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Published: March 13th 2007
Wow what a trip! Richard and I are now positive that we would win the Amazing Race hands down. We can climb stairs, navigate bus routes, and survive rain storms like troopers. I started my trip with a flight to and an evening in Dublin at Casa Smith where we repacked our belongings into two packs and prepared for the early morning flight.
A quick flight the next day and we were in beautiful Porto, Portugal! We found the info booth to inquire about campgrounds but the lady was very unhelpful so we hopped the metro downtown to find the real info centre. Our first mission was to get to the campground and set up our tent so we could spend the evening wandering the city. We quickly discovered that the nearest campground was an hour outside the city by bus so we enjoyed some traditional churrasco (barbecued) chicken and all the fixings before heading out. The campground was very nice, a little urban, but safe and close to the ocean so we could hear the waves at night. Our first night there we stayed close to the campgrounds and mingled with the locals watching a football match at a
small bar. We had a glass of port wine to start the evening and moved on to a bottle of Douro region red wine which cost a ridiculous 5 euro/litre at the restaurant. Stumbled back to our tent and woke up early the next morning a little sore and stiff from the hard ground.
The second day we took the bus into town in the middle of a rainstorm. We were soaked when we arrived from waiting for the bus so we went into a cafe on the water for brunch and to dry off. I had the most amazing Caldo Verde (traditional kale potato soup) that warmed me up and when we were done eating the sun came out! The rest of the day it was dry but cool. We crossed the river, took the funicular up the hill and wandered the city. We climbed up the Torre dos Clérigos and Richard braved the winds to take pictures of the far side while I cowered in the doorway clutching the wall. We learned from our first night that a bottle of wine helped put us to sleep in the chilly tent so we ended our day with dinner
and another bottle in a cozy little italian owned pub on the river.
The third day we packed in the tent and moved to the comfort of a hotel. We had brunch in the historic Majestic hotel and wandered the city some more.
Day four was our first day trip from Porto, dampered only by the pouring rain. We thought the rain might ease up by the time we got to Braga but alas it did not. We kept on truckin' and took the bus to the Bom Jesus Basilica. There are over 1000 steps through the garden up to the cathedral and since we were already wet we thought it would be fun to do the walk in the rain. By the time we reached the top we were squishing in our shoes and getting a little cranky (wet undies will do that to you) so we decided it was time to head south. Amazing Race style we plotted our stop in Porto. Richard ran to the hotel for our bags while I bought our tickets to Lisbon and some dinner for the ride. Our 25 minute pitstop was completed in a record 15 and we were
soon on our way to sunny times in dry clothes.
Overall we loved Porto. Highlights included cheap wine, tiny streets, and great food. Stay tuned for part 2 from Lisbon!
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Art Vandelay
non-member comment
...nice hair!