Ahhhh, It's amazing what a great nights sleep can do for you! I woke up very rested and ready to tackle the day! We ate breakfast at the hotel with the most amazing fresh squeezed orange juice, pastries galore, cheeses and meats and breads. It was amazing! Our bus driver drove down the tiniest windiest roads in our full size tour bus and it was super impressive how well he could maneuver that thing! We arrived at the Duro River ready for a 7 bridge duro cruise. We were early so we got to browse what I would compare to as a Farmers Market type vibe. But I think this is more how people earn their living.
We browsed dresses and jewelry and learned that you can make just about anything from cork. We started picking out a few treasures and I bought a cute cork fan and an anklet that I would leave in the hotel room the next day and forget!
We boarded these cute boats and took a ride down the river and back. Seeing how some people live so simply is humbling. the houses are small and humble. It was cloudy and slightly raining but it was more like a mist.
It was a little cool and humid but really a great temperature. We did in fact go under 7 bridges!
Some of these yachts were crazy huge!
We explored more of Porto eating pastries and gelato along the way. This organ was at a random restaurant where they served a cod fish hot pocket type thing. That wasn't my thing so Brecken Findlay and Carter and I went for pizza. We spotted a semi pro soccer team eating there at lunch. Forgot who they were but it was cool to see.
We visited a market that had all fresh fruit, spices, mushrooms, vegetables and fish! We saw crepes that were easily 20 inches long filled with nutella. We immediately bought fruit cups and ate them as we wandered. It was so cool to see what a fresh market was like for them!
The time came to hike the 250 stairs of the Torre dos Clerigos. The bell tower of the church still plays Ode to Joy every so often. It was windy at the top but so cool to see the whole town of Porto from up high.
The chapel at the bottom was again, miraculously stunning.
I really wonder how long things like this took to make. I'm sure carving everything by hand took decades! This chapel had a very disturbing (to me) statue of a dead Chirstus...bloody and everything. I didn't like it. It was a common thing to see in chapels. Kind of sad that they focus so much on the death. I'm so glad we focus on His life!
Afterwards we wandered the town again and found brigadeiros! Something we really wanted to try here. The texture was slightly different than what I've had in the states, but still so yummy!
Here's the meeting place fountain again! Peep the guy fishing in the background! He made us a little nervous as he was clearly desperate to do anything for money!
Dinner that evening was a Fado performance and we ate the famous Francesinha sandwich for dinner which we had heard a lot about! It is a sandwich stuffed with steak, ham and sausage with melted cheese and a spicy tomato sauce that covers the top. Wow! It was ALOT of food and it was really yummy, still kind of strange. But after all that walking I didn't care and gobbled it up! Carter struggled with all the cheese on it and just picked out the meats.
A man and a woman both sang to us on the Fado night. They sing their personal stories with lots of emotion and deep respect. Its a somber evening as they sing about struggles in their lives and lost love. But they kept it livley for the kids too. It was all in Portuguese so I have no clue what was sang about but the kids sure were able to pick up on what was being sung!
Back to the hotel, but not before Carter ran a few laps around where we were staying. This dedicated kid ran every day we were there and kept his summer miles going strong. It wasn't easy and we had to get creative, but he did it!
Day 4 we drove to Combria. We first visited the University of Combria founded in 1290! . This was a favorite. Before it was a college it housed the Royal family. We toured the jail where they threw students if they were tardy or ruined books. They were quite bleak and small. Graduation had just happened and there were still some grads on campus walking around in their long dark capes. That's what they wear! Again, HP vibes! The courtyard felt like something out of a war movie.
We toured a library there where they had books dating back to the 1400s! No one can check out these books any longer. They are just for display. Some are even behind lock and key at another location to preserve the books.
Behind these doors was the most majestical library I've ever seen! It was what inspired the Beauty and the Beast library and it really looked just like a replica of it! No pictures were aloud but I found a google image.
Its absolutely breath taking!
We explored the places where the royals used to live and where they would hold meetings.
This chapel was near by and it was small but incredible. The organ mounted on the wall still plays today. And to get to it the person has to take a tiny secret passage up in the wall to get to it.
After that we took the tiniest steepest roads through the college town and got to an area we could eat and shop for a few hours. The buildings are tall and I believe people live above the shops and restaurants. Alot of the dinning is outside and it just feels so quaint and fancy to eat outside in perfect weather and look at all the sights!
On this day we went for burgers and chicken strips. The cutest little class of small children all dressed the same came walking past us. There was a yellow group and a red and blue group. Too cute!
As we sat there we watched this golden statue man get all set up and hit his pose and not move a muscle. Wow....what some people do for money. It was cool to watch though.
I fell in love with the china and tiles and fancy dishes there!
On our way to our hotel, the guide wanted to take us to one more stop. A tiny town where all the water from the City was gathered. Bottled water came from here and it was straight from a fresh spring. Everyone came here to fill their water jugs. Wow, I'm so grateful for running water in my house! It was good, but tasted a little metaly to me.
We landed for the night at a cute beach town in Sao Joao. We dumped our stuff and walked down to the beach. Carter and I tried to rent bikes but I forgot my card in the room. But we still walked clear down the boardwalk ( a good 10 min to the water in the sand!) I was tired!
We found a few more shops along the way. We met up with some of the others and walked around a bit.
It was a pretty early night to bed and I was glad. A few nights I got to room with Carter and I believe this was one of the places we roomed together. The other times I was with Stephanie Findlay. Great friend, different personalities, but overall I was glad I was with people I knew.
Carter still kept up with his running each morning or night! So proud of him!
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