DAY 4 : PORTUGAL : PORTO

Weather : sunny, warm, 20o - absolutely divine day

Sunday (Domingo) - a day of rest....

Breakfast at a local bakery - so many pastry

decisions. Very good coffee.

Then I took Mark on a walking tour.

We started at the local railway station with

its magnificent tiled entrance hall telling of

Portuguese historical events.

Views of the cathedral and the upper levels of

the Ribeira district.

Walking down the narrow alleyways we had

brilliant views of the river.

Lots of locals and tourists out on the foreshore

enjoying a sunny Sunday morning.

Small cruise boats out taking tourists on the

bridge tour - kayakers taking advantage of

the boat's wake.

Enjoying drinks at a local cafe in the sunshine.

While looking at local ceramic ware ran into

Ralph, a fellow walker, who is in Porto for a few days as well,

unbeknownst to us. We arranged to have dinner

together tonight.

 

Lunch at a restaurant on the shore. The

bridge in the background was designed by

Gustav Eiffel.

Climbing up the hill through the

alleyways to Batalha Plaza where

we are staying.

 

We are finding Porto a very easy city to travel around. Many people speak English well and are very helpful to tourists. We think that it may be because most of the international TV programs are in English (subtitled in Portuguese) and are not dubbed as they are in France and Spain. There are many English channels - including a Fox movie channel - so we've caught up on many movies and series. There have even been episodes of The Block and Border Control.

 

In Portugal business hours are also more aligned to Australia. Most shops are open from 9.30 and open up until 9.30 at night, closed on Sundays. Unlike France and Spain, where businesses opened later (10 am) and then closed for siesta (12.30 -5.00) (everything closed on Mondays in France) - main business hours in Spain were 5-8pm, except for bars/ cafes. Very difficult if you are trying to find a open post office or speciality store.

 

Lots of great shopping potential here as well - particularly shoes!! All the best international brands represented - very reasonably priced - just a shame it's all winter styles..and I have such little room in my backpack.

 

 

 

M&M
18/11/12
Our email : mm_smith@bigpond.net.au