We had an early 0845 start to take a bus across the river from our berth at Gaia to Porto. This meant we got stuck in a traffic jam for quite a while, but it allowed us to get some good photos out of the bus window.
As with all good city tours we started at the Cathedral, next to the statue of Vimara Peres, who is often described as the father of the nation. He was a 9th Century nobleman and the first ruler of the country after he expelled the Moors from the north of Portugal.
Many of the older buildings on Porto are built from granite and it is sometimes called the granite city, although it is a bit grander than the other granite city we know - Aberdeen.
This is the bishop's Palace next to the cathedral. Quite grand and clearly a bit of a power symbol.
In order that the bishop didn't get ideas above his station, the temporal local authorities erected this pillar outside the palace. It signified the power of noble families and government.
There were some nice views over the city from here.
We did get the chance to quickly go inside the cathedral.
Through the big doors.
Some restoration work was going on so it was a fleeting visit, but you get the idea.
Our guide Manuel, took us to the railway station and on the way my eye was caught by these pigeons sitting in a row. Apparently, the ladies' eyes were more taken with Manuel, who was actually quite witty and charming.
Everyone goes to the railway station, not to see the clock, but to see.....
....the tiles. They cover all of the walls in the huge concourse and are well worth seeing.
From the station we had to get back up the hill to the cathedral where we would get back on the bus. This was a bit of a climb, but Manual had a better idea and he took us downstairs to the underground and onto the escalators that would remove the need to climb stairs or hike up the pavement. Unfortunately, one of the escalators was not working, but the idea was good.
The bus then took us to a shopping part of town where we had some free time. We then had to meet up in front of this beautiful tiled church to get the bus back to the ship.
Bob and Michael went into a little cafe and had some very nice tea and cakes, while Sharon and Cindy wandered aimlessly among the shops.
Back on the bus, we returned to the quayside and then made the short walk to here.
Once inside, a man in a cape and hat took us on a very good little tour of the cellars and he explained all you need to know about port.
Naturally, there was a bit of tasting to be done.
And buying.
Then it was back to the boat for lunch, which included this rather nice pea and asparagus gnocchi.
Our afternoon was free, so Sharon and Bob decided to go back to Porto, while Michael and Cindy looked around Gaia and the port cellars.
We took the cable car to the top of the hill. It is just next to the boat and was pretty cheap.
You get great views of the city and the river.
All the major port cellars are here.
The cable car takes you to the bridge which crosses the Duoro to Porto which we duly walked across
even though it is still used by metro trains.
You do get great views from the bridge as well.
You also get remarkably close to the trains - there are no barriers, but they don't go very fast - honest.
We had a bit of a wander about the on the other side, but we could not find the shop that Sharon had seen earlier that day. This had nothing to do with Bob taking her off in a different direction to save the agony and expense of a nice looking gift shop.
We did stop for a quiet beer and to get our bearings at one point, we weren't lost, just disorientated. However, we were soon back on track and walked back across the bridge, taking the cable car down to the quayside.
There we went to the local market for a look around, but we did not buy anything as it was too early in our trip for that. It was tempting, though.
After all that walking about and looking at food, it was time to go to the boat and think about getting freshened up and ready for dinner.
Bob and Michael had the roasted Iberico pork loin with cornbread and greens.
Sharon had a pesto and prawn risotto.
All of this eating was done while looking out of the window at the illuminated Ferris wheel - very nice.
Then up to the bar for a nightcap.
We even sat outside in the warm night air which was lovely.
No comments:
Post a Comment