Where to next?
Some clues are in there…
Yes, we’re still going to head back to Portugal at some point in the future, largely because we missed out on a fair bit of what Porto had to offer because of the storms and a feeling that we should have spent more time along the Douro.
There are a few clues as to where we’d like to be heading over the next two or three years, especially as both of us have significant birthdays coming up that may provide a good excuse for journeys to places a bit further afield (travel funds permitting of course!).
We’ve already talked about heading back to a couple of areas we’ve already visited here in the UK over the last six years that have a connection with a popular drink made from apples. Yes, it’s cider time again and we’ve already got the Cider Route map for Herefordshire and have printed off some details of what’s on offer in Somerset too.
One or two museums may also be visited – the National Cycle Museum for instance and at least one film location – Lyme Regis – has been discussed (if only for Caroline to do her best Meryl Streep impression on The Cobb).
Andalucia is on the agenda, as are a couple of countries that we’ve discussed over the last week or so. Will television choices being so poor, we’ve fed the DVD player with a couple of travelogues featuring Francesco da Mosto – Italy Top To Toe and Francesco’s Mediterranean Voyage.
Which have led to a few ideas being bandered about…
The first is one or two explorations of Italy by train (and no, we’re not going all Michael Portillo with this idea!) and a potential visit to Sicily too (but not to Vigata as it is a made-up for TV drama location).
The second is to possibly take a package deal to one of the Greek Islands and explore whichever that destination is either on foot, by public transport or by an organised trip such as the one we had in the Troodos mountains of Cyprus a few years ago.
Favourite for this one at the moment is Rhodes Old Town on Rhodes. Yes, there will be the likes of tour buses to contend with or those coming off cruise ships, but there should also be the opportunity to explore in quieter surroundings once the buses have gone and the cruise ship passengers have gone back onboard to further partake in their tin can bubble experience.
The third is to do some island hopping – have bag, will travel style. Get a plane, get a ferry, find some digs, explore, roll the dice and then move on to our next stop. Yes, it’s seen as a young person’s style of travelling, but why shouldn’t a couple of fiftysomethings do the same?
We’ve met quite a few people on our travels who have taken the safe and easy option of going on escorted coach tours looking at art, historical sites or doing the foodie thing.
Or taking to the high seas on unimpressively large cruise ships and having to dress for dinner rather than hitting a less pretentious eating place in either a t-shirt and trousers or in the lower end of the smart casual dress scale.
The fourth is Istanbul and off the beaten track Turkey. Yes, the country has had problems recently and these may impact on what can and can’t be done in the future, but I’ve met people who have been going over for years and are about to do so again.
The mix of eastern and western cultures interests me and that’s why I’d bought a couple of books on Istanbul long before the recent alleged coup attempt or the targeting of tourist spots.
Morocco still fascinates, as does the thought of return trips to Iceland and Norway or two weeks in a tent in Switzerland with a view of the Alps freely available every morning when you open the tent door. Then there’s India, France and Cuba plus a coast to coast rail trip from west to east in the USA.
Some places don’t appeal though – Rome, Athens, Las Vegas, NYC, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and China haven’t really been on our radar and I somehow suspect that they will never appear on it.
Especially as I still haven’t been to Northern Ireland, Isle of Man or Malta/Gozo – yet!
Portugal
All this in one country – Portugal
When we did our first trip in Portugal in September 2013, little did we know that it would lead to another three visits between July 2015 and March 2016.
That first fortnight saw us flying in and out of Lisbon, spending time in the capital before heading to Sintra for a couple of nights then Evora, Tavira, Sagres, Lagos and a slap-up meal in Lisbon city centre before getting the Metro to the airport for a restless night in the airport seating areas and a 5am check-in the following morning.
Every trip has been done on hand luggage only, something that’s phased check-in staff at Manchester Airport, raised the eyebrows of fellow Brits in Tavira when they saw the size of our bags as we were checking out of our hotel and comments from a resident of Hawaii as she trundled her rather large wheelie case and matching hand luggage towards that same hotel…
So, why Portugal? It’s all down to a throwaway line (“Port comes from the port of Oporto in Portugal.”) from my geography teacher back in the 1970’s. There’s not much that I remember from my course, but the reference to Portugal alway stuck in my mind, hence that first visit years later.
And why have we gone back so many times? Probably because we’ve felt at home over there. Yes, we’ve had some rain in Sagres and weathered a storm in Porto, but there’s only been the odd couple of days when the temperatures have got the better of us.
