Exploring Porto, Portugal

Here we are with the full cast of characters. From the left: Terri, Lynne, Gina (who flew in from the UK last night), Laura, and me. Our t-shirts sort of match...there was no memo! This will be the first of many blurry pics! 

We headed out to find breakfast. This cheese toastie sandwich was delicious. And my first, and not last, Americano coffee of the trip.

Looking quite pleased with myself!

I think Lynne nailed the expression...

That's about right...

And so it began...the first of many hills.

A cat mural...

Lots of Cristiano Ronaldo posters and swag...

I have no idea...another cat?

Cow on a balcony, because...why not?

It was on to Porto's historic Balhao market...

The market was amazing...we enjoyed one of these fresh fruit drinks.

Admired the mushroom display...

Laughed at the chocolate sardines...sardines are big business here.

It is a really clean, beautiful market...

Me with Lynne and Terri...this will become a familiar sight!

Lots of yummy salads...

We wandered upstairs where there were restaurants...

And another soon-to-be familiar sight...it rained quite often.

Porto's City Hall...

And lots and lots of stairs...

We had signed up for a walking tour and were waiting for it to begin. I spotted this statue...their story is quite interesting. They defied the rigid norms of society at that time. Even after reading it, I'm still not sure why she has to be naked; however...

This building is now the Portuguese Photography Center and the meeting place for our tour. It was originally the jail where these two lovebirds spent time.

Clérigos Tower is the foremost landmark of Porto's history. It opened its doors in 1763, becoming the highest bell tower in Portugal, at over 75 m. You can climb to the top for spectacular views of the city.

An arrow! The first of many we would see while walking the Camino.

This crowded spot is Livraria Lello, one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. It opened in 1906 and is now one of Porto's oldest bookstores. The bookstore is also said to have inspired the creation of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series, attracting travelers from all over the world. J.K. Rowling lived in Porto for 18 months while teaching English.

The bookstore was part of our walking tour and we had a fixed time for entry. 

It is pretty spectacular!

They also had a themed Le Petit Prince room in honour of the 80th anniversary of its publishing.

All the Harry Potter books you could want...

Beautiful ceiling...

Upstairs...

There were many Time magazine covers, including Hemingway and Toni Morrison. Hemingway's cover from 1954 showed that Time cost $6/year. 

It is pretty cool. As we were leaving, we heard a man say to his partner "We stood in line for 30 minutes and paid 8€ to see this?" I guess some people are harder to impress!

While waiting for the others to come out of the bookstore, we headed to the square nearby. Capela das Almas church is known for the blue mural and its interior. Unfortunately, there was no time to visit.

We were walking again...

Our enthusiastic tour guide was from Italy, spoke many languages and was a veterinary before becoming a guide. She said she is much happier now. 

I guess they have naked boy statues too...

Another tourist attraction...McDonalds. Supposedly, one of the most elegant.

Worth a peek...

I loved the stone on the side of the building...

Next stop on the tour...the train station! 

It was very pretty with the tile murals.

And the ceiling which shows the Minho River on the left and Douro on the right. They are the most important rivers in the region.

Walking again...I was in awe of these hills.

Approaching the Porto Cathedral...uphill, of course!

The clock tower standing tall...

Our first 5 feet picture...also one of many to follow.

Porto Cathedral...the ground was broken for it in the year 1110 and it was completed in 1737. 

Many people do the Camino beginning in Porto. We would be starting ours in Baiona, Spain and walking 128 km. I'm glad we didn't choose Porto as our starting point. At 248 km, it would have almost doubled our walk.

We walked across the Douro River via the Luis I Bridge...very busy with pedestrians and vehicles.

The view on one side of the bridge...

And the other side...Porto is a beautiful city.

Serra do Pilar Monastery is visible from almost everywhere in Porto, standing dramatically on top of the cliff. What I also remembered from this moment was the dude in the lower right corner, constantly tweeting on his bird whistles. We debated buying all of them to shut him up!

Next it was a cable car ride...why not?

It seemed like a short ride, but was an easy way to get back to ground level.

This is where our guide left us, and we enjoyed a wet tour of the Douro River.

Another view of the monastery...

The Fab 5 or, as we became known on the trail, the 5 Canadians...

The tour was over and it was really enjoyable in spite of the weather.

Portuguese sardines...I'm just going to have to take their word on how good they are.

A fun piece of art...

Fine ports since 1715...they take their ports seriously here!

More animal friends...

Glad we weren't going up there!

Walking back across the bridge on the lower level...

OMG...why was I complaining about that last set of stairs. This is what we decided to tackle

Not looking totally enthused with our decision...

One last look at the bridge and we were climbing...

We were trying to distract ourselves...oh look! Pretty purple flowers. We should stop and look at them. The flowers are pretty, but these Ipomoea vines are really taking over in some places and are very invasive. They are similar to a potato vine.

Getting there and still smiling...sort of!

And carrying on...

We did it!! Impressive for rookies.

Heading back towards our apartment...downhill this time.

Ooh...a black cat! We were seeing a lot of Halloween decorations.

Back near City Hall...

We stopped for dinner at Brasao, a very popular restaurant. In Portugal, they put these snacks on the table and, if you eat them, you pay for them. Pretty smart as we ate them every time. 

Our server making Sangria for Lynne and Laura...

A look at the menu...

Lynne looks pretty happy with her fruit bowl of Sangria.

We ordered the "blooming" onion to share...we were really hungry by now.

They use lots of coarse salt. And what was this tar-like spread? Black garlic, and it was delicious.

I had caramelized goat cheese with honey and walnuts. It was yummy!

The Portuguese francesinha sandwich, originally from Porto, is made with layers of toasted bread and assorted hot meats such as roast, steak, wet-cured ham, linguiça, or chipolata, over which sliced cheese is melted by the ladling of a near-boiling tomato and beer sauce. Gina and Laura went for it. Lovingly called a heart attack on a plate!

We got a few compliments and the odd look with our matching shirts. 

I was happy to get back to the apartment. It was a busy day! Porto is a lovely city. Steps for the day...

Tomorrow we're heading to Baiona, Spain, where we will start our Camino walk.