Day 10 Peso da Regua

After a great breakfast at the hotel (they even had eggs), we drove up to the village of Mateus about an hour away. I was especially looking forward to it because I was expecting wine, plus the Michelin Guide gave Mateus a three star rating and they only gave three stars to six places in Portugal. Wow, three stars and that junky wine we used to drink in the seventies! Needless to say, it wasn’t what I expected. The three stars were for the Casa de Mateus a rather fascinating house and gardens that was built in the sixteen hundreds. We were the only people that took the English speaking tour through the house and Chapels. The gardens were very beautiful and the house and guide interesting. They did have wine to taste, but alas, none of the Mateus I was hoping for. The drive back to Regua was stunning and we stopped several times for pictures. Since it was still early in the day we skipped lunch and drove over to another river town named Pinhao. A quick walk around town indicated that it was not worth the drive. There really wasn’t anything to see…exactly what the guide books said. Maybe some day I’ll listen. Back in Peso da Regua we went to the local Solar de Vinho and tasted Port wines. We had several and as usual they were all excellent. I guess I’ll never have a bad glass of wine.

A restaurant we noticed earlier that was located at the end of an alley was to be the destination for dinner. The Cachu D’oiro was another good dining experience. Sylvia had lamb chops that were cut very thin and served with French fries and cabbage. I had Black Pork which were also cut thin and blackened with boiled potatoes (smushed) and cabbage. You would think that both the lamb and pork would be tough, but they were very tender and full of flavor. Unlike anything we’ve ever had. We also had the usual accompaniments of ham, bread, three kinds of fried sausages, wine, and a very good ice cream dessert. Getting fatter by the minute, it was time to get back to the hotel because we had a five hour drive to Evora tomorrow.