Granted, this was our first true wine tasting excursion in Gaia. We chose to visit the family-owned boutique winemaker, Augusto’s. The Augusto family has two small vineyards in the Douro Valley and is not a part of any multi-vineyard corporation. They produce only a maximum of 35,000 bottles a year. That’s about the number of …
Author Archives: janie.weeks
Vila Nova de Gaia
Porto gets all the acclaim but Gaia is a destination itself. It’s the stepsister to Porto but she does alright for herself. She has a lovely riverside promenade with sunny restaurants, bistros, and shops. Lots of beautiful river cruise ships make port here. The city’s true glory is Gaia’s wine caves. There are twenty-one wineries …
Beautiful City Porto
Whether by accident or design, generally speaking, European countries have honored their history and heritage by preserving historical town centers and olden cities as they were or near as they were when first built ages ago. Most very early first town structures were built of wood but eventually replaced or restored in stone after having …
Dark Ages House
Almost everyone we know who has visited Portugal or lives in Portugal says, go to Porto or as Oporto as it is often called. This city is big! Actually, the Porto area is two cities, like Little Rock and North Little Rock separated only by a river. Porto lies on the west side of the …
Monte Sledges – Funchal, Madeira
One of the most fun things we did while in in Madeira was sliding down a long, narrow street in a rattan sledge (sleigh or toboggan) on wooden runners. The sledges start their downhill journey in Monte, a picturesque community high above Funchal. The views are wonderful with the city lying below us, all around …
Wrapping It Up In Madeira
I’m posting some of the photos from yesterday’s bus ride up the mountain and our hike. I’m also throwing some photos of spots I have not had a chance to include in a post Today is our last day in Madeira – Kinda hate to leave this paradise but we must move on. We hoped …
Madeira, Seeing All We Can
Madeira is fascinating. It is a lovely place. It may be one of the most comfortable, accommodating places we have ever visited especially if a person is looking to live abroad. If you walk a little, it offers all the up and downhill walks anyone needs to stay fit. The weather here is heavenly . …
An Angel in Our Midst
We virtually burned Wednesday and Thursday in this lovely place worrying and dealing with lost luggage and restocking ourselves with essential items. A toothbrush and toothpaste are a luxury and a pure delight that I’d almost pay anything for once a full day without them has gone by!! Yes, we will be reimbursed for those …
Let’s See Madeira Starting with Funchal
We are in Portugal once again, in Madeira. It’s an island in the eastern Atlantic off the coast of Portugal, far north of Lisbon. And it is another gorgeous, eye-full place. Steep hills complicate the walking and car travel but the land is very green. In hard contrast to Las Palmas, this island is a …
Gran Canaria in a Nutshell
Should you visit here? Absolutely! It’s not a top ten destination for Americans but could become so. Europeans, particularly vacationers from mainland Spain visit the Canary Islands in mass. The eight main islands in the Canarian archipelago are Spanish provinces. Tenerife is the southernmost and largest most populous of the all and Gran Canaria is …