Out of the Jurisdiction: Along the Douro River

Today we visited a small town along the Douro River, Vila Real.  Outside the town is the palace of the current head of the Mateus family, Casa de Mateus.  A modern sculpture of a nude woman

lies in the reflecting pool, left over from a previous art exhibition at the palace. 

The rear of the palace is as fine as the front of many other grand houses. 

 It leads to rose gardens and topiary hedges.