Day 5: Exploring the city/Porto à pied

We awoke to a very cool morning and yet again I was regretting not buying the lightweight warm jacket before I left for the trip. I wrapped up in three layers plus a scarf and Bev had even more on. At least the sun was shining as we walked down the street looking at buildings many of which were from a bygone era. They are covered with little colourful tiles which makes them look very beautiful. There is quite a bit of restoration of old buildings going on and it seems the city authorities must value their heritage.

Our hat seller

Don't we look cool

As we were walking along a pedestrianized street Bev spied a hat seller and before I knew it a variety of hats were being popped on my head. Eventually, having found the right size a hat was duly bought. It was only €5. There is no way I would get something like that for the price in NZ. The seller spoke passable English and used the time with us to practice. He told us that things were cheap in Portugal and lots of people from Europe visited because of the value for money proposition. He also told Bev how to hold her bag so that she did not get robbed by pickpockets who were around.

We did a lot of walking. There is a bridge designed by Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame) which now takes the light rail on the top and cars near river level. It is very beautiful and we were able to walk across it. The views on the other side of the river of the old city called the Ribeira are stunning, especially on the sunny day we experienced.

It was a public holiday (Labour Day) so the crowds were out in force. There was serious traffic congestion on the roads along the river with traffic almost at a standstill.

Rio Douro - looking east

Tiled Church typical of Porto

It was a day of wandering and looking at the interesting shapes and colours of a Portuguese city. The old city is beautiful with the tiled and various coloured walls. There are narrow streets or laneways to explore and it is mostly cobbled which can make it hard to walk on. Tourists in this area are abundant. English and French is the most frequently spoken language other than Portuguese. Most of the people we spoke to had English even if only one or two words, but French is also common. By the end of the day we desparately needed a toilet. It was then we discovered, like many other countries, public toilets are not the most common feature. We did manage to find one but for a place frequented by tourists it was closed for the public holiday!

Our solution was to go to a café have a beer (we were thirsty as well) and use the facilities. It was actually a good move as we were in a place close to the river so were able to watch both people and the activity on the river.

On our way back to the apartment we happened upon a concert which must have been to celebrate the day. There was a huge crowd watching the band which were belting our songs in Portuguese (of course) with some interesting sounds. We stayed, watching and listening for a while.

Before our return to the apartment we visited the local supermarket and got some wine. So far we have had a vinho verde which is literally green wine and refers to both the region Minho in the north of the country and the fact it is young. It is rather good, low alcohol and refreshing.

We were a little tired to say the least when we got to bed. In fact I crashed out. Perhaps all the travel and activity had caught up with me.