Include a Trip with Travels of the Fork & Cork in Your Plans This Year!

If you are like Ed and I, you enjoy the experiences that come with traveling.

Of course, that rarely includes the "getting there", but it does encompass all the pleasures we have once we "get there". And this appreciation for each locale is what has us going to fewer locations each trip but getting more into each of the places we do visit. We tend to pack in more day trips from our central location into our vacations. Gone are the days of repacking our suitcases each day to move onto a new city, state or country. This way, you come away with a fuller feeling of the area visited - like you actually know the area.

This desire to learn a bit more about different regions are behind the trip Travels of the Fork & Cork is offering this fall. Should you travel with us to northern Portugal, you will come away with a real understanding of the region, its history, its food and its wine. And what very interesting stories the area has to tell. Whether it is the age old history of the UNESCO World Heritage City of Guimaraes, the port quintas where we will taste this fortified wine or the train ride along the breathtaking Douro River we will come away with a strong appreciation for an area with tales worth understanding and appreciating.

The trip has been planned so that you will be able to fully enjoy yourself. Our small group will stay in an interesting location that comes complete with excellent food, wine and beautiful surroundings. The trip will include fascinating historical sites as well as vineyards, markets and some cooking classes to tie all the delicious flavors together.

Don't you want to join us this Fall?

It's easy to sign up for a trip. Call or email to ensure there is space and follow this with a completed registration form and $500 per person to hold your place. The remaining payment is due 60 days before the trip (July 20). Make sure you have your airline tickets, and a valid passport. We will pick you up at a mutually agreed location and take care of your travel needs during the week we travel together.

Look forward to hearing from you - your questions about the trips are encouraged!

The Happy Marriage of Food and Wine

As we have traveled over the years we have always found our best trips were those in which the region produced both good wine and food. There are many reasons for our appreciation of these areas. Such a combination makes for lovely meals. It seems so much easier to pair wine and food when they are coming from the same terroir. There is a natural feeling to the combinations created. It also seems to us that folks in areas that produce good wine and food seem to appreciate the pleasures of the table more than in other areas of the world. A meal becomes more than simply refueling the body, it becomes an opportunity to refuel the soul as well. There are few better things in life than the chance to linger over good wine, food and conversation!

The trip we are taking this fall showcases this synergy of wine and food. The north of Portugal has achieved world wide renown for its famous port. Equally delicious are the fresh wines or the Vinho Verde and the acclaimed red wines of the Douro River valley. The region brings together longstanding wine and food traditions. We will explore the flavors and history of these traditions, from trout and cod to an array of sausages to a fabulous seafood stew.

Join us and see if you don't agree!