Our Blog - Amares, Portugal

Finally, Portugal! I know, you can't really read that, but trust me that it says Portugal. We actually got great weather this vacation although it did seem to rain, and rain hard, when we were driving.

Our friend, Liliana, had given us lots of information on Portugal and helped with our planning. One thing that she recommended was a stay at one of the many "Pousada's" in Portugal. These are historical hotels that previously were run by the state, but are now managed by a hotel group. They were created in the 1940's and they are in historic buildings (former castles, monasteries, etc). We investigated them, we found one that could work, so we booked our first night in Portugal at the Pousada de Santa Maria do Bouro, more commonly known as Pousada Mosteiro de Amares.

The hotel is housed in a restored 12th century Cistercian Monastery. The views were nice, tucked in the hills, and there was a pool out back that you can see amongst the trees.

The hotel is built around the monastery Cloister, which you can see from large windows on the upper floor as well as being able to walk out through it.

Attached is the former church (which wasn't open). The main entry is next to the cars, and goes into a courtyard.

They have done a really good job of converting it to a hotel while still keeping a lot of the original items from the monastery, including several of these huge fireplaces, these little window-seats, and the detail over the exterior windows.

We walked a block or so to what I think was the only restaurant in town (other than the one at the hotel, which we decided not to eat at) for dinner. It was a nice little place with stone walls and we attempted to try "local" dishes. There was one person who spoke a bit of English, so we got a little bit of help. We started with a soup that he said was very typical, and then pork, sausages, and potatoes. While the sausages look a little "black", I was assured that they were not made with blood (as in typical from what I hear). They had an interesting texture and he said they are mainly made with rice and cornmeals. When we got to the time for dessert, instead of attempting to explain what he had, he walked us over to where the desserts were and we picked out something like a Portuguese "french toast" to have with our espresso.