Bom Dia (good morning)

Our warm welcome in Lisbon was another attempt by a taxi driver to rip us off….BUT we know the trick now … we had been told it would be approximately 8 to €10 to get from the airport to our hotel for the night, so when we dropped us at what appeared to be the BACK door of the hotel, he told us we should get out there and asked for €25 … I argued for a minute, and then promptly walked to the back of his car and attempted to take a photo of his license plate, which he quickly stood in front of and then asked me “ how much you pay?” I handed him €10 and he quickly jumped in his taxi and drove away. BUT little did we realize he had dropped us at the back parking lot entrance…so we literally dragged our multiple heavy bags (now overloaded after 2-1/2 weeks of traveling and shopping😉) up a steep hill to where we thought the lobby would be only to find a parking lot. 😩 And, the only way to enter the building was going up this large set of steps. I wish I’d taken a selfie of our faces. I went up the steps and found someone who told me we needed to come inside and take the elevator down to the lobby. Luckily, there was a young, stout woman who was getting off of the elevator and told me she would help us get our luggage up the steps. She grabbed my largest suitcase, weighing well over 50 pounds most likely, and RAN up the steps with it like it was nothing… then proceeded to run back down and bring KK’s largest up. SAVED by youth again.

Next morning, our driver arrived at the FRONT of the hotel and loaded our luggage to begin our adventure north to Porto.

Portugal has a population of about 11 million….very small compared to most countries. Porto has a little over 200,000 locals and thousands of tourists. It’s located on the NW coast and famous for its bridges and the production of port wine. Our flat was located at the top of the hill over looking the river….AMAZING view! But, the stairs were a BIG challenge. Our Driver was kind enough to take my bags down to my room when we arrived …BUT wish I had a video of bringing a 50 +lb suitcase upstairs when leaving….😩

We spent our first afternoon sitting in the sunshine at a waterfront restaurant, listening to musicians and street performers among hundreds of the locals and tourists. We did our own little port wine tasting, and recognized quickly… the older the port, the better the taste. RUBY port is aged from 1-6 years in general and TAWNY port is aged 6-30 years. When you get to 20 years, it’s excellent. It’s a sweet…dessert type wine. We also ordered and devoured a ‘Francesinha’(the traditional Portuguese sandwich) made with layers of toasted bread and assorted multiple hot meats such as roast, steak, and ham over which sliced cheese is melted by the ladling of a near-boiling tomato-and-beer sauce. Delicious! And what would a meal be without the famous “pastel de nata” egg custard pastry for dessert. They actually eat this pastry for breakfast lunch and dinner 😋 …when I get home, I guarantee you my scales will rebel.

We stayed long enough in Porto to enjoy a sunset river cruise on a small boat that held 8. There are in multiple prominent bridges, many churches you can see on the banks lining the river, and we even watched a guy air boarding on the river …..and, we made new friends with a Canadian couple and some North Carolina folks.

We also had time for a 4 hour (small group of 8) food and wine tour..in which we visited the longest running bakery in all of Portugal, the large market, and several famous restaurants to taste the local wine (vinho) and beer. The market…Bouillon (means big pool) was huge!Started in the early 1800s as a place for farmers to bring fresh goods by oxen to sell in the city centre..also it served as a place for animals to drink. Up until the 1970s, it was famous for the sale and purchase of gold. Now days, it offers almost any food or drink you can imagine…and if you order a glass of wine, they pour it in an actually wine GLASS. Everyone is walking around with a glass and when you finish, you just set it down on the closest countertop. The large sardine market and green wine were my biggest surprises. Never thought I’d eat a sardine… but the one I tried was covered in a spicy tomato sauce and not fishy at all. We also learned….they smoke their meat with chestnuts.

Enjoyed this river town immensely but time to move on to our final stop…the Douro Valley.