Porto, Portugal

The decision to visit Porto in Portugal was easy to make....there was a train for which I had a discount pass (Seniors ;-) and it left at the reasonable hour of 10:00 am in the morning and was faster than the bus.

A whirlwind tour it would be but I figured even a small taste of Portugal was better than none at all.  I really wanted to see if my Spanish would get me by.... and mostly it did.  The Portuguese people seemed to understand me just fine and many words were similar sounding so I was able to grasp a lot of what was said to me.
My hostal was only a few short blocks from the train station and I signed in, dropped my pack and was off to get lost in the labyrinth of Porto streets....and it didn't take long.  While I was lost I found a great pastry shop and stopped to enjoy and snack and some coffee

It seemed there were bakeries and pastry shops on every block; the hard part was deciding what to have.
While still trying to figure out where I was, I spotted an open peluquería or hairdresser's shop.  I was in dire need of a trim and the shop had no other customers in its chairs.  I felt so much lighter and with a clearer head that I was soon able to navigate myself back to the familiar territory of the Plaza de Libertad.
Dominating this plaza is the monument to Portugal's beloved King Pedro IV.

He was such a believer and fighter of preserving the constitution of Portugal during the Civil Wars that he dedicated his heart to the city.  It is interred in the Church of Our Lady Lapa while the rest of his remains were taken to Brazil as he also served as the Emperor of that country.
Porto is a huge, beautiful and elegant city of more than 230,000 people.  The soul of Porto is the Ribeira or riverfront area consisting of medieval streets, alleyways and traditional boats on the Duero River.

It is colorful, crumbling and fascinating and easily the most picturesque part of the city.  So much so, that UNESCO also deemed it worthy of their designation.  I wish I had been keeping track of all the wonderful UNESCO designated spots I have visited just on this trip.
Bridges are also considered one of the highlights of this magnificent city and one of the favorites is the Dom Luis Bridge.  There is a lower level just for vehicles and the upper level is a pedestrian walkway and also for the light rail system of public transport.

There certainly is no shortage of photo opps of stunning buildings and monuments and so to maximize the viewing opportunities, I opted for a bus tour.  It took most of my one full day there but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a beautiful sunny day sitting on the upper open deck of the tour bus.  The commentary was interspersed with great Portuguese music and as it is quite traffic congested the music was indeed appreciated.

Well I could go on and on with the parade of photos taken from the bus but two other things deserve mention before finishing this entry.  First and the most obvious is the production of port wine...hence Porto.  I didn't know that the British invented it by adding brandy to the wine.  Luckily part of the bus tour was to get off and on wherever you liked and it seemed a must to visit a port cellar.

I believe it was the Cockburn cellar I was visiting.  Not being a port aficionado the name was not familiar to me.

And last the Franceschina.  Porto is famous for this sandwich and they say you can find it in other northern Portuguese cities but they are a bad imitation.  It seemed every restaurant had them on the menu so how was I to decide???  Well, when I walked by Cafe Santiago....I considered it a sign.  The wait on the terrace was long and there was one seat at the bar available.....which turned out to be the best seat in the house.  When the two men that were working the assembly line of sandwiches saw me trying to take photos, they stood back, smiled and opened their arms to let me shoot away!

And just what is in this famous sandwich??

Well for starters...two thick slices of grilled bread, about five different kinds of meat; including steak, ham and various sausages, topped with an egg and a pile of cheese.  Interestingly, the cheese slices that circle the sandwich go on last and each one has a hole cut in it to allow the egg to show!!!  When the fries are added, the whole thing is covered with a spicy sauce.  Who would have known this if you didn't have the best seat at the bar to watch this production!

It is very obvious to me that....this city deserves another visit.