A Porto visit is not complete until you have taken either a 
short (we chose short) or a long cruise on The Douro River. 
The bridge in the distance is the Pont Luis I bridge, 
designed by Alexander Gustave Eiffel who also designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France


MAVERICK ROVER WORLD
Blog Post #76
More about Porto (Oporto), PORTUGAL

Since the Portuguese language may sound a bit like Spanish, it is all but impossible for the untrained American ear to understand more than one or two words. 
The good news is that nearly everyone involved in the service industry 
in Portugal does speak English, and might I say, very, very well.

We love all of the foreign languages spinning in the background, one language in our right ear and another in our left ear.  How wonderful it would be if we had more ears for all of the other languages floating in the air.



We are, after all, in Porto, the home of Port Wine.
Although we no longer imbibe in alcohol, 
we found this particular brand quite interesting, and asked if anyone produces a 
non-alcoholic variety of Port. Boo! The answer is a flat, but with a gentle smile, No.  
Maybe that means ZEROBURNS. Ha!


Vendors offer 'mini bottles' of Port that give you the opportunity
 to sample multiple Ports at a reduced price. 
'Port flights' are available at 5 Euros for 5 varieties
 at many restaurants and Port wine cellars. 




Sardines are a national favorite and once consumed, some of the cans become 
mini-art receptacles, as shown here, or refrigerator magnets.




Hillside magic with red tile roofs encompass the city


View back to the city from our boat tour on the Douro River.




Fancy Muslim shop keeper in our neighborhood




Edifício da Livraria Lello e Irmã
Library of Lello & Irma built in 1881.

We visited this historic building that was built as a library in 1881.
It is now one of the most gorgeous and unique book stores in the world. 

The cost of entry is 8€,  however you can apply that cost 
to the purchase of any book in the store, 
which has a minimum price of 15€.
Reservations are required and they allow a queue of folks to enter every 30 minutes. 
It's always interesting standing in line as you meet other world travelers. 
We met a nurse from Atlanta, Georgia who had formerly worked at Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego. 
We also met a couple from Canada who had just walked, yes walked,
 from Lisbon to Porto, 313.9km or 257.2 miles, on a 13 day trek. 

Spoiler alert!
Although, none of the movie filming was actually done at this location, t
his store was an inspiration for J.K. Rowling in the writing of her book, 
and later the making of the movie, 
Harry Potter.

This is Ron's spectacular photo

Photographer, Ronald David Erskine


One must often think about RAIN in Porto
It looks like this chalice may be difficult to drink from; however, the good news is that it is actually an umbrella stand located at a store entry. These last 2 days have been quite rainy, but we ARE prepared with umbrellas, rain ponchos and newly acquired rubber rain boots that slip on over our shoes and have non-slip treads. 



Ah, the boots



When we leave Porto for Lisbon, we will depart from Sao Bento station, literally three blocks down the street from our AirBnB. 




We are grateful that it is downhill, since Roger is now the pack mule as Ron needs to manage his walking sticks. And by the looks of the weather forecast, we will be using those rubber boots.



As I did in my last blog, I now plan to end all my blogs 
with a Black and White photo.





Until next time, 
Cheers, Roger and Ron








































Comments

  1. Such a fascinating journey. So glad to be traveling with you both virtually. Looking forward to the next part of this adventure.
    Love,
    Michael

    ReplyDelete

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