We left London EARLY Saturday morning (on three hours sleep), which guaranteed an early arrival in Porto Portugal. Note to self, flying out of Gatwick while staying in downtown London is not the best idea! However, we made it safely to Porto before 10am and caught an Uber to our hotel in old town Porto. Once there, we quickly toured the neighborhood and were amazed at the quirky and colorful architecture. Most of the buildings in old town are very vertical, close together, and brilliantly colored. We also walked across the Ponte Luis I bridge spanning over the Douro River and visited the neighborhood of Gaia across the river and did some shopping. Afterwards we returned to our hotel and took a brief 5 hour nap to recharge. Later that evening we walked through the Ribeira district up to the Porto Cathedral and got some beautiful pictures of the city skyline as the sun was setting. We finished the evening by getting dinner at a local tapas restaurant and enjoying the local musicians playing on the streets.
On Sunday we decided to take a hop on-hop off bus tour of the city. OK, moment of honesty, the bus spent a bit too much time at the bus stops...but the tour was nice and we got to check out most of the city in around 2 hours. We decided that we had chosen the best location in the city for our hotel in old town. Our lunch that day consisted of sangria and wine as we sat at a local cafe and again took in some music from the local performers. We finished the evening off by going to an Irish bar and watching the Euro soccer final between England and Spain with dozens of tipsy English and Spanish fans. It was quite an interesting time!
Monday was our last full day in Porto and we began by going to Gaia again to complete some more shopping. We stopped at a local Port winery for a tasting and both decided that we still don't like port wine! While shopping we also watched a local boys choir sing some traditional Portuguese songs and Katie found herself a new dance partner (see picture!). We later visited the supposed birthplace of Henry the Navigator down the street from the hotel. That evening we toured the Porto Calem Port Winery, had a few tastings and again decided that we both still don't like port wine. After the tasting we were able to watch a traditional Portuguese Fado show which was quite entertaining. We later grabbed a late dinner (sushi and pizza) and hung out on the river bank and again watched a local band play some music as the sun set.
One additional item to mention, each morning we began our day by having a wonderfully delicious breakfast at our little hotel. Our hosts, Olga and Fernando graciously served us cheeses, meats, fruits, jam and breads all produced either locally or within the country (see the last picture). For each item, there was nice story about it's production and ultimate arrival on our plates. Words fail to describe how delicious each item was!!
Tomorrow we rent a car back at Porto airport and drive to the Douro valley, famous for its wine production.
That's all for now. Until next time, adeus!
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