Portugal

In August, we were lucky enough to be invited to the wedding of Carlos and Christine, friends we met through Conran. Carlos' family are from Portugal, and the wedding was held in the Duoro region of Northern Portugal.

We stayed in the town of Regua, in the Upper Duoro region, in the heart of Port wine country.

Interesting colours and textures in a rundown part of the town of Regua...

A sleepy square, near the cathedral, with a terrific cafe where we had a super-cheap and super-delicious meal, in the background.

Regua at night, with Nossa Senhora dos Remedios church lit up on the hilltop in the background...

The beautiful bride Christine, and her dad, arriving at the church...

Nossa Senhora dos Remedios...

The view from the top of the hill, outside the church. The previous wedding party is having photos near the fountain, looking out over Regua. (Smoke from a bushfire in the background)...

Inside the church...

Christine and Carlos, tying the knot. The ceremony was half in Portuguese, half in English. Their lovely Portuguese priest had recently learned English especially for the ceremony. He had only six lessons with Carlos' sister, and he did really well!

The happy couple...

This photo reminds me of our wedding day. This is Carlos' Portuguese 'Little Nan'...

After the ceremony, we were taken over to a Quinta (winery) in Lamego for the reception...

The barrel room in the quinta...

We could smell the delicious port wine through the wood of the barrels, the room smelt divine...

Carlos and Shannon, looking handsome...

Recovery by the hotel pool the next day...

Following our recovery from the wedding festivities, we hit the port wine trail through the Duoro Valley, following the Duoro River visiting several Quintas along the way....

Barrels of port at Quinta do Tedo

A break for lunch at Vintage House, Pinhao...

Lamego...

Before flying back to the UK, we called into Porto and toured through Vila Nova De Gaia, where all the port lodges are located. The grapes are grown in the Duoro Valley along the steep banks of the river Duoro, and where they are made into port wine. The climate is much cooler in Porto, and therefore it's a more suitable location of storing and bottling the port. The port used to be transported down river in the old style port boats. It's done by truck now, but the lodges in Porto are still the main hub for storage and distibution of port around the world.

Port barrels at Grahams...

The most recent vintage, 2009, was a pearler. So stay tuned for the next 20 years and we'll let you know when it's ready for drinking!