Left our hotel in a chilly but sunny 10 degrees heading for Porto with a couple of stops planned along the way.

First (very brief) stop was for a close inspection of the loch just up the river. It was too rainy to stop yesterday. Hard to believe the difference in height between the two sides of the loch- didn’t see it in operation but it must be quite a sight ( if you’re not an engineering nerds who might be reading this).

Next stop was Amarante – one of the oldest cities in northern Portugal built on the banks of the Tamera river.  A bit hairy to get in and out of but well worth it. Wandered the quaint streets for an hour or so and then of course did the mandatory stop at the Confeitaria da Ponte – the riverfront bakery specialising in all things egg and sugar. Great atmosphere- full of small groups of old Portuguese men who obviously meet there for their morning espresso. Coffee was great- delicacies were a bit too sweet for our liking.

From here we fast tracked to Porto to avoid the peak hour traffic, arriving at the car rental place round three. After returning the car we realised our hotel was only a couple of hundred metres away – too close to get a taxi yet so far to carry 2 x 30kg bags plus 2x 8kg back packs plus miscellaneous bits and pieces we’ve accumulated (note to self to plan ahead next time). Alas, no amount of pathetic looks could solicit an offer of a lift from the car hire guy, so we opted to leave the cases at the car place, lug the rest around to the hotel with the plan for us both to go back later. I got caught up with check in (bummer) so David did the hard yards. I did manage to capture him on film from the hotel foyer though!

Set off on foot late afternoon to explore. We can tell already we’re  going to love this beautiful city.  Strolled down the promenades to the waterfront via the Mercado do Bolhao food and flower markets with a note to return there tomorrow for the makings of lunch.

Had dinner at a small restaurant sitting outside, wrapped in blankets, right on the waterfront – amazing!

Finally the long walk back- let’s just say what comes down must go up again (to the tune of over 250 steps just to get up from the waterfront). We will have glutes of steel by the end of this trip!