Free Day in Porto

Determined to have a better day, we made our way to the Douro River and rented some bikes. We had a wonderful morning cycling the 22 km loop to the main beach and back. There were lots of picturesque spots to enjoy and the weather was cooler than in the downtown area. Even in mid September there were people surfing and swimming or just sun bathing at the beach and we paused to sit, watch, and listen to the waves crashing against the rocks. Once back in town we sought out a restaurant to try the local dish called Francesinhas. Gilles liked it and I tolerated it but wouldn’t be passing the recommendation on. We then crossed the bridge to visit Gaia on the opposite side of the Douro River. It was lively with lots of street musicians, local artisans selling their wares and many restaurants to enjoy right at the waters edge. We passed the afternoon strolling around and met the group at 4:30 for a one hour river cruise, followed by a port tasting experience and then a supper out. Half of the group is continuing on to Spain for the next two weeks and the other half will return home tomorrow. At the port tasting you had the choice of 3 glasses of port or 4 port filled chocolates. 3 guesses on what I chose and the first two don’t count! It was a lovely last day in Portugal and we are grateful to have been able to see and do all that we did.Weiterlesen