Porto

I bid farewell to Lisa after breakfast, she is getting a bus to the railway station as the start of her long journey home. Then it's time for me to pack and begin my journey to Porto.

My train to Vigo, near the Portuguese border, is not until 12.30 so I have time for another look around Santiago. A visit to the Museum of Pilgrimage seems like a fitting conclusion to this part of my holiday

The sound of drumming in the streets diverts me from my route: there is some sort of parade going on. 

Dashing along side streets I get ahead of the procession, which turns out to be people carrying candles and heading to church, accompanied by two marching bands and holy images

So not enough time now for the museum, I wander the sunny streets soaking up the atmosphere

The train to Vigo and coach to Porto pass by very smoothly. I get off the coach at Porto Airport. I am meeting Vera here when her plane lands at 7.30pm and I want to know the route and travel logistics for later

These are very straightforward. A short and well signed walk to the metro station, where I acquire two Zone 4 travel cards loaded with the appropriate journeys. Then it's a 30 minute ride to Trindade metro stop and a 5 minute walk to our first floor flat. All very simple

The flat, as expected, has a washing machine so I put on a wash with all of my clothes from the week. Then pick up a little food from a nearby store, and beer and wine for the fridge. Everything ready

I head back to the metro with what I think is plenty of time to get to my meeting point. The metro service frequency has dropped from every 15 to every 30 minutes and I've just missed a train. No problem, I did have time to spare, now I will be just in time.

Then the train stops at a station and everyone is ordered off. There is a lot of confusion and no information. I hear from a couple from Northallerton that a tree is blocking the line; strange as there has been no wind to speak of today. They have a 6am flight tomorrow and are staying in a hotel by the airport. They manage to book a taxi, and I have a lift to their hotel, a mere 500m from the terminal building 

So amazingly I am waiting to greet Vera as she enters the arrivals hall, and am appraised of the travel situation. Vera is not in a good state. She has spent the flight with griping bowel pains and clearly looks ill. We pass the metro entrance on the way to the taxi rank, people are being blocked from entering the metro and no other advice is being given. 

The taxi rank is not a taxi rank with arriving vehicles however. It is a taxi pick up point for taxis booked via an app. How technology enriches and simplifies our lives, or not. Luckily Vera has the Uber app, which requires an update as it hasn't been used in a while, but eventually manages to secure a vehicle which takes about 15 minutes to arrive. In the meantime I see that metro services have resumed as a train glides out of the nearby station. There will be another one in half an hour. Once our taxi has fought its way through the chaos of the pick-up area it's a smooth trip into Porto city. And we do get dropped off at our door which given Vera's state is a big bonus 

So come our first morning in Porto Vera stays in bed recovering from whatever bug she has, while I go out and explore the local area. To be honest, looking at her condition I'm surprised she has made it to Portugal, and hope that her condition improves rather than deteriorates.

My first impressions are of an old city that has avoided high rise construction, four or five storey buildings 

on mostly narrow streets with even narrower pavements. This is not a city where lovers will stroll hand in hand, or at least not for very long

I head for the cathedral in the centre of the city, and come across the start of the Camino Portugues from Porto to Santiago

There are charming views across the city and down to the Duoro River

I also spot a tourist street train. If anything is going to motivate Vera to get out of bed it is the prospect of a little train. 

I return to our flat for lunch, having procured fresh bread but failed in my quest for tea bags. Portugal just doesn't seem to do tea, I need to update my holiday planning spreadsheet

Vera has recovered somewhat, but isn't up to the walking tour scheduled for 2pm. So I'm on my own again, meeting guide Rui and a German couple for our tour. Rui is a rather unenthusiastic guide, it feels as if he is reading a script rather than speaking from the heart. I learn that the city has its origins in an iron age settlement on the top of a rocky hill adjacent to the river. Its name has put the Port into Portugal, and it has a long history of independance - uniquely electing its city Council in times when such ideas were rather unknown in the country. 

