“Diana, With just two more tour days, we thought it was a good time to let you know how much fun and enjoyment we have been having in Portugal.  The trip has been amazing. The men picked up the rental car with no problem.  We opted to skip Obidos for a more relaxing day.   The Nazare beach and Sitio were great.  We found A Tasquinha but, alas, they were closed for holiday. We will try them next time! We had a little trouble with the GPS entering Coimbra (I am pretty sure it was man-made error).  The weather on our arrival was very rainy but we were able to secure a table at Restaurant Ze Manel–it was even better than described.  Definitely one of our highlights.   The hotel, Vila Gale, was adequate.   The neighborhood was not very picturesque, so less pleasant to walk through. On the other hand, the Intercontinental in Porto was perfect!  Fantastic location and totally elegant.  We happened to meet the general manager of the hotel in the bar one night and told him so, too!  Our Porto guide, Poala, was very nice and did a good job of introducing us to the city and its history.  She spent over three hours and was very generous with her time.  We would have preferred an earlier start because by the time our tour ended and we grabbed a bite to eat, we had to leave for the port tasting.  It would have been better to have scheduled that a little later in the afternoon.  We needed to delay our departure from Porto so that we could go into several places we did not have time for on Wednesday.  So on the way to Pinhao, we saw Guimaraes (which we loved) and skipped Amarante. The Vintage House in Douro was another great place.  But really not a lot to do in Pinhao for us.  We did the 2-hour boat ride (1-hour would have been sufficient).  We really enjoyed the wine and cheese tasting–our hostess was knowledgeable and personable and spent a lot of time with us.   Again, it would have been better for us to have it later in the day. (In retrospect, we probably could have eliminated the port tasting in Porto and just done this.) The poussada in Belmonte was incredible as was the restaurant there.  Another great choice–thank you! We just loved both Sortelha and Monsanto.  What treasures they are and we are so pleased you had us scheduled to see them. I am quite sure that we will feel the same about Estremoz and Vila Costa tomorrow. The M’AR de AR Aqueducto is clean and modern and ideally situated.  Our visit to Herdade do Esporao was beyond all expectations.  The guide was exceptional.  The lunch experience was out of this world.  Another perfect recommendation!  (Our driver was very nice but did not speak English. Joy was able to converse with him a little in Spanish.  Sorry to be spoiled Americans.) We have had so much fun, seen such beautiful, interesting places– both historical and modern, eaten delicious food and drank some great wine.  What more could anyone ask for?  Thank you so much again. Debbie”