“Hi Cristina, Good morning. I wanted to give you feedback about our trip. I can truly say that overall, you and your company exceeded our expectations! 1. I was impressed with your professionalism, knowledge, patience, and kindness.  You were always so prompt with your responses and felt that you really wanted to help us. I appreciate all the last minute help you gave us…like helping us find the soap, good octopus meal, soccer shirt, etc.  I met several travelers using Portugal Trails and they all had positive comments to say about their travel consultants. I will definitely recommend Portugal Trails to my friends (and you’ll probably hear from me again when we make plans for Spain). 2. All accommodations were excellent. Our very favorite hotel was Pousada de Belmonte!  Pestana Palacio do Freixo was beautiful…a little far from town which was not a problem for us since we like to walk (yes, we walked back one night by the river…45 minutes). 3. All drivers and local guides arrived on time. I liked that we did not have to share the local guides with other tourists. Both guides were excellent.  The woman who picked us up at the airport was just “ok”.  The driver who took us to the airport was excellent…friendly, asked about our trip, etc. 4. The preprogrammed GPS was a lifesaver!  We were impressed with the ease of using it. (When we took a wrong turn, it did couple of times take us on a different route to our destination…using very narrow back roads…scary at times). 5. My favorite site, as you know, was Monsanto!  I loved that there were very few tourists there and that people still live there.  We really liked the route and places we visited on our way to Porto…Evora, Belmonte and Duoro Valley.  Places felt more “authentic”…definitely compared to places like Obidos. 6.  Harry’s favorite place was the Duoro Valley. I think I mentioned that Harry loves port. We did not know that Duoro Valley is where the grapes are grown (ignorance on our part)…we always thought it was Porto. Since we stayed there, Harry found his favorite quintas and we went to three Porto tastings. He was like a kid in a candy store! The only negative comment that he wanted me to share is that the Churchill Porto tasting was a disappointment and I agree. The tour was cursory…the guide took us to look at the view from one of the rooms (river and town) and also took us outside to look at the view the second time! Harry says that unless someone wants to go there, he suggests going to a larger cellar, not a boutique cellar like Churchills. 7. We visited many of the places you suggested. The Portugese Stonehenge, historical villages and castles were amazing…it looked like some of the areas we visited has not been discovered by tourists yet (which was great for us)!  Because we went back to Monsanto before heading to Duoro Valley, we only stopped in Amarante (went to local bakery). We decided not stop to see the Guimaraes castle because there was too much traffic around the castle. On the way back from Porto, we only stopped in Obidos because we wanted to spend more time in Lisbon. Since we visited medieval villages on our way to Porto, Obidos felt just too touristy…too many tour buses and tourists!  The itinerary you set up was perfect for us! 8. We really enjoyed the Fado dinner in Lisbon. We ate at Casa do Alentejo Restaurante in Lisbon – we thought it was very good. We also had Francesinha at Cervejaria Brasso (Rua Ramalho Ortigoa 28, Porto)…recommended by our city guide. We really liked the restaurant! The food at Restaurant of Pousada de Belmonte was delicious! I can go on and on but I think I better stop. I loved Lisbon and wish I could have spent more time there. I guess that’s a good reason for returning to Lisbon. Once again, thank you! June (Spain…spring 2018)!!”