We are staying at a little Relais & Chateaux property, previously a beautiful Manor House, Quinta das Lagrimas (which translates to Estate of Tears). This house has a past rich in history and a medieval legend of love. Not to mention that the property is simply luxurious! Check it out at http://www.quintadaslagrimas.pt/index_ing.html.
It was here, in the 14th century, that the forbidden love of Prince Pedro and Ines de Castro was dramatically played out. According to the legend, it was in Quinta das Lagrimas that Ines de Castro cried for the last time, while being killed with the daggers of the three noblemen who had been ordered to kill her, by D. Afonso IV, King of Portugal. It is said that her blood still stains the stones of the spring which sprang from her tears..JPG)
On Don's birthday, we drove up to Oporto. The sun was shining and so were our spirits. We walked around the windy streets until we found the Quinta ("Farm" or "Winery") Croft. Don has a lovely bottle of Croft Port at home, so he wanted to visit the winery to see the process of crafting Croft (sounds funny, huh?).
We toured the quinta and sampled quite a few of the excellent Ports.
Our next stop was TO PIG OUT. This entire trip has been designed around an article I read in Travel & Leisure magazine entitled "Year of the Pig." We were here for the luscious leitao assado (roast suckling pig). The competition for bragging rights as the finest leitao restaurant is so fierce in this town that it resembles the fetishistic idolization of barbecue in the United States. .JPG)
The geographic and culinary epicenter for leitao is the town of Mealhada. And not just anywhere in Mealhada, but along one section of highway EN-1. At last count there were more than three dozen restaurants specializing in leitao in the area, about 20 on the highway alone.
We dined fabulously on pig. In fact, we pigged out.
We returned to the hotel to have a nap and hang out. I had booked their restaurant, "Arcadas da Capela," that has one Michelin Star for Don's birthday dinner. I don't know how we did it, but by 9:30 PM we were actually hungry. We ordered the 9 course dinner with wine pairings and had a great time. I don't think we went to bed until after 2 AM.