We’ve used public transport to get around rather than hiring a car (haven’t done that out of the UK since the 1980s…) and haven’t had any problems.
Trains have been on time, as have both service buses and long distance coaches too. Feet have played their own part in exploring towns and cities, as have rechargeable travel cards such as the Viva Viagem card that’s available for use in the Lisbon area.
Eating out or getting things in to eat in a hostel dining area or our room in a guest house hasn’t been too difficult either. Yes, there was Cheekgate, but there’s only been a couple of times when we’ve been disappointed by what’s been put in front of us after we’ve ordered.
I did wince as one kitchen smothered a salad with olive oil (I prefer my salads to have no dressings) and whilst there was a lost in translation moment over chips being crisps in Portugal, it wasn’t a biggie and self and server both saw the funny side of things!
My use of Portuguese has got better over the years and I can now order coffee, drinks and food without too much difficulty.
Sometimes I’ve got a large beer instead of the small one that was ordered, but I’ve only become unstuck once when I tried to get a couple of beers in a cafe in the back streets of Aveiro last year. I got the beers, but there was a lot of pointing at bottles as a way of getting my message across.
Anything else? Just the small matter of forgetting about having some loose change on me to pay for coffee, ice cream, beer or bottles of water in a cafe or mini market. There were times when a €5 note wasn’t appreciated…
Only one person got really stroppy with me though as she couldn’t understand why we hadn’t got any change – it was something to do with having just landed at Lisbon Airport and we had notes, but no change!
Although we’ve made four visits to the country in three years, there’s still unfinished business across there. Out visit to Porto was hindered by the storm that hit the city last year, ensuring that a) we got wet – very wet and b) spent more time indoors or in the hostel than we would have liked.
So another visit to Porto and the Douro Valley is on the cards at some point, along with a week or so exploring the Atlantic Coast between Lisbon and Porto. Obidos during the Chocolate Festival sounds inviting too.
When will this take place? Who knows as whilst we want to head back and see some of the places we missed, there’s also a few other countries and areas we want to explore.
Some are in the UK and some are in Europe.
Where are they?
Some clues will be given out on Friday morning!
Back on Thursday
I mentioned yesterday that there would be more about Coimbra today, but I’ve pushed that back to Thursday following the events in Italy, Australia and Thailand that are being reported in news programmes here in the UK.
One year – September 2015 part IX
Postcard from Coimbra II
It’s another Coimbra balcony moment
One way into the city centre…
And the way back…
Caroline down by Rio Mondego
Now that’s what I call a bear!
The sky is blue…
The other way back to the digs…
The morning after the night before…
Just a few pics today as the sun is out and the temperatures are high here in Yorkshire – more pics and words about Coimbra will be on here tomorrow!
One year – September 2015 part VIII
Picture postcard Coimbra…
From the side streets
To the main shopping areas
Coimbra – a mix of old and new…
Sunderland University wasn’t like this!
The view from that balcony
Same balcony, later that day
The sun goes down…
As Coimbra was mentioned as a ‘must see’ in guidebooks and on various travel forums, we had to go and see this university city for ourselves.
Trains and accommodation had been booked in advance, so all we had to do once we alighted at Coimbra A railway station was to find our guest house and then lunch.
The advice was to get a taxi from the station to the guest house. We didn’t.
We walked. With packs. In the heat of the day. And realised why the taxi may have been a good idea…
We didn’t get lost, but we did get disorientated as we made our way towards the area where our digs were located. Once found, our bags were stashed so we could get lunch, wander around and then go back and check in.
Cafetaria do Museu was our lunch spot. It’s next to the Science Museum and whilst there’s plenty of seating inside, we took to the terrace, scanned the menu, ordered, sat back to wait for our food to arrive and took a look at the view from the terrace.
Once lunch had come and gone, we wandered around as a way of getting our bearings as we’d decided that that was the best way to explore Coimbra.
It looked like it was newbie time at Coimbra’s University as smartly dressed students were leading more casually dressed people around the city so that they too could get their bearings.
We’d seen this in Lisbon on our first visit to Portugal back in 2013 and weren’t surprised, but it was a far cry from my days as fresher at University of Sunderland in 1994 when self and my new housemates familiarised ourselves with the centre of Sunderland by taking a leaf out of the local’s book – by going on a pub crawl…
But I digress. Coimbra city centre is fairly classy – no big name stores were spotted, but there were several more interesting locally owned places down avenues and alleyways that were spotted first and visited later in the week.
