorgeous retreat.
The pool. The view.
The views are spectacular. I could stay here forever. The casa has two puppy doggies, Molly and Cookie. Molly really inspired relaxation.
Molly!
So we spent the afternoon like Molly, relaxing by the pool. For dinner, we had a lovely view. So did Molly.
Molly in her chair.
We cuddled up into bed for a restful night before our big race.
