For me, a downside of traveling alone is trying to enjoy fine dinners solo. And that’s one of the joys of taking a tour: You have company! And thanks to our “no grumps” policy, when you travel with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, you’ll have fun company.
I just wrapped up 12 wonderful days in Portugal — laughing, learning, and exploring with a great group of 25 new friends. Here are a few highlights from our time together:
Dinner — and Lots of Wine — in Porto
The wine is so good in Portugal, it can be tough to stop at a couple of glasses. During one round of toasts on our Heart of Portugal tour, I realized the words on my T-shirt summed up what I wanted to say. So, startling my group, I stood up, unbuttoned my shirt, and (almost) bared my chest, declaring “Keep on travelin’!”
Rambling Around a Family-Run Cork Farm
Midway through each Rick Steves tour, our guides give everyone in the group a chance to evaluate the experience so far. Everyone fills out a little sheet with suggestions on how we can make the tour better — and tour members often share their highlights. On this tour, the highlights included doing hands-on activities and meeting families at local farms — farms that produce grapes for port wine and grow cork trees so that the port will stay in the bottle until it’s ready to be enjoyed.
Deep in Portugal’s interior, the wonderful Rovisco Garcia family harvests the bark off a vast forest of cork trees. Their farm has become a popular stop on our Portugal tours. They are so eager to show us around, they built a special trailer for their tractor so that whole groups can ramble around the farm together while the sons talk about their work and the cork industry. Eventually, the trailer ends up at the big farmhouse where the family — under grandma’s direction — serves the group an amazing meal featuring local produce, traditional dishes, and more of that great local wine.
Comic Relief at a Cloister
Most of us enjoy a break from American politics when we’re on vacation. But at one venerable cloister, I noticed our group was pointing and laughing at something carved into a fine old relief. It was a character, chiseled 500 years ago, that was the spitting image of our president. I’ve been visiting this monastery for 20 years…and suddenly it has an unforgettable new stop.
DIY Souvenirs
Throughout Europe, Rick Steves guides find lots of ways to help our groups roll up their sleeves and have literal hands-on experiences. For example, on my Heart of Portugal tour, we visited a tile factory and learned about the tiles that are so integral to Portuguese cityscapes — and we each got a chance to paint our own tile as a souvenir of the trip. Our personal tiles were then fired and waiting for us at our hotel the next day. I was impressed by the fun designs, the hidden artistic talent in our group, and the joy this project brought each member of the tour.
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Want to join the fun? Travel with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours on a Heart of Portugal in 12 Days Tour.