----- Porto -----
We left Coimbra on Tuesday afternoon and proceeded by high-speed rail to Porto.
Here we are waiting for the train in Coimbra. Fortunately the strike lasted only one day, Monday. I guess the workers needed a long weekend.
The train ride was great! We had four seats facing each other with a table between us.
Leaving the station in Porto we were met by a couple cars, which we had arranged with the VRBO owners, and taken to our new home by the Douro.
This is the view from the balcony off the upstairs bedroom. Not bad.
Walking out the door of our building and walking a block or so east brought is to the Plaça da Ribeira.
Time for a Super Bock, the most popular beer in Porto.
Or maybe a small bottle of Tanquery Ten. Unfortunately, it was empty, just a prop.
Looking west along the Plaça. There were countless restaurants, bars, and tourists like us.
Here we are with the Ponte de D. Luis I in the background. Another steel structure designed by a disciple of Gustave Eiffel.
Looks like we're enjoying our beers as we stroll along the river. Imagine being permitted to walk along the sidewalk, beer in hand, with no guardrails protecting you from falling into the river in the US!
The cobbler comes to life and hammers once on the shoe for each coin thrown in his bucket.
Click here and see the cobbler come to life!
This is how we knew where we were.
Another phone both with an actual phone in it!
This is the view from the little balcony off our downstairs living room, looking southwest toward the river.
Later, we ventured out for some of Porto's famous seafood.
Mussels!
Prawns! or are those crayfish? I had some nice octopus which was not very photogenic.
The next morning we hiked up the hill to the São Bento Train Station, famous for its azulejos, the hand-painted tiles.
Here are some of the tiles
The whole atrium is covered with scenes depicted using these azulejos
This is the actual train station.
This little write-up was outside the Livraria Lello, what is now a bookshop, and supposedly one of the sites which inspired J.K. Rowling while writing Harry Potter. She lived in and taught English in Porto for a couple years.
Azulejos on the side of Igreja das Carmelitas
The Ponte de D. Luis I has two levels. The lower on for cars and pedestrians and the upper one for the local train and pedestrians.
We decided to take the high road to cross the Douro.
We were rewarded with some great views of Porto on the north and the separate city of Vila Nova de Gaia on the south.
We're standing on the bridge with the Plaça da Ribeira over Lorri's shoulder in the background.
The Port "Lodges" are located in Vila Nova de Gaia, usually shortened to "Gaia",
Another view of Porto from the bridge.
You have to watch out for the trains.
You can see the building in which we stayed and the balcony off the upstairs bedroom if you know where to look!
Neither Mike nor Lorri enjoy heights very much and they were a little nervous crossing the bridge.
We had another surprise for them!
We hopped on the gondola to get us down to street level again.
We all survived!
Looking up at the gondola with a little of the Sandeman sign.
Before planes, trains, and automobiles, boats similar to these were used to get the Port barrels up and down the river.
Nowadays, they sit there in the water and people take photos of them.
Wednesday evening we went on a foodie/Port wine tour and the first thing we did was walk back across the bridge, this time on the lower level - much less exciting.
This is our group getting a Port lecture at Croft's.
These are Port barrels, probably for tawny Port.
That is the young lady from Croft's that hosted the cellar tour. That barrel she's standing in front of is for aging ruby Port.
She said that some of the barrels used for aging are over 100 years old. I'm going to have to look that up.
The rest of the tour involved walking back across the bridge stopping for a quick glass of wine by the river and then traipsing all the way back up the hill, past San Bento, to a non-descript bar where we had a Port finale. Not the greatest tour we've been on.
In the square, the Mercado Ferreira Borges, in front of our building there was a craft market on Thursday.
Can't remember where in Porto I saw this sign, but In & Out Burgers better look into it.
Deb and Mike took an Uber to the beach that day and Lorri and I decided to continue exploring the city.
I think that sign means "Serious Stairs". Maybe not, but they were steep and plentiful.
We climbed up and up.
And then looked down. From this point we still had a long way to go.
So, naturally, when we found level ground at the top, we stopped for a SB!
We also had a very good pork sandwich at this place.
Here is a picture of the pig.
I had to check out the guitar shop
You see street musicians playing these types of instruments all over Portugal.
I didn't have the guts to try playing one. I should have. Not sure I would have known what to do with the ten-string but maybe I could have played a chord or two on the 12-string.
I did a triple take when I saw this girl perched on the rail three stories off the ground. I yelled for her to get down. She didn't answer. Also, notice the azulejos!
Jeez, you'd think all we did was drink.
Well, we ate too!
This was October 4th, my birthday dinner with Mike and Deb.
We had steak
We had potatoes and a codfish dish
We had chips and salad
and...what was this?
It was a great dinner! Thanks, Deb and Mike!
Open your eyes, Lorri!
Sadly, Deb and Mike had to go back to Lisbon on Friday and leave for home on Saturday.
Lorri and I decided to go back to Gaia and check out a couple more Port Lodges.
So here we are.
We made the long walk to Graham's
We made it!
This is from Graham's looking back up the river.
Poster in the men's room
The Symington Family owns quite a few Port producers as well as vineyards.
There is a nice restaurant at Graham's so we ordered some cheeses and puff balls and a couple beverages to accompany them.
Lorri opted for Champagne but I splurged on a vintage Port.
This is what we drank. It was heaven. Well, I'm not sure about the bubbly, but the Port and Cheeses together were superb!
Walking back toward town, we stopped at Churchill's, a smaller, independent (I think) producer, for another tasting.
Compared to Graham's, this place was tiny, but it was fun.
The lineup
Grade "A" grapes! Yes!
Friday night we cooked dinner in and went to bed early. We needed to catch up on our sleep a little.
Saturday, October 6
Some people express surprise when we tell them we only bring carry-ons for a 3+ week stay in Europe.
Well, this is how we manage. We (meaning Lorri) wash stuff! Then we have to dry it.
Our plan for Saturday was to check out the Bolhão Market but it turns out it had moved to a different temporary location while to old market building is being renovated.
So we walked up and down Rua Santa Catarina, one of the main shopping streets.
There was a lot of Saturday activity.
Including a band from the "Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto", playing for coins.
I think this guy has something to do with the Porto futbal team.
We saw quite a few roasted chestnut venders but never got around to buying any.
They smelled good, though.
We walked in one store and found an old friend.
Talk about azulejos! The Capela das Almas de Santa Catarina is a fine example.
A liquor/wine/Port store
I think this translates to "Chicken Pete's"
Lorri had her heart set on sampling peri-peri chicken and apparently Pedro's was the place to do it. It was off on a side street but we found it after a short search.
They had a lot of chickens cooking, that I know.
We ate our chicken and drank our Vinho Verde up here on the second floor, or floor 1, if you're in Europe.
That evening we ate a place overlooking the river, around the corner from our apartment
It was a little chilly and breezy but we had a great dinner!
And the ambiance was perfect.
The views from our table
Well, I guess Lorri's view wasn't so great.
One more day in Porto and then we'll rent a car at the airport and take off (in the car).
