After
breakfast on the 8th floor, in the hotel restaurant, where there is
a view of the city, we began walking again! We walked and walked on these cobblestone
streets, up-hill and down-hill, until we could barely go, and yet we had one more
hill to climb to return to the hotel at 5:30pm!
We began the
morning visiting the market house where they had beautiful fruits, veggies and
meats – including freshly caught fish of all sorts.
We visited more cathedrals,
climbed to the top of a tower for a panoramic view of the city, and walked
along the river front on the Porto side of the river. After a coffee break we walked across the
bridge to the town of Vila Nova de Gaia where all the Port Wine companies are located,
with rows and rows of winery caves and warehouses.
Personnel at our hotel advised us to go to Porto Cruz Port winery. This was a great choice as they had a roof-top deck from where you can view the Porto side of the river. Our second choice was Croft Winery. When we arrived they informed us that they would soon be giving a tour in English, but in the meantime we could taste two of their Ports, followed by a 3rd Port tasting at the conclusion of the tour.
It was a great tour – so glad we did it. It gave us a better understanding of the production of Port, as well as the history. We finally stopped for some lunch. After lunch we returned to the Porto side of the river, visited more Cathedral locations, the train station, and returned to the hotel. After a much needed rest we had dinner at a very nice restaurant just around the corner – thank goodness we did not have to walk far.
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| The Market |
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| Backery |
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| Fresh Strawberries - 1 Euro per Kg |
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| Enjoying Strawberries and a friendly chat |
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| Dried Cod Fish |
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| Municipal Building |
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| Church of Clerigos |
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| Views from the Tower |
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| Church Tower |
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| Tower at left of Skyline |
Personnel at our hotel advised us to go to Porto Cruz Port winery. This was a great choice as they had a roof-top deck from where you can view the Porto side of the river. Our second choice was Croft Winery. When we arrived they informed us that they would soon be giving a tour in English, but in the meantime we could taste two of their Ports, followed by a 3rd Port tasting at the conclusion of the tour.
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| Streets of Porto |
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| The river front |
It was a great tour – so glad we did it. It gave us a better understanding of the production of Port, as well as the history. We finally stopped for some lunch. After lunch we returned to the Porto side of the river, visited more Cathedral locations, the train station, and returned to the hotel. After a much needed rest we had dinner at a very nice restaurant just around the corner – thank goodness we did not have to walk far.
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| River front on the Port Wine Side |
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| Banners of the different Port Wine Companies |
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| Barrels of Port Wine in the Warehouse |
After
returning to the hotel we went to the roof top terrace for several photos of
the city at night. We are very happy
with our hotel.
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| "The Se" Cathedral of Porto |
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| Cloister |
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| Tile Mural in Cloister |
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| High Alter |
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| Rose Window |
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| Inside the Railway Station |
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