After a mid-afternoon cafe stop, it was back to the guest house to book in.
Casa Pombai is in the old town area near the University and had come with some good recommendations on booking.com and in guidebook sections devoted to Coimbra.
The small balcony near our room became a good spot to look out over the city, watch the sun rise and set, take photos or sit and read whilst one or other of us were having a siesta, shower or doing some clothes washing. Breakfast was a simple one with choices of bread rolls, cooked meat, cheese, cereal, fruit and coffee or juice.
What didn’t materialise was the flask of port mentioned in the Lonely Planet review of Casa Pombai. We knew other rooms had one, but ours? Nah…
The lady looking after Casa Pombai the night we booked in had mentioned one restaurant as being a good place to eat. As we’d seen mention of it, we gave it a try.
Our waiter was attentive, but he did seem rather nervous when Caroline ordered pork stew (I’d gone for pork escallopes).
Drinks arrived, as did the escallopes and the pork stew. This appeared to be going down well as Caroline was getting stuck into the bowl in front of her.
Then she uttered the immortal words “What’s that” as she lifted some meat out of the bowl on her fork. The conclusion we came to was that the slice of meat was a pig’s cheek and that it was a facial cheek, not a butt cheek…
Now we’d already eaten out at lunchtime so we passed on dessert, but did go for coffee and a complimentary glass of wine before tackling the route back to our beds at Casa Pombai.
And what a route it was – the evidence will be here in tomorrow’s posting!
One year – September 2015 part VII
Just another quiet day in Aveiro
Down by the canal – and not one Cornetto…
Looking good, using motor power…
… and charismatic guides to the waterways too
Almost back to the jetty
in time for ovos moles and more coffee…
Aveiro Rossio Hostel – simply the best?
To Coimbra – and beyond!
After a couple of nights in Viana do Castelo, we headed south to Aveiro.
This was another destination prompted by a photo in a guidebook and a city that allowed us to chill out that little bit more (and then some!). It may have been a long walk from the railway station to our hostel, but once there, we found out why Aveiro Rossio Hostel is highly rated and given mentions in both Rough Guide and Lonely Planet guidebooks.
It’s been converted from a three floor family home and has both dorms and ensuite doubles (our choice). Yes, the decor was minimalist in our room, but we’d rather have that than a whole load of chintz or a bed covered by a multitude of cushions that usually end up being dumped on the floor so we can actually use the bed.
The hostel lounge has TV, DVD, music and books for entertainment, there’s Internet access on a bunch of low level PC computers and a resident’s kitchen cum dining & breakfast room too.
Although Aveiro Rossio Hostel is a fair walk away from the station, it’s very handy for the local shopping area, cafes, a shopping mall and the canal.
Our first afternoon and evening in Aveiro was largely dedicated to finding our way around the city centre. Finding somewhere to eat was a little more problematical though as whilst there were plenty of places to eat in Aveiro, most of them were closed on this sunny September Monday night.
Porta 35 came to the rescue though. Salad and a glass of white for Caroline and a burger with chips and a beer for me. No, my choice wasn’t very Portuguese, but it looked and tasted good when it arrived – although one part of the equation had been lost in translation.
What are chips to us are fries to others and what are chips to some are crisps to us. It took a while to sink in (yep, it was a larger than usual beer!), but once it sank in, it was laughed off and we continued our meal, desserts and obligatory coffee or glass of port.
Although the breakfast room was busy the next morning, it was quiet.
There may have been a mixed bunch of people in the hostel, but none were particularly talkative, something that we’d noticed back in Porto and in other hostels here in the UK since. Whilst Americans and Brits are quite talkative at breakfast, others aren’t.
Aveiro used to be a thriving sea port, but a storm way back in the 1570’s blocked the mouth of the river. The canal was built to regain access to the sea in 1808 and it’s this canal system that visitors to Aveiro can now take trips along and around on motorised boats.
Now we may have been lucky, but our trip on the canal had a friendly, charismatic guide giving us the lowdown on the canal, local history and Aveiro. The trip seemed longer than 45 minutes and given the temperatures we were out in, we were pleased that we’d grabbed a couple of bottles of water earlier in the day and used the Factor 50 too.
Once back on dry land, a snack break saw us giving ovos moles a try. Ovos moles are sugary and eggy confections that were developed by nuns in the area and whilst we gave them a try, the feeling was that the experience could be a once only affair…
After another wander and a spot of t-shirt buying, lunch was taken in a cafe. We may have had a kitchen to use, but visits to local supermarkets ensured that we should eat out again.
