Mini Club Gathering : a Visit to the North of Portugal, Including Porto and the Douro Region, One of the Most Unspoilt Places in Europe
Preparation & Planning:-
Although I had visited the North of Portugal many times during my working years, and knew exactly, what I wanted to do, the sheer distance from my home being over 300 km, called for a local fixer.
Surfing the internet I came across the “Portugo.com” site, promoting “MIX & MATCH” tours, which could be adapted to the clients requirement. Soon after e-mailing my programme, i.e. Accommodation, Wine & Dine, River Cruise, Train, Historical & Cultural tours, PortUgo’s Peter Evens called to get the feel of the prospective client, and found that we had connections through our respective golf societies, and my wife had formerly dealt with him on that level. He had analysed my proposal and suggested some itinerary changes to better accommodate for the Boat, Train and Plane schedules.
The yearly gathering is mainly convivial/culinary/cultural, and the average age of this years 15 participants was over 75. Of the 15 participants, 10 arrived by plane from 5 different countries, 4 by car and 1 by motorbike from 3 different cities in 2 different countries. Some continued to travel by rent-a-car, before flying home again.
Peter took it all onboard and went ahead with booking and smoothing out the details.
About a month before the trip my wife and I did a trial run, when we met Peter for the first time in person. We now could appreciate on the spot, how meticulously he had prepared even the smallest details to perfection, fitting in as much as possible in the rather short time available.
Day 1 - Started well with a welcome reception at the Hotel Mercure Batalha Porto, offered by the youngest couple on the occasion of their 40st wedding anniversary, followed by dinner at the charming Guarany Café.
Day 2 – An early rise saw us on the second day cruising from Porto to Pinhão, where we stayed overnight at the Vintage House Hotel (Relais-Châteaux), a former Solar of the Taylor Port wine family.
Day 3 – Next day we visited Quinta de la Rosa for wine tasting and lunch on their pergola overlooking the river Douro. Returning to Porto in the afternoon was planned by train, but an unforeseen, countrywide railway workers strike might have left us stranded in Pinhão, were it not for Peter who managed to get a coach, coming up from Porto, to pick us up. The driver told me he had arrived at noon with a load from Lisbon, when he was told to go and rescue us in Pinhão. We checked in to Pestana Porto Hotel for the next two nights and then went for dinner at the nearby D.Tonho restaurant.
Day 4 – The morning of the fourth day we spent on a guided panoramic city tour and after lunch at Praia da Luz on the Atlantic shores, we were free to do our own exploring. The evening saw us visiting Graham’s Port wine cellars including tasting of course. This was followed by the apéro on the terrace overlooking the city of Porto and dinner in the Board Room of Graham’s Lodge, when another highlight were two fado singers and two guitar players, which Peter had specially arranged to come the 100 km from distant Coimbra, to entertain us.
Day 5 – Reading the feedback from my colleagues, it was one of the outstanding gatherings long to be remembered.
They all enjoyed every bit of it.
Max Zimmerli
June 2008
About the Author
Peter Evens is a specialist in Tourism in Northern Portugal : For information on your Holidays throughout Portugal email portgolf@portugo.com or look at the website http://www.portugo.com
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