Stop #27:
In Pinhão, we stopped at the local train station to take photos of the 25 large azulejo panels depicting scenes from Douro rural life. While Portugals buildings are often covered in these tiles, the scenes that were included at the train station tell a story about every day live in the Douro Valley, which is full of vineyards growing grapes for port wines.
The wines from the Douro region (Douro River means River of Gold) is transported to Porto for export. We also spent some time driving through the Douro Valley through the wine quintas (estates) in the valley. The patterns of grape vines and stepped designs of the hills made for interesting photos of the landscape.
Douro grows several varieties of grapes for wines. Reds are usually made from a blend of the native grape, Touriga Nacional. Whites are dry, have a pale-yellow color. Famous wines from Douro include the “Douro Boys”— Quinta do Vallado, Quinta do Vale Dona Maria, Quinta do Vale Meão, Quinta do Crasto, and Nieport. To be callsed “Port”, it must be produced in Douro under strict regulations.
Thanks to Fodor’s Travel Guides, Trip Advisor, and Wikipedia for the great lessons that helped me to plan and summarize this trip.
