Chilling on the Douro River

Monday, August 14, 2023

Today there was a choice of two group activities:

1. a short bus ride followed by a 15 mile bike ride through the countryside

2. a short bus ride to another vineyard where the group would participate in a cocktail mixing and tasting session.

Which one do you think we chose?

If you said "neither", you are correct!

And realizing that the average age of the people on this cruise is probably 70, you won't be surprised that only a handful of people chose option 1.

Anyway........so what did we do?  

We were docked at Peso da Regua, a town of about 14,500 people. Nothing particularly distinguishing about it, other than it dates from the 16th century, though it does have the Douro Museum. We headed out once again under a crystal blue sky and perfect weather. 

It was just a regular Monday for these people. We saw kids in a school and shopkeepers selling their goods and old women walking together and old men sitting and talking. Wait.......these old people are probably our age. 😲😲😲

We popped into a small church.....

....and passed by many more tiled walls.

Suddenly, we heard some drumming. We walked up the block to find out what it was. There we saw two different drum corps just starting out in some sort of parade. We're not quite sure what it was for, although our guide told us that tomorrow is a children's holiday, so maybe it was related to that. Anyway, we walked alongside them for a few blocks until the booming repetitive rat-a-tat became too much to bear. As much as we enjoyed the parade, our audiologist would be proud we did everything we could to step away. 

Then we went to the Douro Museum. It told the story of the region, with a large emphasis on wine-making. It also had an exhibit by Armanda Passos, a famous Portuguese artist. Much of her work was very colorful and in a style we very much liked. Surprisingly, the large gift shop did not have any prints of her work for sale or we likely would have bought one (though Wendy did engage in some retail therapy).

Then we went back to the ship for another light (salad) lunch and some basking on the sundeck. Soon the ship was underway again, through another lock, and shortly after we docked at Regua.

In the afternoon we took a tour of the ship's galley.  It is a pretty compact space, but probably similar to any land restaurant's space. The chef (who is from Latvia) explained the choreography involved in getting the right food to the right people at the right time. And from the way the chef described it, the food prep is about a 24-hour a day effort. The majority of the food and other supplies is stored in a room, of the same size, one level below. Pretty impressive.

Spices

The plate of pastries they offered on the way out was to good to pass up.

Soon it was time to get ready for dinner. But tonight, the kitchen staff had some time off as we are dining at a local Michelin star restaurant. Our ship was docked literally 50 feet from DOC, an acronym for "Degustar Ousar Comunicar" (translated: "Taste, Dare, Communicate"). The chef, Rui Paula, specializes in blending traditional Portuguese dishes with contemporary fare along with the Douro's famous wines. 

After cocktails and hors d'oeuvres (including suckling pig sliders) on the deck overlooking the terraces.....

we went inside for dinner.

On the table were plates of rough cut rustic bread, which we dipped into local olive oil. So good. 

First up on tonight's menu was octopus carpaccio with parmesan tile (and lettuce leaves with pomegranate seeds). Surprisingly enough, the strongest flavor on the plate was the Parmesan tile.  The octopus was tissue thin. How do they do that? 

Next up was "Maronesa" tenderloin beef with rosti potatoes. Wendy had had enough beef and pork so far, so she was given a sea bass entree.

The tenderloin serving was massive (how can these people  eat so much?). The fish portion was much more reasonable.  Both were delicious.

Then, a crispy creme brulee crepe with tropical fruits, raspberry sauce, and mango sorbet. An excellent, yet creative,  simulation of the ubiquitous pasteis! 

That was enough to sate us, but of course, next they brought petit fours: strawberry marshmallows and, wait for it, custard tarts! But this time they were key lime!  Yummmmm. Oy vey.  Enough already! 

That's all for Monday--- stay tuned.

Love,

w&w