Two Perfect Porto Days of Seeing The Sights
We spent two sunny, 84 degree glorious days in Porto experiencing the city sights. The first day we took a 3 hour walking tour. We learned about Porto's rich historical past. We ate tasty treats (yummy desserts) from Porto's premier culinary artist
and walked throughout Porto's squares and parks where there are statues of historical figures galore, virtually all of whom are seated high atop a horse!
Except for the statue of Henry the Navigator who, every time we walked by, had a pigeon perched on his head!
Truly, everywhere one looks, there are an amazing number of churches all of which are an integral part of Porto's religion, culture and skyline. Regardless of their style, be they Gothic, Romanesque, or as the great majority of them are, Baroque and regardless of their humble size or the colossal stature of their exterior and interiors- all of them are stunningly beautiful in their own right.
We learned a few highlights of Porto's past: Porto dates back to 300 BC with Celtic ruins being discovered in several areas. Then the Romans invaded and stayed. Later the Moors did the same thing in 71.
Now fast forward to 1387. Porto was the site of the marriage of King John 1 of Portugal and Phillippa of Lancaster. She was the daughter of John Gault. This marriage symbolized a long standing military alliance between Portugal and England. This Treaty of Windsor is the world's oldest recorded military alliance and inspired the formation of NATO.
So King John 1 and Queen Phillippa had a son, Prince Henry the Navigator who, in 1415, with his father's fleet, conquered the Moorish port of Ceuta on the northern coast of Morocco.
Perhaps a much more interesting tidbit of information is in order: Porto is home of THE fanciest McDonald's in all of Europe. We are not McDonald's fans; but this place has to be seen to be believed!
Yes, they have chandeliers!
After our 3 hour guided walking tour, we continued to tour the city later that afternoon on our own and perused thru the shops and experienced Porto's sights and sounds.
We enjoyed the sights of Ribeira especially this seemingly suspended cube fountain.
I love this woman shooing the pigeons away and on the balcony above she has her umbrella over her clean clothes that are drying (or trying to dry) in the sun.
It seemed like everyone was hanging their clothes out to dry today...even this little guy's doggie blanket.
We enjoyed our full day of experiencing the sights
and sounds of Porto.
The next day was even more beautiful than the day before so we decided to travel by trolley to Foz do Douro which is simply referred to by the locals as "Foz".
Foz is situated on the far end of Porto where the Douro River meets the Atlantic. Ocean.
We took the antique tram car called "Line #1".
When we got on, the trolley was jam packed! We were lucky enough to be put in the front right next to the trolley conductor's elbow! So we literally had a bird's eye view of seeing exactly what the conductor sees as she steers the trolley down the tracks.
Although at times jarring, this antique trolley "Line #1" gave us the gift of a beautiful, scenic ride from the Ribeira district, along the Douro River, all the way to the Jardine do Passeio Alegre. That's literally the end of the line for the trolley tracks stop in the middle of the street!
From where we were standing, this was a shocking sight to see before she put on the brakes! How does the trolley turn around you might ask since the tracks have come to a complete end with nowhere to go? Simple...The trolley conductor lets everyone out, then she gets out and walks from the front window steering wheel and brake area to the back of the trolley rear window area where there is also a steering wheel and brake for her to now use. She is now standing at what had moments ago been the rear of the trolley that now instantly has become the front of the trolley. The conductor revs up the trolley and heads back in the direction from whence we came, picking up passengers along the way to take them to the Ribeira district.
The literally "end of the line" stop drops everyone off about a 10 minute walk from Foz.
There's no real destination in Foz. It is one of Porto's wealthiest, trendiest, greenest and most relaxing quarters. As we walked towards Foz, we wandered thru the Jardine do Passeio Alegre
which is absolutely beautiful. It even has a miniature golf course! (who knew?) And believe it or not, it also has a pavilion that is an old, yet very fancy WC (water closet, i.e. bathroom) with stunning tilework inside and outside the bathrooms.
The clean sea air and beautiful blue water were glorious.
Our time in Foz was spent walking for hours along the boardwalk, often stopping to gaze at the Douro River as it flowed into the Atlantic Ocean.
The sunlight on the water, the crystal clear blue sky, listening to the sound of the waves lapping on shore,
seeing the iconic lighthouse marking the Atlantic Ocean,
walking barefoot on the sandy Praia dos Ingleses beach, watching the surfers catch the waves as we ate our scrumptious meal at a seaside restaurant, all made this the loveliest of afternoons.
After lunch we continued our stroll along the beach,
then walked to the nearby park which was filled with families having picnics on the grassy knolls by the huge ponds where giggling children were feeding ducks and swans.
Since we had been walking for hours, we decided to take the city bus #500 back "home". This city bus was a double decker (!) which provided us with panoramic views of the seawall,
and the old Foz fort which once valiantly protected the entrance to the Douro River from pirates.
We relished watching the beautiful seaside scenery.
As we rounded the corner, we looked back at all the many, many miles we had walked.
Once off the bus, we walked back thru old town to our apatment
and got ready for our travel day tomorrow to the Douro River Valley.