Onward to Douro Valley

Checkout at the Hotel is 12 so we had an early morning walk down to the church which you can see here. There is a back entrance from our hotel a S it was very peaceful walking around the outside before the hoards arrived. Breakfast is nice here lots of choice with very good chunky French toast. Met John and Annie from Denver (our names for them) as we were on the balcony she had just woken up (at 10 how lazy :)). They are staying till Friday and I felt envious. Then they go to Porto to pick up their tour . May see them! Also met on the next balcony a German lady and her Canadian partner who live in Nuremberg who mentioned Scotland and Brexshit and hoped we would get independence and rejoin the EU. It was good to know that in other countries people know that Scotland didn’t vote for Brexshit and were dragged out and lumped in with the morons that voted out.

Anyway, we checked out after having a look at the very big and nice outdoor pool. Boy what a view from it.

We parked up in the town below, Viana and had a wander around and stopped for a coffee in the old town. I was AMAZED at the bill - €3.50 for a delicious apple tart and two coffees. Jeepers it would be around a tenner in Nero! Aren’t we totally ripped off in the U.K.- how can they provide a very good coffee and sweet treat for this price??? Another observation was this town which is just slightly bigger than Perth has oodles of shops (not just nail bars and hairdresser/barbers and charity shops and I didn’t see a for let sign. Not any chains either- so many pharmacies and clothes shops. It has a buzz about it especially in the central square.

Ok off we went in the car joining the motorway to somewhere past Vila Real can’t recall the name. Went through three toll roads over numerous bridges and a massive tunnel. The roads were pretty quiet and no potholes. Took us 2.5 hours to get here tris lovely rustic farmhouse in the Douro Valley. All I hear is birdsong it’s gorgeous. Not as grand as the hotel but nicely done by Matilde, who lives here with her dog Bill. She is a nurse around 32 years old and lives here alone. We are the only guests. It’s a stunning location amongst wine groves and hills.

We found our receipt from the hotel and one nights we had two tomatoes and tea and a beer and it wasn’t on it. I remembered she. The waiter asked me for the room number when I ordered I said I think 106 but wait till my husband comes but he did not speak good English so room 106 is John and Annie from Denver so he must have charged them! Oooops!

Text from my daughter later to say that after me asking her to go and test my mum for Covid it’s positive! Omg she has had it since Friday night and she never twigged and never let on she was in bed. I called morag my SIL who is a charge nurse on the Covid ward and she has taken over in my place. Mum seems to be improving she still is coughing.

Now we wonder how she got it!