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Me and Sofia spent a couple of days in Espinho for my little brother's birthday before going on a ride around the North of Portugal. Having a day with no plans, we went to look at bike dealerships in and around Porto, with a stop for a very typical northern lunch, something Sofia rarely gets to experience since she's rarely in Porto. First, getting her seated on some nice GSs And then the bike I really went there to see, I am going to try and take one for a testride and see what it's like, looks nice in person: And then, a nice lunch of Rojões: The restaurant on the outside, it's a locals' non touristic spot: And then, a stop at Triumph Porto, where I was made to sit on a Tiger, very comfy bike though, and has a 30 liter fuel tank as well: Across the street to that, we have the best dealership of the day, and a bike I really like. Can't see it fitting my motorcycling very well, but it is a nice thing. The next day, we start our tour, heading North straight to Valença, not to be confused with Valencia in Southern Spain. Valença is a small town next to the border of Portugal and Spain in the Minho river, it's got an old part that is inside the fortified walls, which is what we visited. Sofia's grandad was born here, his dad was stationed here in the military, before being sent to WW1. The military lived in houses that no longer exist right around where we parked our bikes. And then took a walk to look around and also to find an espresso. Valença is very well fixed up, very polished and very touristy. Flocks of Spaniards wash over it for visits and meals, it's very pretty but not really my thing. We moved on, now entering a special wine region that is not very well known internationally. Between Monção and Melgaço is a DOP region that grows very special Alvarinho wine, used mostly for Vinho Verde but normal white wine too, it's very nice. The region is very pretty and filled with history. We stopped to check out what looked like a cool abandoned square by the small road we were taking, and came upon a small place with a big historic significance. The little place of Ponte do Mouro, it's where 648 years ago the Duque Lancaster came from England to meet D. João I, to arrange the wedding of Philipa of Lancaster with John I (the first), creating the Windsor Treaty in 1386, which is the oldest alliance between two nations. Big History for such a tiny location. My theory is that they both got heavily drunk on local Alvarinho wine, and drunkenly promised eternal friendship between their countries, but that's just my theory @Sofia is very enthusiastic about History, and I got to hear of how great Philipa was, and how her marriage with D.João I originated the best kings and leaders, and characters in Portuguese history. We rolled off, but this being a tiny region, we stopped 20 minutes later to cool off as the sun was coming out, a little before 3PM, for a cold water and a sip of that local cold wine they talk about. Just a sip, as I don't drink on the bike. We stopped on a cafe just on the road, and this is the sign to the entrance of the farm next door Hey @boboneleg, look, bins! Shortly after, made it to Melgaço, and went to walk around to see the castle and show Sofia around the place. From there we were too far away get to Tras os Montes or Galicia through nice roads, so I hunted around and found a deal for a nice room in Ponte da Barca, which is a nice small town in the heart of the Minho region. I think it's a hidden gem and wanted to show it to Sofia, so we went. Via some nice but easy twisty roads through wild forests and vineyeards, by 18:30 we were there. Great hotel room view, and I do like a deal. The river is just on the other side of the gardens on the previous picture, and we would have plenty of sunlight time to have a little walk around town before dinner, it's a small place. I found a small very old school restaurant for dinner, it's the building on the right in the next picture. Not much choice anyway as tuesday is the day when most restaurants close here. View from the restaurant. We had hake filets cooked like a portuguese grandmother would. It was a very nice meal, watered with local vinho verde, I loved it. And then a short stroll across the bridge, as night arrived. In the morning, it was raining, so we took our time to get up and lazily walk up the street for a coffee. This is by far the wettest region of Portugal, but I was determined to leave late and chase the rain instead of riding under it. Only after 11 did we roll out, by midday it was already properly hot under the rain stuff so we stopped to take all that off and visit Lindoso Castle. We had avoided the rain, great success! We left Lindoso, and minutes later crossed into Galicia, a couple of hours later through nice flowing roads that much pleased Sofia in her Speed Triple, we stopped at Allariz. In Allariz, at 15:00, there was not a place to eat a snack, only two proper restaurants for proper sit down meals. We didn't vibe with the place, so had a water and carried on, I booked a table at my favourite restaurant near Bragança and headed there. Almost two hours later, we're entering back into Portugal: As always, a great dinner was had near Bragança, I didn't take pictures. The next day we'd roll south and onto Serra da Estrela, I'll continue later.