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Published: July 18th 2023
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Our first sight of Porto was early evening, bustling crowds crossing Ponte Luis (bridge) on two levels, alongside cars and trams, and a funicular railway lifted you to further heights, whilst cable cars traversed the Vila Nova de Gaia bank. Colourful houses piled high above each other, intertwined by cobbled streets. It was delightful. Music came from all directions, the bars and many street entertainers, soft, sultry, jazzy sounds, and not a bad voice to be heard. In the evening the crowds gather across the river to watch the sun going down, quite an event, there must have been several hundred people on a hill, listening to music and applauding the sunset.
Our campsite for the night was certainly not so romantic, a tiny car park. We got in with the help of a guy named Manuel, his talent is cheerfully navigating cars, campers and motorhomes into this tiny space. Although nervous about getting Django damaged there was something about Manuel that gave us confidence to leave her, and we were right in the centre of Porto for 24 hours!
In the daylight hours Porto also didn’t disappoint, we undertook a walking tour from my trusty guidebook, and although
we got hopelessly lost, we really enjoyed the sights. There are wonderful ceramic tile paintings on many of the buildings, we captured the pictures inside the railway station (Sao Bento) and outside a beautiful church Igreja de Carmo, which was also had elaborate frescos inside. Stopping to look at a ‘not to be missed’ bookshop Livoria Lello, we found crowds queuing to get inside, so we decided to miss it and listen to the musicians outside instead, after all the lead singer was playing ukulele.
We took a fun ride on a historic route no.1 tram right along the river (Douro) to the sea at the Castelo de Joao da Foz and a lovely shingly beach. Back by the Ponte Luis, we found a group of student musicians in their black gowns performing and dancing with flags and tambourines. Musically Kim didn’t rate them, but what they lacked in ability they made up for in energy and enthusiasm. They are reportedly going on tour to the Algarve, so we may see them again!
Across the river the views of Porto are great, its also where many of the famous name port wine merchants have (or had) their warehouses.
The port was brought down from the Douro valley by boat, once quite a challenge, but they have since built 5 dams in the Douro and I guess they also transport the wine by road now, but there are many replica boats used for sightseeing. The area now a trendy place to eat and drink- port of course! We tried the local cuisine, I had a Francesinha – traditional Porto sandwich filled with beef, ham sausage, covered in cheese and a spicy sauce, but I much preferred Kim’s Bacalhau (dry salted cod) in cream and cheese… our food experiences are definitely improving!
Travelling further south now along the Atlantic coast, but where will the Portuguese winds blow us?
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Gary & Vicki
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Hiya Hope you are having a great time and make sure you save some of that Port for when you get back!!!