Aloha Everyone,
Historic District of Porto greeted us with her postcard perfect charm. Prominent riverfront buildings with their blue tile facade shone in the midday sun.
J.J. and I walked across Ponte de Dom Luis I, the double-decked archer bridge between Porto & Vila Nove de Gaia. We had to be mindful as we shared the bridge with other pedestrians and vehicular traffic. There were about a half dozen boys standing on a railing of the bridge posing to plunge into the river. They were calling out to visitors for €1 as compensation for the jump. One of their companions was running among the spectators urging them to donate money. Enterprising business idea which J.J. and I also witnessed in Acapulco, Mexico. We wondered how many times each boy must dive per day to make a sufficient amount.
Getting around on your feet in Porto requires a good pair of shoes and steady walking pace. Streets are confusing as they meander, oftentimes taking you back to where you began. Illustrated map with the city’s top attractions are not to scale. We decided to follow J.J.’s amazing sense of direction.
The Portuguese like their neighbors in Spain, start their day late, eat a late lunch and a very late (for us) dinner. Finding a restaurant that were ready to serve lunch at noon gave us less options to choose from. Our choice of cheese sampler was as they say here, “Perfeito!” Fried calamari had too much batter making it very heavy.
J.J. and I celebrated receiving our replacement bank card via DHL by dining out in an Italian restaurant. J.J. adhered to his usual choice of Spaghetti ala carbonara and me, I chose green salad with feta cheese, olives, cherry tomatoes and slices of chicken breast on top. It was a satisfying day.
Aloha -- Cathi