From the Woodshed: Sometimes it's Good to be Lucky!

It was getting late, and we had a long way to go. I could tell Bella was nervous the way she just wouldn't hold still in the back of the cramped car. We had left Porto that morning, and were heading north through the Portuguese countryside. After a stop for lunch and a tour of a medieval castle on the site of the birth of the kingdom of Portugal (Koffee, Kings, and Kastles! July 23, 2013) we pushed on in search of a place to stay (with dog) that would put us within reach of Galicia (Northern Spain). As we drove on we entered a more and more rural portion of Portugal. Scattered farm houses, and small towns with not much but forest and crops in between.

These are granite fence posts. I think they will last even longer
than Cedar!

The plan was to find a "Casa Rurale", sort of a government sponsored B&B that would allow Bella dog to stay the night with us. As we began to get more worried, we spotted a sign that indicated a Casa Rurale was up ahead. Viola, turned and we followed the road. Soon, we became discouraged as there were no more signs, then just as we were about to turn around, there it was again. This cycle repeated itself several times until we were travelling down a narrow country lane and had not seen a sign in several kilometers. Viola gave up and decided to turn around. "Just a little further!" I urged. After a brief discussion, she assented. Within a half a kilometer, there it was, our Casa Rurale!

Beautiful countryside, but where do we spend the night??

It was an absolutely beautiful place, an old farm house that had been totally renovated, including a gorgeous pool with an incredible view. Now the question: would they let Bella stay? I love to watch Viola interact with folks. She has a real knack for touching people, and now she really went to work. After she introduced Bella and talked with the owner for a few minutes, the original "NO DOGS!" changed to "She won't bark will she? Well...ok!" What a relief!

The view past a fresh running fountain at the main house.
Our room was right on the corner.

Our room!

We moved in quickly before the owner could change his mind. What a fabulous room! The walls were close to two feet thick, freshly painted and trimmed out beautifully. Modern air conditioning hummed in the background. There was even WIFI albeit a very weak signal. The proprietor's family was there helping out as well.

We headed for the pool as soon as we could change, and relaxed to the incredible view of rural Portugal. The owner brought us out a bottle of white wine, and a cake. Life is good!

The fountain flowed into the pool. These guests left shortly
after our arrival, and we had the whole place to ourselves!

This little structure is called an "Horeo" and it is a dry goods
storage and meat smoking structure. They are all over the place.
This one had been restored and was used to store pool equipment.

This bannister guarded some stone steps to a lower terrace
below the pool area.

Next morning, our breakfast was prepared by the family. A great spread of cheeses, bread, meats, fruit, and of course...coffee! It still seemed somewhat dreamlike how fantastic this place was after driving so long the day before with so much anxiety over where we would stay. It had literally turned into probably the most memorable highlight of our trip. We all wished we could have stayed longer, and some day, perhaps we will!

They put out a great spread for our Continental Breakfast!

Kim took this picture as we all dug in!
I gained about 15 pounds during the trip!

The Mom and Daughter served a great breakfast!

Bella was very proud of her selection of lodging, and I have to say it was unanimous. As we pulled back onto the road, headed for Galicia, I wondered if we would find such great digs to stay in again, certainly the ghost of Afonso Henrique was smiling upon us, perhaps even riding along in the back with Bella!