In Portugal #1

Val had the great idea to see if RyanAir or EasyJet had cheap flights out of Marseilles.  Which is how we found ourselves flying to Porto for a few days.

Porto is Portugal’s second largest city, sitting on both sides of the mighty Douro River.  It is the center of the country’s port industry (that sweet wine you sip while playing whist with the chaps down at the Club).   It’s a city that was once rich and is now a bit frayed around the edges but still a lot of fun.

We spent a morning in the Ribeira district, which rests along the docks and is lined with colorful, skinny houses.  It sits in the shadow of the Luis I bridge, designed by Gustave Eiffel (of tower fame).  Then we took a tour of a port cellar and had dinner at a nice restaurant with a fabulous view looking down over the city and river.

The next day we took a river cruise to see the city’s six famous bridges, several of which were designed by Eiffel.  The river is very steep on both sides and historically created a huge natural barrier, blocking the Moors' advance north in the days of the Islamic caliphate.

The food was great and we especially enjoyed the seafood.  And we were finally able to get a decent espresso! (Note to France – your cuisine is glorious but seriously, you can’t master a dish whose only ingredients are coffee beans and water?)

Everyone we met was very friendly and we were surprised by how much French was spoken.  We were mistaken once for Canadians because we spoke both English and French.  Another time we were mistaken for French, which really made Val’s day.

KVS

Porto at night

Cool tile-covered church

The Ribeira district

Eiffel's bridge

The Majestic Cafe

So much port, so little time