Arrive Friday evening and check-in the friendly Alqueva accommodation and Alentejo rural house Bética Hotel Rural in Pias / Serpa / Portugal. After a good night's sleep, a dip in the pool (during summer of course) and a good breakfast set out to explore the region.

You can start by visiting the Pulo do Lobo cascade situated in the Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana, north of the city of Mértola and that is where the Guadiana river narrows and its crystal clear waters current speeds down about 20 meters into a huge natural serene lagoon.

Drive towards Serpa and have lunch in one of its restaurants eating the region's specialties such as rabbit, hare, partridge and wild boar during hunting season or simply pork with migas or any other dish on offer and finish in beauty with a "folhado de gila".

You can then visit the Torre do Relógio (Clock Tower that was formerly a dungeon), the gothic Igreja Matriz (Church), the churches of Salvador and Santa Maria (XIV century) and the Igreja da Misericórdia, with interesting eighteenth century tiles, and the Archaeological Museum (closed for works at the moment - August 2011) that presents a permanent exhibition of archaeological artifacts covering a wide chronological period - from the lower Paleolithic to the Islamic period and the Ethnographic Museum which features a collection consisting of various tools and artifacts related to the crafts of saddler, tailor, chair maker, carpenter, basketmaker, blacksmith, tinsmith, potter, shoemaker in the county.

You ca also visit the Clock Museum, where are patents 1700 pieces, all mechanical, dating from the seventeenth century, with several copies of pocket, wrist and room clocks, among others.

Stock up good local and regional produce to take home: like the excellent Serpa and Pias wine, olive oil, bread, the famous Serpa cheese, spicy smoked pork sausage (from black pork) asparagus, harvested in the groves of the plain, wild mushrooms picked in the Sierra area, the olives here are splendid in many ways canned (whole, crushed, "shredded"), honey and traditional desserts like the "tosquiados" (egg whites and almonds), the "turtas" (stuffed with sweet potatoes), the "queijadas de requeijão" with ricotta.

Dine in Pias and if it's summer, we suggest the "lavadas" (cold shredded tomato soup), the "gazpacho" (here called "vinagrada"), and / or river fish stew accompanied by a good Pias wine.

After dinner take a walk through Pias and appreciate Alentejo's tranquility in the evening.

Sunday morning we suggest a dip in the pool of the Bética Hotel Rural to cool off in summer or ride a bike through Pias to see this pretty village.

Sunday lunch is traditionally lamb, roasted or Pastora (region's specialty) and your ready for your trip home or wherever you're going next.