The day was very good if not a little hot. We were told the temperature would reach into the upper 90s and it did.
We met with José Silva in the lobby of the hotel for a half day walking food tour of Porto. We got a lot more than that. José was a wealth of knowledge being a wine and food critic and a native of Porto among other qualifications. We walked all over Porto's oldest neighborhood as he regaled us with the history of almost every large building we came upon. So I am going to do this page a little differently than I have before, more pictures less words.
We met with José Silva in the lobby of the hotel for a half day walking food tour of Porto. We got a lot more than that. José was a wealth of knowledge being a wine and food critic and a native of Porto among other qualifications. We walked all over Porto's oldest neighborhood as he regaled us with the history of almost every large building we came upon. So I am going to do this page a little differently than I have before, more pictures less words.
First we headed toward flower street. "This charming 18th Century pedestrian street runs down hill from Porto's San Bento Railway Station towards the Douro river. The name means the road of flowers. It was called this because of the lush flowers that filled the gardens of the houses that lined the street when it was first opened. Sadly those gardens have now all gone." (MooreTravelTips.com - Porto Travel Guide)
We were told that the government is working with the neighborhood to bring them back.
We were told that the government is working with the neighborhood to bring them back.
Street Art found on the side of a building
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Images from our visit to a local soap store. The second floor of the store is a soap museum with the history of how it came to the area.
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We continued on the way stopping at São Bento Train Station. It is considered as one of the most beautiful train stations in the world and the pictures inside tell some of the history of Porto.
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José told us a funny story of how this church received the nickname of the Heineken Church. The church needed to be refurbished and it was going to be expensive. The fathers of the church found the Heineken brewing company was very happy to help them. It took 8 months to complete and the whole time a cloth was covering the front of the church with a Heineken label proudly displayed.
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The first food stop of the tour was at Casa Dos Tortas. José said it was one of the oldest and best places to get these traditional meet pies.
Our next stop was at a traditional bakery and coffee shop for fresh made custard pies. Here we learned these are best right out of the oven and dusted with cinnamon. They were the best I had had so far. On the way to the shop we passed the café where J. K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series.
Our next tasting took us past the area where they are rebuilding the city market to a Conga, for meat sandwiches. I can't remember what they were called but the best way to describe it would be: stewed pork loin thinly slice stuffed in a roll dipped in the juice from the pot. Sort of like a pork au jus sandwich. They were so big no body could eat a whole one.
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Here are few more views from our walking tour. One thing that has stood out is how many buildings are covered in beautiful tiles and the number of churches converted into other buildings.
Take a close look at this church. It is actually two churches, side by side with the thinnest private residence built between the two.
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The next adventure of the day consisted of catching the trolley and taking it to the end of the line where the Atlantic ocean meets the Douro River. We tried to find the 500 bus but could not so hopped back on the trolly.
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Our evening ended with a good salad down by the water and a walk across the Ponte Luis I bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia, the city on the southern banks of the Douro.
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Our walk back to the hotel took us through the first tunnel ever built for cars in Portugal
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