Porto

The journey to Porto was fine, and most importantly the wing mirror held out for the entire trip. We spent a total of three days in Porto, visiting the main tourist attractions.

The first day was mainly focussed on chilling out and getting our bearings, with a view to spending the next two days cramming in as much as possible, fully armed with information from the local tourist information office.

We stayed in a campsite just ouside Porto, in a place called Angeiras. The campsite was owned by Orbitur. We have stayed at a few of theirs now and I would highly recommend them based on their low prices out of the summer season, and friendly and informative staff.

Although this campsite is only a few kilometres from Porto centre it does take around 50 minutes to get there by bus, but I would highly recommend using this option for not only the money you will save on parking and avoiding the city traffic, but for the death defying experience of travelling on one of the 'Resende' bus services.

Once in Porto you will be greeted by a number of very steep streets, but fantastic views from various places near the river.

The main things we had planned to do whilst here were the port cellars, a boat trip, a cable car ride, and a sample of the Portuguese take on the French croque monsieur, the Francesinha.

First stop, the port cellars. The tours of these cellars are generally priced between 3 and 5 euros for about a 30 minute tour and free samples. We opted for a tour of Taylor's cellar and it was pretty awesome. Especially the view from their roof top terrace whilst sipping the free samples. Full of information on the history and the journey from grape to glass!

Next, the boat trip. It's important to get the best deal with the boat trips; now although they all cost about 10 euros and take you under all five bridges, there was only one that we could see that included a few extras. These included a free glass of port on board, plus more free tastings at one of the cellars. The trip includes a running commentary with a little history on all of the bridges, in a number of languages, interlinked with traditional Portuguese music. it generally lasts about an hour and well worth it.

Next was the cable car, this costs 5 euros and only takes about 5 minutes, which although a bit pricey is a great experience, mainly for the views and to get to the top of the hill but also to sit there and wonder about why they actually have one here at all! It kind of reminded me of an episode of The Simpsons where the town got sold a monorail by a conman! But as I say, worth it because you also get another free port tasting at the same cellar as the boat trip offers them. So with this in mind you can now go to the cellar with all your free tastings saved up and enjoy an hour of Fado (traditional music) with free drinks!

Next, the francesinha sandwich, and possibly the best sandwich I have ever eaten. This is basically steak, chorizo, cheese, and something else I couldn't quite identify, in a sandwich covered in a spicy sauce, generally costing between 7 & 12 euros depending on where you go, often topped with a fried egg or served with chips and a drink. Don't leave without trying one.

This was followed by an evening in one of Porto's night time areas Rua das Galerias de Paris. 

Next, and as it's getting close to Christmas, we are heading to Coimbra, where we have rented an apartment for a few nights to relax.