A day on the Duoro

We went to the Duoro River area today to explore the historic riverfront of Ribeira and walk over the Ponte Dom de Luis I. First we got off the metro at Jardim do Morro and admired the views from Sera de Pilar viewpoint and St. Augustin monastery. We then walked back on the top level of Ponte Luis and ended up at Se de Porto (Cathedral) all with great views over Porto and Duoro river. It was a a bit of a drizzly day so we went for a late lunch at a top rated riverside restaurant (a Christmas present from Shaun and Caitlin and the girls). After that, when the rain cleared, we took a boat tour on the river, under the 6 bridges, two of which were designed by M. Eiffel and his protege in 1886 and 1896, the bridges didn't look that old at all! On our way home we stopped off at Sao Francisco do Porto (Cathedral).

Toilet review from an Avora café: would have been 7/10 but it was elevated to a 9/10 by cartoon pop art on the toilet doors and a basin made of a very large single slab of Roman marble.

Also our apartment (although we can't fault the setup and amenities) must be sited on or near the underground/metro lines. It feels like a small earthquake every 10 minutes or so. Now we know how it felt in 'The Blues Brothers' apartment !Read more