Saturday: Duane and I caught the train back to Porto, hopped on the Metro to the airport where we met Karen (who had been waiting for over 5 hours for us, poor girl), and picked up a new rental car. This time Duane is driving- yippee! Thank you little brother. Interestingly enough, this car is more like the ones I'm used to back home!!
Sunday: morning was a bit of a sleep-in for Karen but in the afternoon we visited Sao Felix Hill, an historical/religious site close by. Karen willingly responded to my challenge to run up the 270-some steps to the top while Duane and I meandered our way up. After enjoying a cold beer at the top, we climbed back down and made our way to a restaurant that Antonio had recommended. Unfortunately it was closed for a holiday so we found another one near by. The food was very good, the best I'd had so far.
Monday: We decided to go to Porto and stay overnight so Karen could go on a day trip to the Douro Valley on Tuesday. We caught the metro into Porto, and did some sightseeing en route to the hostel.
I haven't been very good at choosing hostels. This one was on Saint Catarina Street which turns out to be the main pedestrian shopping street in Porto! It was packed! And while it emptied out around 11, the sounds of a few drunken parties passing below wafted up and interrupted our sleep a few times.
Once settled in our hostel, we went off to explore the city and make our way to the Arrabida bridge where Karen had booked a bridge climbing experience. Afterwards, with the approval of the local police, we purchased and drank a few beer from a bench along the river bank. We watched the sun set over the Atlantic and the lights of the city start to twinkle. We found a place to eat and then found our way back to the hostel.
Tuesday: While Karen was off touring the wineries of the Douro Valley, Duane and I attempted to do some souvenir shopping and some sight seeing in the historic area of Porto.
We managed to escape the crowds and found a tasca (a small family run little restaurant) that had a daily meal deal. For about $9.00 we had soup and bread, we each had a daily dish, wine and coffee.
We finished the afternoon by walking across the Dom Luis I bridge on the top level and back on the bottom. We met up with Karen and headed back to Barqueiros.
Wednesday: Today was another day of rest. Duane went for a bike ride, Karen went for a long walk, while I soaked up the sun in the back yard. Karen cooked us a fantastic supper and now it's bedtime.
3 comments:
Wonderful sights and great food from the looks of it:) Thanks for the update and for posting your pics....always good to see!
It is great to get an update. Hope Karen's tour of the Valley was a good one and she enjoyed? Wow, busy Porto street where hostel was located! Hard to imagine what it would be like in peak tourist months. Look forward to continuing updates of your adventures... Carol
Lovely to see and hear more adventures from Portugal. Sounds like Karen hit the ground running! See you when you get back to Canada.
Post a Comment