Porto, Portugal

From Madeira it was on to Porto via another flight. The only thing notable about this flight was the very, very long walk from the gate to the luggage pickup area. Then it was on to our hotel, the Hospes Infante Sagres Porto in the heart of the old section of Porto. We stayed in this hotel the first time we were in Portugal in 1986! The only thing we remembered was the beautiful stairway and that it was an elegant hotel, both of which are still true.

To take a tour of the city I had arranged a Tuk-Tuk tour. Belatedly I realized we had to go to a meeting place. So, following a bit of a panic attack and a taxi ride, we arrived at the meeting place 10 minutes late, but fortunately our Tuk-Tuk driver was patiently waiting for us. Then we were on our way winding our way through the city. Our driver was a character!

The next day we were off on a full-day tour of the Douro Valley with port and wine tastings, plus a boat ride. We had an excellent tour leader and four nice companions, an Irish couple and two younger ladies, Canadians from Vancouver, BC, one of whom was celebrating her 29th birthday. She had the misfortune of having “Happy Birthday” sung to her twice. It was a perfect day with outstanding scenery, a very good lunch in a nice restaurant and lots of wine and port for tasting complemented with good presentations.

Although we learned lots about port and why this 1888 port would still be wonderful, we were not given an opportunity to confirm that for certain. However, we were served generous quantities of good port, tawny and ruby. After a full day, we returned to the hotel and opted to have dinner in the hotel restaurant, which was very good.

The next day our first sightseeing activity was going to a bookstore, yes, a bookstore for which we had to buy timed tickets to enter and wait in line! Steve opted out when he saw the line, but we actually only had to wait about 20 minutes. The bookstore is called Livraria Lello and was included in a Travel & Leisure magazine article about some of the world’s most beautiful bookstores. I have to admit it was quite the bookstore. The price of the ticket was deducted if you made any purchases, which of course, we did.

On our last evening in Porto we attended a Fado concert held at a room in the train station. There were two musicians and the singer, all three excellent.

To conclude our Porto visit (3 nights), I will end with a few city photos. Bill and Pam leave for home in the morning while Steve and I go on to Lisbon for three nights.