Porto

---

This morning I explored the city of Porto - the historic old part of the city, anyway. Today is Sunday so most businesses are closed, but there were plenty of tourists out. Aside from Portuguese, English was the most commonly spoken language that I heard, and French was a close second. My taxi driver didn't speak English, but we were able to communicate a little bit in French - a second language for both of us. Porto is primarily a working city, but the scenic waterfront along the Douro River is good for a pleasant stroll. I enjoyed the walk despite the throngs (see first two photos). At some sights the queues were so long that I gave up trying to see them. There is a bookstore with an unusual interior architecture that supposedly inspired JK Rowling when she wrote the Harry Potter series. I thought I'd pop in for a quick look, but the queue stretched down an entire block (see photo). Porto has some interesting sights, but nothing that you would call a blockbuster, so I'm sure that I didn't miss anything vital. I did see many examples of the blue-on-white tile work for which Porto is famous (see photo of the waiting hall in train station). I toured a port wine lodge where they barrel and age port (see photo). After the tour, there was a port tasting where I found that I don't really care for white port, but Late Bottle Vintage (LBV) is not bad.

---