What we did have to do though was some washing – and there wasn’t a plug in the basin in the ensuite.
That problem was solved at our next coffee shop when I decided to have a small tub of Hagen Daaz ice cream rather than a piece of cake. The ice cream was good, but the plastic lid was the right size to use as a sink plug – washing problem solved!
With siesta time beckoning and a laundry session for afters, we paid another visit to Porta 35 and I made sure that I ordered fries this time, not chips!
We’d enjoyed our stay in Aviero, so much so that we handed the keys back and asked whether the hostel sold the t-shirts sported by the staff. The walk back up to the station was a bit of a long haul, but necessary as we were moving on to our next stop – Coimbra.
One year – September 2015 part VI
Bye, bye Porto
Hello Viana do Castelo – and a host of classic rally cars
Saturday evening
Evening light
Down by the Rio Lima
An iron giant down by the Rio Lima
Viana do Castello harbour
Viana do Castelo from just below Monte de Santa Luzia
On Monte de Santa Luzia – two names for the same building?
Sunday afternoon…
Still Sunday afternoon…
Sunday night…
Time to move on – Monday morning
Viana do Castelo railway station
Aveiro
When we were planning this trip, we hadn’t considered Viana do Castelo…
Then I spotted a photo in Rough Guide to Portugal. After reading up on Viana do Castelo, the town went into the melting pot and came out unscathed as a stop for a relaxing middle weekend of our break.
After leaving Porto, we exited Viana do Castelo station on a warm, sunny and quiet Saturday afternoon.
Or so we thought. We’d walked about 300 metres from the station and saw a few classic cars heading down Ave dos Combatentes da Grande Guerra.
It’s a long time since I followed rallying, but the passing cars were joining those parked further down the avenue and it wasn’t long before I started to remember the names of all the cars participating in a classics rally that had Viana do Castelo as a stopping off point.
The cars were parked up opposite some cafes, so we found a table, ordered food & drink and waited for the drivers to get back into their cars.
When they did, the camera was almost forgotten about as the sounds and smells of the procession moving off brought back memories of going into UK forests to watch the formidable RAC Rally during the late 1970’s/1980’s.
Our hotel – O Laranjeira – was found, booked into and siesta declared. We were booked in for two nights, so our bags didn’t need to be unpacked, but there was washing to be done.
Our evening meal was taken in the same cafe as lunch, but we held off having coffee and dessert as the light was changing, so a wandering session was declared and photos taken as the sun went down.
After breakfast, we headed out and realised how quiet Viana do Castelo was. The funicular was found and taken – to Monte de Santa Luzia.
Caroline headed into the impressive building at the top (Santuario de Santa Luzia according to Rough Guide and Templo do Sagrado Coracao de Jesus according to Lonely Planet) whilst I fired off a few frames on the compact camera before hitting the cafe.
When Caroline came back down to earth we took a look at the gift shop and open market, but our wallets stayed closed so we headed down on the funicular to further explore Viana.
As you can see from the photos, Viana do Castelo’s streets were virtually deserted and only the local newsagent/lottery seller appeared to have customers, largely because there was at least a single roll-over on the lottery and people wanted a slice of the action.
And me? All I wanted was a copy of a Brit newspaper.
You may have gathered by now that we liked Viana do Castelo. It was a good antidote to how busy Porto had been and with the weather holding out, there had been plenty of opportunities to wander, eat, drink and be merry.
With a little help on Sunday night by eating Italian style at Dolce Vianna in Rua do Poco.
Although there were a few couples in Dolce Vianna, most of the local blokes had descended on the place for beer, pizza and the football on the restaurant’s TV set. We did have coffee at Dolce Vianna, but there was another course awaiting elsewhere in town.
It’s not often that we have coffee and cake after 10pm, but we made an exception by having coffee and cake at a pavement cafe before getting our heads down for the night.
After breakfast, our bags were packed and we headed back to the railway station via a cafe and then the supermarket. Yes, we stocked up on bread, cheese, ham and water for our lunch on the train, but there was something in the fish department that I’d seen, but Caroline hadn’t.
Nestling on the ice in the fish section was a creature that I’d read about, but never seen – a conger eel that looked rather dischuffed at its fate. Funnily enough, it also had the look of the craft used by Titan’s henchfishmen to attack Stingray in the classic 1960’s TV show.
