RÉGUA AND MATEUS PALACE AND ANOTHER PARADE

We left Pinhão this morning at 6:45, fortunately requiring nothing on our part, and arrived in Régua at 9 a.m., and then it was out and onto the buses for a visit to Mateus Palace. Remember Mateus rosé, the wine everybody drank in the 60’s?  This is the palace on the label of the wine. 

It's a baroque palace built in the 1750’s.  It's a pretty over the top place with designs that enhance vistas and mirror images.  

It's cloudy and cooler today, but didn't rain, so we had time to walk through the manicured gardens.  There is one gardener and two helpers to maintain this lovely ornamental garden.  

Our afternoon was spent cruising back to Porto and packing.  I had enough food for lunch to last me for a week, but I bet I'll eat a full dinner.  Lunch consisted of three salads, Waldorf,  octopus, and ham and pineapple, fish soup, a BLT, and chocolate cake.  I no longer have to worry about fitting into clothes, it's now about getting through doorways.  

We have to be out of the room and on the bus at 9 a.m. tomorrow, so packing is a priority today.  Yuck.  Packing means the trip is over, even though we're going on to Santiago de Compostela.  John has already started worrying about plane flights home.  

After dinner tonight we went out looking for. Pharmacy, but it was too late.  I wanted to get some zinc lozenges, because I'm getting a cold.  It was too late, but guess what?  Tomorrow is St Juão's day, and there was a parade tonight.  This one is in the little neighborhood on the Gaia side of the river at Porto, and it's a little funny parade, not as slick as the one in Lisbon, but more little kids, and just cute. It started at around 9 and is still going on at 11:45.