Porto, Portugal May 22-23, 2008
Hello All, I finally got a chance to write. Thank you for waiting. It seems that Portugal is high tech..BUT they also donºt make the Internet easily available. I arrived Thursday, to a special Catholic Holiday, everything closed! Then the hostel where I was staying had Internet problems..on and on.
So I have been touring, and enjoying this amazing country..without trip reports! Gee I retired from that I thought anyway.
So I have been touring, and enjoying this amazing country..without trip reports! Gee I retired from that I thought anyway.
My arrival city was Porto, Portugal where I arrived on Thursday, 22 May. Porto is where the "Port" in Portugal came from, originally the name came from the Romans. It is the home of famous Port wine.Porto is a beautiful port city, right on the Douro river, a wide river that flows from Eastern Portugal thru some beautiful wine country. Porto is at the bend of the river and offers a picturesque city high above the river. I really got to enjoy this city. The old part of the city is a World Heritage Site. Wandering thru the narrow cobble-stoned streets, checking out little cafes, and small shops was fascinating. A steel bridge spans the city that was designed by renowned Eiffel. Some pictures of the town follow.
I went across the river to visit the Port Lodge where Port wine is made and tested. The tour was great, tried the infamous Port wine. A picture of the old port boats that moved the barrels of port up the river is shown here (I hope !)
I closed my two day visit here with an evening at Fado (Fah-Doo) This is a Portuguese form of the blues, a woman or man dressed in black, with a quitar chants beautiful songs of lost loves, death or probably bad luck at gambling. Portugal is amazing. I
I´m heading south by train to the little city of Coimbra, will chat with you then.