Once seen, the station beckoned. We had plenty of time to spare before the train arrived, so the cafe provided another opportunity for me to order coffee in bad Portuguese along with a pastella for Caroline and a couple of shrimp croquettes for myself.
Next stop? Aveiro via Nine. The first part of the journey was by one of the regional trains from Viana do Castelo to Nine, but the second part from Nine to Aveiro was on one of the swanky Alfa Pendular high speed trains. It may have been in Turistica class, but it was both comfortable and fast.
More on Aviero tomorrow!
One year – September 2015 part V
Pinhao station in the Douro Valley
Tranquil – and then some… from on land
Or from onboard a river boat…
Warm outside…
And on the inside for hot dogs…
More tranquility…
With port producers along the way
Just one of many famous names seen on the hillsides above the Douro
All quiet on the station
Until the train arrives…
A day along the Douro is a trip worth taking by train from Porto.
It’s a long day out, but having taken it, I can see why most recommendations are to split it over two days and have a night in a hotel or guest house.
Like most great train journeys, it’s one to take home in the memory rather than on a camera’s memory card.
The journey to Pinhao from Porto was a smooth one. We’d taken a couple of snacks and bottles of water with us for the journey, but once we’d got to Pinhao, taken a look around and bought the t-shirt I’d wanted to buy during the previous day’s visit to Sandeman’s wine lodge in Porto, it was time for a leisurely lunch down by the river and the area where the river boats pulled in.
In among the small boats of the kind we boarded later on in the day, the river cruise boats pull in to allow passengers time ashore to explore and then board again for another night and day of the same old, same old.
We took a two hour trip up the Douro on a small boat with a covered area and the added attraction of a port tasting session whilst we were afloat. As we’d been out in the sun and had coated ourselves with Factor 50 rather than Factor 30, I stayed undercover on the boat, as did the captain’s dog (who obviously knows a good thing when he sees it!).
The ride was a smooth one (as was the port), but once over, it was time to find a cold drink and an ice cream before taking another wander around Pinhao and then the short stroll to the station and the train back to Porto.
Although Pinhao had appeared to be a quiet place, the station platform suddenly filled up with people wanting the train down the valley.
When the train arrived, we found seats, emptied the water bottles, thought about the day, pondered another meal at the restaurant we’d found the day before and placed bets as to how long it would take us to pack our bags before heading off on the next part of our road trip the following morning…
A local restaurant for local people and those in the know…
And a good place to chill out…
One year – September 2015 part IV
A grand day out on a sunny day in Porto
Yes, the sun started to shine on our fourth day in Porto, so t-shirts, SPF trousers, sun cream and walking shoes were donned as we wandered towards the banks of the Douro.
View from Ponte Dom Luis I
Yes, it’s that bridge!
Heading to that port wine lodge – by cable car…
Down by the lazy river…
Ribeira from Vila Nova de Gaia
Sandeman’s Don – an early marketing success story
One barrel to rule them all?
Or many?
Ribeira from the middle of the Douro
Street life, Ribeira style…
Thursday was a grand day out. Yes, we wandered aimlessly, took a mode of transport that neither of us are fond of (that cable car), had a few coffees, booked a tour/tasting session around and in Sandeman’s port lodge, had an Italian lunch, that tour around Sandeman, tasted a couple of fine port wines and then headed out on a boat trip on the Douro.
Once back on dry land, we wondered whether the teenagers clinging to the bridge had what it takes to live up to their bravado in getting onto the bridge and part of the way across it or whether they’d bottle it rather than jumping or diving into the Douro.
Whilst it was tempting to try and find a cafe in Riberia for a coffee or a beer, seats were at a premium so we headed away from the riverside and found a bar with nice cold beers in both standard and redcurrant flavour varieties.
As we’d been out for a while and had sampled both port and beer, we headed back to Rivoli Cinema Hostel via Sao Bento railway station and a fodder stop. With the weather finally in our favour, we’d decided to make the most of it by spending Friday exploring the Douro Valley by train, feet and another river boat trip.
Yes, there was a queue for tickets at Sao Bento and some potential customers were getting a bit shirty because they didn’t understand the queueing arrangements. We held our place, made ourselves understood, got our tickets and then headed to a local restaurant for a well deserved evening meal at a nearby restaurant…
Tomorrow’s post? To Pinhao – and beyond!
One year – September 2015 II
Yes, this was the calm after the storm in Porto…
We’d got a good deal on our rail tickets from Lisbon to Porto by booking in advance on http://www.cp.pt, but that wasn’t the only deal we’d taken up.
