A night in a convent

After standing on the very edge of the continent for a quick photo-op, we hit the highway to get up to our first Pousada, this one in Amares. Garmina, as we dubbed our GPS, guided us through serpentine roads through tiny towns, as is her tendency. As a result we arrived after 8 at Santa Maria do Bouro in the tiny town of Amares. The Pousada is in an old convent and is, we discovered, easily mistaken for an active church. After a tour of the back garden and driving up the narrowest unlit rill-lined driveway I've ever navigated, we ventured into the church for directions and found ourselves inside what would be our favorite of all the Pousadas.




The rooms are the old nuns' cells, recently and beautifully updated to hotel standards. The arcade around the central courtyard has been glassed-in to form the hallways, so that the interior rooms are cozy and warm while affording a nice view.


We dined in having noticed that the town of Amares, like most we visited outside of Lisbon and Oporto, rolled up its sidewalks at dusk. The restaurant occupies what was the refectory and kitchen of the old convent. We were one of three tables being served that night, which we would soon learn made this a crowded restaurant. Our waitress, a young twenty-something from Madeira, seemed to enjoy our willingness to try anything that was "authentically Portugese" and encouraged us to drink the local red (not great) from the traditional cups--i.e. something close to a cereal bowl--keeping one finger hooked over the rim of the cup.




Everywhere we went, there were beautiful little details in every-day objects. This is the pocket of a pool table.