There was a real downpour of rain during the night. Everything was wet in the morning and in the nearby park you could see where the soil was washed away in places. But, for the most part, the weather gods were kind to us again. It was bright and sunny mostly and we only got rained on a bit while walking back from our dinner at the end of the day.
We began our day by walking to the river Douro. Like Lisbon, there are a lot of hills in Porto so we are getting quite a bit of exercise. Jesse gets a workout having to often carry Sage and Laura has Jasper in a carrying pouch. I get off easy only having to carry the backpack with the snacks and the various supplies that two small kids require. The riverfront was very pretty and from our side we got a good view of the Port Houses on the other side. There is a footbridge across the river and I think our plan (not my department) is to walk to the other side tomorrow.
The climb back up from the riverfront was pretty steep and a bit challenging (needing to breathe, I lost count after about 150 steps).We were all happy to find a nice coffee shop for our morning coffee.
I have harboured some ambition to some day walk the El Camino pilgrimage to Santiago, Spain. Three of the El Camino routes start in Porto at the Cathedral de Se. I was happy that we got to visit this starting point this morning. It remains to be seen if I get back here.
On our way back to our Air B & B for lunch, we also visited the train station. Porto went all out to make this station impressive. The very large entry hall is lined with beautiful blue and white tiles depicting various scenes from Portuguese history.
Following lunch and Sage’s nap time, we spent some time in the park near our Air B & B and unleashed Sage on the park’s pigeons before heading to the famous bookstore, Livraria Lello. This book store is famous because, apparently, it inspired J.K.Rowling to begin her Harry Potter novels. The name itself seems to remind of Harry Potter and the inside more so. It was fun to see. The store charges you eight Euros to enter (and you need to line up to see it at a reserved time). If you buy a book, you get an eight Euro credit against the price. Someone has executed a great marketing strategy.
We then walked a number of blocks (unfortunately, what goes down has to come back up) to a restaurant that Laura knew about. This restaurant has a reputation for making Francesinha sandwiches (see the photo). Jesse tried one and was not disappointed.
All in all another good day.