Porto

We camped in Candelaria which is near the beach across from Porto. Having become somewhat spoiled by our experience in Coimbra, we used Uber rather than busses to get into town. Our first day we followed one of our guide book's orientation walks and strolled all over Porto learning about history and taking in the interesting sights.  

Our photo album is here. Click on the "i" in a circle for descriptions.

The riverfront area was very fun to explore with its many levels from the water to the docks and many cellars where port in barrels and other goods could be loaded and unloaded. The tall houses built side by side each had a distinctive character - some well kept and some in ruins.

After much sight-seeing we settled into Ryan's pub a bit further inland for a cool drink and a rest before setting off in search of dinner. At our restaurant near the river, many of the menu items looked good except:

"Roast kid"

We stuck with seafood. The octopus was delicious!

The next day we toured the Palacio da Bolsa (Stock Exchange Palace) and Sao Francisco Church. Then we hit the shopping district but we weren't there to shop - just enjoy the area. The famous Bolhao Market is not open so we strolled through the temporary Bolhao Market. We had worked up an appetite a bit before most restaurants were open for dinner but found an open place through Trip Advisor that looked like it was frequented by locals.

Stock Exchange Palace 

They had Brazilian feijoada on the menu that I had to try because our Brazilian exchange student had made it for us.  It was good, but hers was better, of course. This place was a real find as we had an appetizer, wine, and two main courses for less than 20 euros!

Then we walked towards the riverfront but, to get a different view we headed to a bridge further inland. When we reached the bridge it was very high up and offered views of the bridge designed by the Eiffel tower designer.

We then started the very steep descent along the river and eventually reached the same square "Praca da Ribeira" we had been the day before. Yesterday the square had been crowded with English soccer fans but today it was completely trashed. For blocks there was garbage, beer bottles and broken glass everywhere. The British fans were shouting soccer chants that I couldn't understand but Dermot knew. I could make out certain phrases such as "f*** the pope" and "f*** the IRA." Dermot explained that this was taunting he was very familiar with from his time in London when soccer hooligans frequently became violent. We moved on and passed Ryan's pub where we had been the day before but today the rowdies had taken over the pub and spilled out onto the streets. Porto police were lined up around the crowd and Dermot herded me out of the area. We later saw on the news that the situation had deteriorated into bottle throwing and police action. All this was on a night that England wasn't even playing! Many people in the camp had clearly come to watch the games and the English flag was prevalent. We decided to spend the next night in camp far away from where the game between England and the Netherland teams were playing. We watched the game sitting among peaceful Netherlands fans and thoroughly enjoyed the game. Winner: Netherlands, in more ways than one.    

Next: Lugo, Spain and Storms