May 13 - day in Porto

Oh the sounds an old apartment makes, the creaks of the walls, the odd gurgling sounds the plumbing makes...luckily for a comfortable bed and quality sheets....

And our early morning update!

After another great breakfast at the room we headed into downtown Porto.

There are so many "must see places" here that we decided to only intentionally seek out a few and happenstance the rest otherwise it's so overwhelming. 

Lots of pastry and coffee shops...... you never have to worry about going without. We are lucky to always get amazing pastries and coffee at breakfast.

Lots of churches scattered throughout the city.... they are plentiful!

We typically don't pay to go into churches, but we paid $5.00 euro each to walk into this one. It was amazing for sure!

Then off to the Dom Luís I Bridge (Ponte de Dom Luís I), an iconic double-deck metal arch bridge completed in 1886. It spans the Douro River to connect Porto with Vila Nova de Gaia.

And its busy here by the water, many large outdoor restaurants, buskers, and boat tours... its bustling..

Love this row of apartments looking over the river 

Now that we are down by the river... only one thing to do now is go up! Another hilly city like Lisbon.

Found this really cool bike store! Wooden electric bikes, pieces of art for about $5000 euro! Gorgeous! And the hand bags and other leather and wood items  were so nice!

There is again so much construction as well as restoration going on...kinda reminds us of New York City in a way. So many spectacular buildings!

The one place I really wanted to go to was this amazing library... but I should have known there would be a cost. $15.00 euro=$24.00 cdn.....it definitely makes you think about what you really want to do and what you skip.... and the library skipped!

So next was the train station...I heard it was a must see, it was very cool for sure but....

What was really cool was the Porto Time Out Market! We could not go eat at the Lisbon one as it was do busy so we had a second chance. It's a  premier, editorially curated food and cultural market that brings the best local chefs, restaurateurs, and cultural experiences together under one roof. 

We were only wanting an appie so we had  what was called a "Portuguese Doughnut" .... the most amazingly tender beef and topped with I don't know what between this amazingly fluffy bread type bun..... and a cold SuperBock....oh yeah!!!

As much as the city is an amazing place, so full of history and beauty, great food, great beer, one day in Porto has filled our City Cup!....oh and if you have some extra money lying around....$580.00 euro or about $931.00 cdn can get you a pair of these funky glasses!

Time to chill in our garden with the cats and a bottle of vino! Cheers!