It is also fiercely protective of its heritage. This is the city centre McDonald's outlet. They have been forced to retain the stained glass, mirrored walls and wall reliefs from its previous incarnation as an up-market coffee shop

I return to base to find Vera more recovered and able to venture out for food.

So it's my turn to be the tour guide, showing what I have seen and learned earlier, such as the rather impressive city hall above

We take the scarily steep funicular railway down to the river 

which also provides excellent views of the Luis I bridge

This was designed by Theophile Seyrig, a student of Gustav Eiffel of Tower fame, beating his former teacher in a competition as his design gave two bridges for the price of one. Hopefully Gustave was suitably proud of his pupil.  We eat in a riverside restaurant, good food and a great view of the bridge 

The next day is our last full day in Porto, I think we should have allocated more time here, we will have barely scratched the surface. The plan is to visit the Museum of Conflict and Palace of Justice, followed by the Bishop's Palace, perhaps the cathedral, and then see where we are. I have already booked a port wine tasting for the early evening

The statue of Justice, justice is not blind here, it is supposed to adapt to the world around. Unfortunately the museum is closed and you are not allowed to wander around the court building

So we head for the cathedral, to find the little train waiting for us. Before you can say All Aboard Please, Vera is established on the back seat, which gives the best views

The train takes us across the river to pick up passengers from one of the Port Houses on the other side. This seems to be the train's main purpose, 

though we do also get a short tour of the city centre. 

I'm in the mood for something episcopal, so next stop the Bishop's Palace 

with its impressive staircase. Also a rather charming garden, where we sat awhile with coffee and iced tea. For €6 we could get a combined ticket that also included the cathedral. 

So next stop the cathedral with this delightful cloistered courtyard, 

some great ceiling frescos, 

and a non-traditional interpretation of the nativity scene 

I had hoped to climb to the top of the tower but someone had collapsed at the bottom of the stairs. It seemed to take a long while before an ambulance arrived

We then strolled across the top deck of the Luis I bridge. This is shared between pedestrians and metro trains. When a train crosses the bridge the whole structure shakes and vibrates in an exciting or alarming way depending on your viewpoint.

The port warehouses are all located on the Gaia side of the bridge outside of the old city area, the Bishop charging mooring fees for boats using the Porto side

We take the cable car down to the Riverside 

which provides the perfect viewpoint for this rabbit painted on two sides of a house

We have booked a tour of the Ferreira port warehouse, founded in 1751 and the only port producer to have always been Portuguese owned. 

It really established itself in the 19th century under the control of the formidable sounding Dona Ferreira

There is a wonderful smell of old oak and maturing wine amongst the barrels and vats patiently maturing their contents. Our guide, Pedro, takes our group around the storage areas and explains the whole production process for the various styles of port produced by the company

The tour is rounded off by a tasting of three different ports. Our view was that the white port would make for a great dessert wine, while the 2020 late bottled vintage would be perfect sipped on a dark winter evening in front of the fire

Vera, in her best Canadian way, forced the rest of our table to also offer their opinions. Very non-British, but did mean we engaged with the German and Dutch groups on our table and were able to pass on a restaurant recommendation to them for Cordoba that we had visited two years ago

Then back across the river, via cable car, bridge and funicular to find somewhere to eat

We stumbled into Restaurante Casario simply by chance. No we hadn't booked, but they had space for two due to a cancellation. During peak season you need to book your table weeks or months ahead, and we saw a constant procession of hopeful diners turned away.

We shared three dishes, all excellent, my highlight being the Guinea fowl with morilles and gnocchi. Or maybe it was the cheeseboard accompanied by a ruby port, the Monte da Vinha sheep's milk cheese was quite stunning. If you ever come across it, buy it

And so it's time to leave Porto and make our way to Coimbra via Campanha station

I had tried to book tickets online yesterday to avoid precisely this queue. The Portuguese train booking system expects you to supply a Portuguese passport number, but I was finally defeated by the requirement for a Portuguese Financial ID as part of the payment process. 

The 11.40 train was fully booked, so we had to get tickets for the cheaper 12.45, giving time for a final cafe stop in the sunny streets of Porto

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