D’Oliva is a Italian/Mediterranean restaurant in the Matosinhos suburb of Oporto. The restaurant is open and airy with a modern, upscale atmosphere. The wine list is relatively extensive with some very pleasant local choices. The food is heavy on pasta dishes, but includes a few traditional Portuguese options too. The dessert menu was a bit small, but everyone seemed to find what they were looking for. Our party was large and the service was a bit slow, but overall, decent. The prices were a bit high for the offerings, but the ambiance was definitely the reason. This was clearly a restaurant for celebrations or special dinners. Parking in the area seemed to be a bit of a problem.

There are many versions for this legend, but the best known is the one of a knight who, in a morning of fog, was chasing a deer (some versions say it was a hare) in the Sousa River’s Hell's Heights.

The deer - representing the Devil in disguised - was running towards the abyss, trying to fool the knight. His horse got scared and when the knight notice it was too late and they were already over the cliff at Sousa River’s Hell. The knight didn’t have time to stop and shout as a prayer, "Our Lady of Salto, save me."

That’s when Our Lady appears and the miracle happens as the floor became soft as wax, and the horse landed on the other side of the river, resulting on the marks made on the rock that even today it’s possible to see (although I think that you must, also, bring a little imagination). This became a century’s old legend and also the most important of the Sousa’s Valley region.

In honour and recognition to Our Lady, the knight thanked the miracle building a small chapel and a small image of the Lady of Salto (Salto = Jump) - the chapel is real ;-)

The place on the municipality of Paredes it's only 25 km's from the Porto city centre and only about half-an-hour drive (depending on traffic - this time is for the weekend), not easy getting there on public transportation! There's also a local legend associated to the place! Read the journal that I wrote about it, and found out more on this very popular tale! After this visit I suggest that you check on the local gastronomy, that I’m fan of, and taste the wine of the Sousa Region, which is part of the “Vinho Verde” wine region, a particular kind of wine found only in a small part of Portugal (really unique on a worldwide basis). There are several good restaurants around the cities and municipalities of Paredes and Penafiel…