“Hi, Filipa and Vanessa First of all, thank you again for the lovely gift bag (port wine, cookies and soap). What a lovely surprise! We ate the cookies while still in Portugal – they were delicious. We finished the bottle of vintage port wine in November and enjoyed it so much! Clearly, this trip report will take a few days (weeks!) to write, but if I don’t begin, it will never get done so here goes: We were very impressed with the overall organization provided by Portugal Trails. This helped to make things go smoothly overall. We loved the detailed Road Book and were glad that you made it available to us electronically before the trip! We appreciated that someone was always available by email and phone and it was very helpful to have the GPS. Hotels: All were clean and comfortable and there was a nice mix of different styles. In all cases, the proprietors or owners were pleasant and helpful. I would suggest a few clues for how to find Casa do Pinheiro in Ponte de Lima: the sign on the street side is tiny and the door looks much like all the other doors on the street. Also, the house number doesn’t match that on the PT itinerary. We finally parked the car and walked up the street to find the entrance – Turned out we were within a few steps, just didn’t know it! Maybe, someone from PT could take a photo of the street entrance – All the online photos show the beautiful rear view with the swimming pool! Our room was upstairs – Fortunately, the owner was able to handle our luggage! As you told us, the Belmonte Pousada was lovely and the restaurant was excellent. The rooms are down a long flight of stair, but again, help was available. Hotel Oslo in Coimbra was basic, as expected, and very centrally located – great for our walking tour. H10 Villa de la Reina in Madrid: The location, as expected, was excellent for us – Walkable to the main museums and many restaurants. When we arrived, the staff had assigned us a tiny triangular room. We were surprised and I immediately requested a change, but all rooms were filled for the night. They offered to move us the next day – We accepted the offer as we were going to be there for four nights! Inconvenient to have to move, but the second room was much better. Private Guides: They were all excellent. Elisabeth, in Belmonte, misunderstood that she was to meet us at the Pousada, but the hotel clerk called her and straightened out the instructions. Tiago, in. Coimbra was great and a wealth of knowledge about the city and its history. The best guide (perhaps the best we have ever had) was Sofia in Evora. She is remarkable and thinks of everything. She gives a very good talk about the processing of cork. We would have loved to have even more time with her! Of course, we bought lots of cork products – Bernie even bought a hat and my favorite purchase is a pair of cork sandals! All the excursions you included in our itinerary were worthwhile so we did just about all of them. Enjoyed the International Garden Exposition in Ponte de Lima – Thanks for the suggestion. Although it was raining on the day we visited Barcelos and Braga, we managed to visit the museum and buy a cockerel and another folk figure in Barcelos and eat lunch at Frigideiras do Cantinho in Braga. By the time we got to Ponte Da Barco, the rain had cleared out so we could get beautiful photos of the bridge! Even visited both monasteries as each was different from the other. The side trip to Piodao, including a lunch at O Fortinha, featuring chanfana (goat, boiled potatoes and broccoli), turned out to be a highlight for us. I can’t get goat meat here so will have to make it with lamb. We  bought rag dolls on the street up to the restaurant in Monsanto and some delicious fruit liqueurs that we sampled from a vendor on the square in Piodao! The drive to (on N339) and from the town was beautiful. All in all, it was a great trip and we have shared how pleased we were, as well as your contact information with some friends who may want to plan a trip to Portugal in 2017. Their names are David and Gayle Ebel – I hope that they contact you. Feel free to share my comments with other clients who may want to plan a similar trip. I have attached a few of my favorite photos. Kathy Steinberg”