Provesende – Portugal – A Treasure above the clouds

/ 3sistersabroad

 

 

As our coach climbed the hills of the Douro Valley, through the fog and the clouds, I had no idea of the steep drop at the edge of the road.

Im not very good at heights so the fog was a blessing in disguise.

Even when we arrived there was still a swirling mist/fog amongst the buildings and land.  We were the only tour group to arrive so it was lovely and quiet. Only a  few locals were wandering the cobblestone streets.

You could tell spring was in the air.  So many pot plants full of colorful flowers on every step and porch.

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Flowers everywhere

As we walked past the buildings you could see the decay of so many.  It was cheap to buy a home but then you were faced with the red tape of renovations.

 

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Inside the building you can see the decay

Yet the fire department was housed in a new building with shiny trucks.

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Brand new Fire Station

Walking into the church we were greeted to the beautiful sounds of the organ being played. (see Instagram post)  We sat on the pews and as the music played we took in the sheer opulence of this tiny church.

 

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Inside the church. Can you see the beautiful ceiling

Our next stop was the  famous bakery Padaria Fatima which has been baking bread since 1940.  The smell of the bread baking even made me who is gluten intolerant want some.  I didn’t buy any but one of our group did.  The cost of the bread was only 1.80 Euros.  They make over 200 loaves every day and take the loaves of bread around the village.  There are 300 people who live in Provesende.  Yes I succumbed to a teeny tiny piece of bread and it was delicious.  Bread made the old fashioned way with no colors or additives etc.

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Bread – cooked the old-fashioned way since 1940

 

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Freshly baked bread

 

 

Making our way around the village we passed a man who was making baskets the traditional way.  We stood and watched for a bit and many of us put coins in his hat.  Of course he had a helper a cute little dog.

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Making baskets the old fashioned way

 

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The basket weavers helper.

 

Our next stop was to visit the manor house Morgadio Da Calçada.   It was built around 1680 by a powerful magistrate, Jerónimo da Cunha Pimentel,  still owned by the family, who reside there during the tourist season, between February and November.

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One of the two large wine barrels

 

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Wine tasting with food of course

 

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Wine yes please

During visiting hours the family has tours through the living areas upstairs.  You can stay in the guest house which was the barn and outside buildings.  These were renovated back in 2012.

As we passed two of the biggest wine barrels in Portugal  – 1600 liters each on the ground floor we were ushered into a long room where there was a large table with many chairs around it.  On the table were wine glasses, several bottles of wine and cake.  We had 3 white and 3 red varieties.

 

After several – hick- glasses of wine we were then taken upstairs to view the manor.

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The main dinning room

 

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Piano in the grand room

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The view from the side porch of the mansion overlooking their vineyards 

 

Opposite the bakery is a cafe museum, after our walk around the village many went and had a cuppa.  Muriel and I decided to look at the  Baroque style fountain and the view over the valley below.

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Baroque Fountain – Cafe in the background

 

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What a view!

 

Before boarding our coach to be taken back to the Scenic Azure and lunch we wandered around the gift shop at the manor and then an amazing gift shop with traditional Portuguese kitchen ware.

I chose some soap hand made in Portugal and a cute Rooster for tooth picks.

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Hand made soap from the Manor House Gift Shop

 

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My little Rooster 

On the way back to the ship you could finally see what a huge drop it was alongside the mountain road.  I wasn’t too worried as the snow on the tops of the mountains kept me amused.

 

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Snow nearby

 

 

 

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*Wee bit of History*

Did you know Ferdinand Magellan who was the first to circumnavigate the globe was born very near to Provesende? No me either.

Today we saw a peaceful village yet many years ago Provesende was used as a hideout by outlaws.

How Provesende got its name – Legend has it that from the death screams of of local Moorish King Zaide who yelled “Pobre Zaide, pobre Zaide” as he was tortured by village’s during an uprising. Over the years it became Provesende.

 

 

 

 

 

 

45 thoughts on “Provesende – Portugal – A Treasure above the clouds”

  2. Ahhhhh…How I long for some decent bread it is only a distant memory here..Bread is something which is not eaten and definitely not something which anywhere here has mastered the art of making…Fish and chips with great bread is what I long for at times…

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  6. How lovely and I’m enjoying your Portuguese travels. I think I’ve mentioned I was there in the mid 1990s and remember how astonishing some of the churches were.

    I’ve actually been drinking Portuguese and Italian red wine here recently. I’m very fussy about my Australian wine, but find I don’t mind cheaper o/s options!

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    • Isn’t the Italian wine delicious here in Australia. I often get spanish, italian or french wine cheaper than the Australian wine. Bit sad. The churches in Portugal especially in the Douro Valley are spectacular.

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  8. What a lovely little town. Glad you could be out and about enjoying the trip again and that the flowers were starting to bloom. Lovely historical buildings and trades – nice to see the old ways are still being practiced.
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂

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    • Thank you so much for MLSTL I love it and love catching up with others in the blogging world. Yes it was a beautiful place. You know I had no idea of the beautiful villages I would be visiting before going to Portugal. I recommend any one putting it on their list of places to visit. Especially in the Douro Valley.

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  12. Wow! Gorgeous photos! I have long wanted to visit Portugal. Now I think it may have just moved up in the list even further. We leave for northern Spain tonight. Unfortunately, our itinerary did not allow us to visit Portugal, on this trip, even though we will be so close!

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  17. That drop into the Douro is really spectacular – fortunately the Mirador that I stopped at had good secure railings!!

    As for those huge wine barrels – there is a restaurant in Vila Real where the tables and seats are inside huge empty barrels. The food and port was great too.

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  23. Wonderful !… Thank you, 3_Sisters

    Ps : Someone is a an exceptional artist and photographer ! Someone in the family ! I will share, and i will place your wonderful article in my Travel Magazine. Take care and enjoy !

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