Praça do Município

From the people who put the "Portu" in Portugal, it's Porto. Known locally as Oporto, we're in Portugal's second largest city. It's changed a bit since our first visit over 15 years ago. The tourism industry is thriving, even in November. We like to get out of the Ribeira district, the area at the bottom of a big hill along the river. That's a wonderful area to stroll and get lost. But there are a fair amount of touts and tourist traps that go along with it.

We got an apartment for 3 nights near the Trindade station. It's a metro station where all the 5 metro lines intersect. It turns out we hardly used the metro. But an all day pass cost only 5 Euros apiece, so why not? We did end up using buses several times. They're great for getting up those hills! There are lots and lots of hills.

We've been here twice, so we had no agenda. Porto is not known for its museums. The city itself is a living museum. It lies on the Douro river, and that valley is famous for it's Douro wines and the namesake Port wine. The Brits were the ones who mixed brandy and sugar with the (then) astringent local red wine, producing the famous port wine. Across the Douro is the town of Vila Nova de Gaia, where there are dozens or port wine warehouses and Adegas (wine cellars). And with that are lots and lots of tasting rooms.

On our first full day, we walked and walked and walked. We told ourselves we wouldn't use our phones, but I cheated :) It was a nice sunny day and we decided on an impulse to take a river tour. We have been here 3 times and never have taken the full river and wine region tour, mostly because it's been in the off-season. But also because that famous tour is done by bus at least half of the way. So we jumped on a large boat with 5 other people for an hour tour up and down the vicinity of the city.

We reminisced about how we took a local train following the river up to Paso de Regua in 2007 and from there took a rickety narrow gauge train up to Vila Real. We naively bought a dusty bottle of wine in Regua at a workman's lunch place, not knowing it was decorative and had turned. No wonder the owners looked at us so strangely as we paid a few bucks for it. We wanted to drink wine on a romantic, almost obsolete narrow-gauge train line. The wine was vinegar, but we loved that moment. Two years later, they closed that train line that hugged the valley full of vineyards.

After the boat ride, we caught a bus to a neighborhood away from tourist areas. I was hoping to find a local place with a set meal. You get a real feel for a city in these type of places. I found one with Google Maps with reviews and the bus we took plopped us off in front of it. There was no messing around in here. We squeezed into a table and had 4 choices of entrees from the set menu for 8 Euro each. That included a carafe of wine, soup, bread, and espressos. We ordered a pork dish with sausage chunks and pasta. I couldn't eat the pasta, but it was good and filling. At one point Deanne noticed she was the only woman in the place. Other customers were construction workers and laborers. But the boss was an older waitress who took no shit and ran a tight ship. I just read somewhere online that the Portuguese drink more than any other Europeans. I don't doubt it. Seriously, people drink 2/3 of a bottle of wine for lunch here daily. And then go off to wire electricty in houses, or whatever they do. But over an hour, with lots of food, and an espresso (bica) to end it, that's a nice lunch break.

With lunches like that and walking all day, we don't go clubbing anymore :) So it was an early night for us with snacks, olives, and cheese for dinner. On the way home at night, we saw a group of female university students walking and singing. They were wearing all black, with capes. I thought "They look like Hogwarts." And then I remembered that J.K. Rowling used to live in Porto. I had the epiphany that she used this tradition of Portuguese university students when developing Hogwart attire. She actually wrote the first few books while living here, so prove me wrong.

The next day, we set out again without an agenda, other than the fact that we wanted to go to Vila Nova de Gaia again. We didn't need to do any more Port tasting, but it's a great area to stroll across and along the Douro River. It was Thanksgiving and Deanne made a reservation at a nice restaurant on the 3rd floor with views of the river and the Ribeira neighborhood of Porto. To get there, we walked on the lower level of the "Eiffel" bridge. It was designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel and looks like the Eiffel tower on it's side. Just upstream is the original "Eiffel" bridge that he designed, but it is now defunct and no trains use it. This Luis I bridge in the center of the city is still well used by trams on top and tourists walking on the lower level and the upper level next to the trams.

The lunch at DeCastro Gaia was fantastic. I got Bacalhau for my last time in Portugal. It's the classic cod dish. It's dried, salted, and then reconstituted with several days of washes and rinses. Sounds horrible, but it tastes like fresh fish, especially when soaking in olive oil, garlic, and onions. I love it. And, it's the protein that sustained ancient Portuguese mariners, so it's good enough for me. We sampled some port with lunch, ordered a Douro white bottle, and sprung for dessert. A meal like this in the states would have set us back 3-4 times as much.

There's a Teleferico, or tram that runs along the river. It leads from river level up to the higher walkway on the bridge. So we opted for that instead of a taxi or a long uphill walk to the bridge. We knew we wanted to walk on the upper level for the amazing views. For 7 Euros each, we were on our way. It's a short ride, but well worth it. And that walk back across the Douro is worth it too. We've been so lucky with the weather -only one day of rain so far after 2 1/2 weeks. It hit 16 C today, or about 61 F and sunny.

This is the end of our stay in Portugal. Tomorrow, we take a bus to Santiago de Campostela, Spain. The train was sold out, but luckily the bus stations are next to the train stations, so it's about the same cost in time and money for a bus vs. train. Portugal has been a blast. The food, weather, wine, and sights never disappoint. And we had the added bonus of hanging out with friends from different corners of the world.

The Portuguese language is my nemesis. I know enough Spanish to make me dangerous. And we have studied Portuguese in the past with a Brazilian, and have visited Brazil. And that means massive confusion! But more and more Portuguese people speak English, so it hasn't been too bad. I'm looking forward to getting to Spain, where I'll do better with my language skills.

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