Seriously a bike race?

 When we went to Italy 4 years ago we got off the train and were going to grab an Uber and they kept canceling so I walked down the road a bit and talked to someone about it and come to find out there was a bike race that closed the entire road around Lake Como for the day!  We shlept our luggage to town, over cobblestone and sat in a restaurant for a few hours drinking and eating.  4 hours later our hotel had to come get us! So today as we were finishing up breakfast over looking the Douro River Kirk mentioned to our host we were heading to Vila Nova de Foz Coa and she said the road was closed so we had to go up and over the mountain and then down back to the road 3km a way.  We had a good laugh and then after we packed up went back down to get her directions with our map.  Well, it was quite the journey.  Everyone had to do it on our side of Douro and while at first it was easy, it soon became crowded on the teeny tiny roads!  “This isn’t stressful at all” said Kirk in a death grip on the steering wheel, yelling at drivers like he’s in LA while the obvious local in front of was had his arm leisurely hanging out the window.  🤪 And then a bus came.  Thank goodness it was going down and not up but this road had hair pin turns!  Bus drivers here are fucking bad ass.  We were both astounded and nervous! I can’t imagine what the passengers felt.  OMG.  

45 minutes later, of what should have been 5 minutes we were on our way East.  More twisting roads through tiny villages and towns but much wider in general.  Gorgeous views of the patchwork of vineyards a thousand feet up, terraced.  The ride was a bit more enjoyable and we came to a castle so we stopped!  We love a good castle. Castelo de Penedono. Got to climb all over and Kirk still had to really duck through all the door ways! I’m so mad my photos aren’t uploading.

Then we headed to Vila Nova de Foz Coa.  I can’t remember why I wanted to go here.  I thought we’d walk around a quaint town but it was really just nothing. And today is a National Holiday so almost everything was closed. Well a lot of things are closed here on Mondays anyway.  We found the only restaurant opened and no one spoke English which was ok.  The internets have been so wrong about a lot of things but ‘just order the special of the day’ is not wrong.  I got the fried fish and rice with wine and Kirk got the veal stew with beer, rice and fries. IT WAS TO DIE FOR and only $30 euros.  Then off to storm another castle!

People tend to stare at Kirk a lot.  He’s blond, white and larger than almost every person we see.  He said “it’s not just me right? I get looks right?”  They can’t figure out why a Portuguese woman like myself is with him.  Haaahahaaahaaaaa!!  

Castelo de Marialva was enormous. We climbed all around on the walls, looked over its domain which was very evident from the old homes - some occupied and butt up to the castle itself- and walls. It was fantastic.  Need to research its history b/c they do not put signs up everywhere -which is so nice.  And to be able to walk on the walls was pretty awesome.  Looking towards Spain we imagined is what they were doing. 

Then headed to Guarda and our cute little bed and breakfast. The freeway here literally reminded us of driving from Malibu up Kanan with rocks and less green but some spattered around.  We could see so many ancient walls.  So many.  I just love thinking about what people were doing and how many people lived.  The last castle had so many old walls for miles around.  Lots of ruins.  We were talking about how there wasn’t livestock in Douro.  We saw nothing but a few dogs who seem to just lounge in the road, sweetly.  So our BnB is the cutest thing.  Our room is sparse, almost like a white washed castle room, but it feels so cozy and it’s just beautiful.  We also have a balcony where we are currently drinking wine, overlooking and old farm with old orange tiles.  Cows to our right and mountains in front of us.  Feeling so insanely lucky right now.