The price quoted in Lonely Planet Portugal for standard class tickets between Lisbon and Porto was €24, but we travelled in First Class for €22. Yes, we were tied to one train and one train only, but given the quieter nature of the carriage, the comfy reclining chairs and the close proximity of the bar, we weren’t complaining.
The air-con was also appreciated as we headed out of Lisbon. Airfields, towns and farms were all visible through the carriage windows too as the seats hadn’t been crammed in, so we sat back, relaxed, dozed off, ate or read over the course of the three hour trip to Porto.
Once in Porto, the route from Sao Bento station to Rivoli Cinema Hostel was an easy one, so much so that I didn’t bother keeping the guidebook to hand as we wandered up there.
Caroline and I had been allocated the Blade Runner themed room. The framed film poster on the wall was familiar as I’d had the same poster on the wall in my student digs back in the 1990’s.
The Blade Runner room was minimalist, a feature that we also saw as we passed other theme rooms which were being cleaned or vacated over the few days we were in Porto.
We had the use of the kitchen/dining/breakfast room, a roomy lounge complete with one of the biggest TV screens I’ve ever seen, a very comprehensive choice of DVDs to watch plus a row of Internet connected computers for you could check your email on, watch football matches or find out what the latest weather forecast was.
This was something that we were quite interested in as we’d spotted that the weather had the potential to be somewhat inclement for the first few days of our stay in Portugal. So much so that we’d both brought very good waterproofs with us, just in case.
When I’d checked out what the latest BBC forecast was for Porto, I turned to Caroline and let her know what the prognosis was – a red weather warning for rain and plenty of it.
At this point, one of the cinema buffs who owned Rivoli Cinema Hostel chipped in with a comment about the fact that he’d never heard or seen a red weather warning before, so it sounded like things were going to be bad…
Once this was done, we headed out to stock up on food, beer, wine and fruit juice. There may have been plenty of salted cod in the shop’s freezers, but we didn’t see any wabbits (or putty tats…).
Bread, salad, cheese, cooked chicken, fruit, local fizzy pop and a couple of bottles of mineral water hit the basket and we found out the hard way that we should have packed a couple of shopping bags as yes, we were charged for plastic carrier bags…
We did have an early night after our evening meal, but sleep wasn’t an option for the whole of the night as a nearby dance club cranked up the volume after midnight and stopped around 4am.
Was I like a bear with a sore head the following morning? Oh yes!
Fortunately I had some sachets of the old student hangover cure in my meds bag and one sachet plus a few cups of coffee helped to resolve the situation. As did the yoghurt, bread, cheese, hazelnut spread and orange juice that was served up for the hostel breakfast.
Did I mention that it had started to rain? It had and boy, did we know about it!
After a couple of hours of mooching around in the hostel lounge, Caroline and I decided to make a break for it rather than being indoors all day.
Wallets and loose change was stuffed into pockets as our cameras and day bags were left behind, jackets were zipped up and hoods pulled in tight as we went in search of Centro Portugues de Fotographia.
Given that maps were useless, it took longer than we thought to find the Centro Portugues de Fotographia, a former prison that’s now dedicated to exhibitions of photographs and camera equipment.
As we were now soaked from the waist down, it was a good thing that there was a cloakroom for our jackets and that we’d both decided to wear quick drying travel trousers.
Once we’d made our way around, had hot chocolate and retrieved our coats, these trousers and the rest of our clothing were much drier, but we were squelching as neither of us were wearing shoes with a Gore-Tex or other waterproof lining given the weather we’d experienced before in Portugal.
The rain had eased off a bit, but only like a racing car does as it goes into a corner before a flat-out straight. It was well past lunchtime and we were hungry, so we hit the first cafe we saw and became their only customers for the next hour or so.
Caroline had a chicken salad, but I tried one of Porto’s specialities.
Middlesbrough has the parmo, Scotland the deep fried chocolate bar, France has the joy of frogs legs, but Porto has the Francesinha, a hefty sandwich containing steak, sausage and ham which is covered in melted cheese and given a slurp of peppery tomato and beer sauce over the top…
Tasty? Yes. Filling? Definitely! Did I have another? Yes, but two days later as a means of keeping any cholesterol at a sensible level!
Once lunch was over, we pledged back to Rivoli Cinema Hostel for showers, dry clothes, reading, a light tea and another early night.
Or so we thought as that bloody club started up at midnight again!!!
More about this on Friday!
wisepacking 
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