Day 38 Monday 23 September

With the benefit of hindsight (I am writing this a week or so later off notes), today we forgot a valuable lesson from some time ago about hop on hop off buses.  Well we did actually talk about it, but ignored the lesson would be a more apt description.   So in a nutshell we had learnt from an experience in Los Angeles to avoid the hop on hop off as you spend too much time in traffic or waiting for the bus and never get to actually get value for seeing sights other than when the bus drives past.  What they are good for is to hop on and stay on for a circuit to get an overview of a city when you first arrive, to orientate yourself for getting from A to B.

After a bit of discussion last night we had decided to drop the day trips to Braga and Guimarães and potentially the Douro river as Vern is totally churched out and there is quite a bit to see in Porto.  You can get tours but they are 9hr days and you get whisked along fairly swiftly, or if we did it ourselves it is easy to get the train to one of the towns, but then you have to get a few bus connections which are not so easy.  Third reason is that the weather forecast is not great for them, and we are just a bit over the big efforts required to battle through tourists for a potentially minor attraction.

Reviews for these activities are great, but we are getting the sense this holiday that the wow’s of some of the reviews are actually over inflated, or from people who may not have experienced what we have, and we are getting a bit more discerning.  So instead we will bought a 2 day pass for the hop on hop off which includes the 6 bridges river cruise and an excursion to a beach area a little north of the city where reportedly there is very good seafood.

The hotel sells the tickets and the bus stop is on the square so we waited for the first bus to come by and set off with our first destination being “the Bookshop’.  The bus does not go right past, but it isn’t a long walk and when we got there the queue was even more ridiculous than the other day. Again, and still with a few days up our sleeve we agreed it was not a good use of our time to queue for an 1 hr, so instead of walking back up the hill to the bus stop and potentially waiting another 20 minutes for a bus, we walked down the steep hill to the second planned event, which was a 1 hour river cruise in a traditional styled boat.

Fortunately we didn’t have to wait too long for the next boat departure and for the one and only time on holiday we were actually front of the queue, so got to pick the front seats of the boat.  The weather was kind, providing us a fine blue sky day with calm water to enjoy the bridges and scenery along the banks of the Duoro.

We both love the water and find bridges very interesting; so enjoyed and relaxed for an hour in comfort with fresh air on our faces and filling our lungs.

After the cruise we walked about 1.5 km up through very steep windy narrow lanes to our closest bus stop for the loupe that would take us to the beach for lunch.  As we were pausing for air up the hill we overheard a tour guide explaining about the area being an old Roman quarter.  It had some fabulous view points down to the river which highlighted how high the town is above it – and or how steep the banks are. At the top where the bus stop is there is a big church/cathedral; which we also realised is quite near our hotel. We noted this for a potential night view walk should we have the time, inclination and energy later.

Yet again (lessons coming back to us by now) it was some time before the bus came – about half an hour waiting in the strong sun with the heat now reflecting and intensifying, radiating off the stone building and cobbled streets.  When we finally go on board the bus it was full but we managed to get a seat unlike the morning trip,  and enjoyed the interesting and sometimes scenic half hour journey to the seaside.  We passed a few parks with some big statues and monuments, a posh seaside area and the notable House of Music –  which is a modern building quite ugly on the outside but with some of the best acoustics in the world.  Designed by a Dutch firm it has rippling glass to aid the acoustics and inside the layout can be changed dramatically to suit the event with movable portions – all not affecting the acoustics.

The Atlantic coast here is pretty and similar to Aveiro with light golden sands and blue-green ocean similar to home, but a lot busier and built up.  There is a fabulous huge artwork of a fishing net at a roundabout that ripples in the breeze and another very cool group of women and children standing facing the sea – both pieces reminding me of the clever art I have seen in the Netherlands.

The bus took us parallel to the sea, a wide block in from the promenade where there were a few older traditional shops amongst the newer development.  From our double decker height we saw little tables on the pavement with diners enjoying seafood meals being cooked outside on large charcoal grill stations.  It also smelt delicious, so it was a stop the bus moment and we hopped off and sat down at the first busy one. 

After we had eaten and I was on a bit of a quick photo walk I realised I should have done my usual browse as a couple of doors down I saw the largest prawns I have ever seen in my life.  With no exaggeration they were about 12 inches long!  Note the size comparison to average prawns in the photo. Vern has never heard of them that big before either.

So instead of prawns I had sardines as this is the most local thing to eat. They were nice, but the bones are a pain in the neck to navigate.  I have had them once before in Italy and due to the bones, have steered away from them – got reminded of that this time!  Vern had a pork dish with salad and chips which is getting so boring that they cant do anything different from grilled fish or meat – and the lack of vegetable options.  But we have found that in Italy too – unless you go to a quite expensive place or are lucky to get off the tourist track.

The ladies we sat next to were from the Santa Cruz area and very chatty. We exchanged travel stories and tips and compared steps walked per day with great laughter as they all pulled out their various devices. They were all around 60-70, and travelled together often staying in Air B&B style accomodation and doing various key sights.

Due to the length of time wasted waiting for the bus, we didn’t have much time to spend at the beach, instead taking a quick walk and catching the next available bus, which was only a few minutes wait.  The beach looked very nice – some good waves and a nice stretch of sand. The bus took us along the promenade which has a history of not only fishing locals but early seaside holiday makers. The route then turns left and follows the river back to the city. This sea and river side route was very scenic with grand houses, palm tree lined promenade and the lovely Douro and ocean blues and greens.  If we had more time I would have liked to hop off at the beach and walk some of the area.

We are both pleasantly surprised at how attractive and enjoyable Porto is.  Often it is perceived as the poor industrial relation to Lisbon which has become very popular and unless a person is a wine or port enthusiast it is left off the agenda. It will be interesting to compare the two later.

When we got back to the city we decided to try our luck at the bookshop.  This time the queue was not too bad – hallelujah! It was around 5:30pm and instead of an hour in a queue we only had about 1/2 an hour.  You have to buy your ticket at a shop at the top of the street and also check your bags into lockers there which is free of charge.  There is a €5 fee to enter the bookshop, which if you buy a book is deducted off the purchase price.

The Lello and Irmao bookshop was built in 1906 and lives up to its is reputation as one of the most beautiful in the world. Designed in the art nouveau style with lots of decorative wood interior – which is in fact not wood. The lovely staircase for example is concrete with plaster on top and then painted and gilded. The crowds in this little shop were another sardine packing session, and the mind boggles at the math of how much money tourists bring into places like this. Really wouldn’t need to sell books anymore.  

One of the reasons for its popularity is the rumour that JK Rowlings who spent a year living in Porto was inspired by this shop for some of the ‘scenes’ in her Harry Potter books.  During our visit I was asked by two separate people to take their photos (with their cameras).  I should start charging for this I reckon has it happens frequently, this being not the only time on this particular holiday or previous ones.

We walked back home – clocking up more good steps and patting ourselves on the back at our ease of doing the big hill home.  Cleary we had earned another Francesinha – if not a whole one and thought we would try the sister cafe of our bar (Santiago),  just round the corner from it on a  square. Their prices were €3 more than the bar, not sure why – perhaps that is the tourist place and price not the locals?  Anyway it was nice, but the beer and sauce not quite the same. They did serve a bit of crispy sausage on top which was a nice addition 🙂

As I really am lost for anything to eat that is tasty and worth the calories at breakfast at our hotel, we stopped at a mini mart and bought a tin of sardines and a fresh tomato so I can have that on toast. I do miss the northern hemisphere breakfasts.