{"id":710,"date":"2019-12-03T10:27:54","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T10:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2checkingout.com\/?p=710"},"modified":"2019-12-03T10:27:54","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T10:27:54","slug":"2019-12-3-checking-out-douro-valley-48-hours-in-port-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2checkingout.com\/?p=710","title":{"rendered":"Checking out Douro Valley: 48 hours in Port heaven"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Spending 48 hours in the beautiful Douro Valley<\/strong><\/a>, Portugal at harvest time has to be one of the highlights of our last 5 years of travel. <\/p>\n

“Stephen likes the finer things in life”. Said by my Mum, and never forgotten by Julie. She teases me endlessly about it. Not sure how bunking down in a shared dorm or clothes shopping at the local charity shop fits with the “finer things in life”. But I guess when it comes to a love affair with port, Mum may have been right. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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There may have even been a point in the time when I would have swapped one of my daughters for a case of Fonseca 1977. Just joking girls, it would have had to have been at least three cases!<\/p>\n

So here we are at the end of September having picked up a rental car, driving the 90 minute trip from Porto airport to Pinh\u00e3o, deep in the promised land for port lovers. Something extraordinary was planned for this weekend, and I couldn’t wait.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Be warned the narrow valley roads are not for the faint-hearted. If you are used to 6 lane highways that run in a straight line forever, the winding hill-hugging tarmac will be a tough test of your driving and concentration. Hiring a car, however, does give you the freedom to explore the outer reaches of the valley.<\/p>\n

We arrived late Friday afternoon and headed straight to our accommodation, Casa Dona Euf\u00e9mia<\/strong><\/a>, in the small village of S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o da Pesqueira. A quick 10-minute drive from Pinh\u00e3o. <\/p>\n

Across the road from the Casa was a tiny bar in a shed. We grabbed a couple of beers from the old lady running the bar and watched truck after truck rumble passed laden with freshly picked grapes. Every so often a minibus full of tired, sleepy pickers would be mixed in with the trucks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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