Woke up to rain and sitting in the clouds again....had a good sleep although we had to get used to heavy bed quilts again and I was hot and cold several times during the night? Maria and Andrea were serving breakfast in the dining room: there was 2 kinds of cheese, ham, fresh white buns, fresh cheese bread, lemon cake and angel food cake, 5 kinds of home made jam, a quince jelly, OJ, lots of coffee and hot milk and yogurt and fresh apples, bananas, pomegranates .....another fantastic meal.Had another nice chat with the other guests. All were leaving except the Polish trio who were planning to go on the valley train from Pinhao for the day. The young couple were going to their parents for a few days...I think the Mom was looking forward to some help with the busy little guy..
We started out turning left out of the parking area and almost got stuck in the small street...boy it was steep...Walter actually got out once to check if we had enough room to go around a corner....of course there was a helpful lady that helped out and showed us the way...
On the way to Pinhao we passed a number of large Quintes .....some growing for Sandeman, Ferreira, and other large port companies.. Some also had rooms like Quinte De La Rosa across the river... We crossed the bridge at Pinhao and saw both a small tour boat as well as a traditional Traboules on the river...we drove up along a lot of hairpin turns to eventually To Sabrosa, the birthplace of Magellan,and the further up the more in the clouds we drove. But the rain held off until we got to Amarante , where we had a heck of a time finding the center of the city and the parking...eventually we drove through the old cobbled street of the center town and found parking near the river park...it's very pretty as the Rio T flows through the townand there is a tiny winding street on one side and the medieval church of Sao Pedro and its monastery on the other side of an old stone bridge. The church has a beautiful gold gilded alter and a cloister and was. quite tranquil and simple.. We walked around a bit and then found shelter in Confectionaria de Ponte right next to the bridge where we sat outside under a large awning and the rain stopped and the sun actually came out for about 3o minutes.Had great coffee and an almond tart and a cherry tart....nice pause to a busy drive day...
Good restaurants in Amarante:A Quelha: Rua da Olivenca
Confeituria Ponte: great terrace, right by the bridge
2 star Michelin Restaurant and Relais hotel: Casa da Calcada

Next should go to Penafiel and try some Vinho Verdi at Quinte da Avelada
Then we tried to find Casa Cancela which was quite a feat....our GPS would not pick up the address or coordinates the first few tries..and when we finally found it, we were sent right throug the center of Guimaraes which is a much bigger town than I had expected..
Finally arrived and met the owner Arther who showed us around the property and explained all about the red vino verde Thea he makes the old fashioned artisanal way...they still crush the grapes with their feet in the large vat they have used for 200 years. He explained how he has renovated the old farm and made the changes as close to the original as possible. Our room used to be one of the wine cellars and is quite modern with old antique furniture from his grandfather.
We are now sitting on the lovely veranda having a glass of his 2013 wine and getting ready to go to Guimaraes for dinner... Has recommended a few restaurants but tomorrow we will have table d'hote here..
Drove into Guimareas, another hairy experience as it was dark and it's quite a drive through the outskirts of the city to get to the old town.Walked around the old streets and checked the 3 restaurants that Artur had recommended...settled on Historica which was a bit touristy as it was in an old fortress like house with a stoned walled courtyard on a pretty square...being Sunday almost everything was closed.the waiter was older and spoke only Portuguese so when we ordered Black Pork we received Steaks instead, but they were very good steaks and with 2 beers only cam to 35 € which is reasonable. We walked back through town and had gelati for dessert. Then another hairy drive through the suburban, narrow streets back to Casa Cancela..