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  Porto, Northern Portugal, Portugal
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

We arrived in Porto in the early evening of Sunday 28 July and got settled into our Pensao (cross between a hostel and hotel - basic, with (small) ensuite bathroom, no breakfast but cleaned & new linen each day. Itīs located right in the city centre near the corner of the main shopping street and opposite a metro station which will be handy for catching the train to the airport. Iīts a bit noisy at night as there are a lot of people on the street below and buses and cars running down the street. But itīs okay for the price (just under €40 night). The church opposite (there are churches everywhere in Portugal) our hotel features an azulejos tile scene (see photo).

The Rio Douro runs through the city (itīs actually another city city (Vila Nova de Gaia) on the other (south) side of the river). Porto is pretty hilly but not as bad as Lisbon. Mind you, itīs a really steep walk (climb) from the waterfront (Ribeira) up into the city proper. They have quite a few bridges across the river - the most famous is Ponte de Dom Luis I which featuures in a couple of the photographs.

There arenīt nearly as many African Portugese here but there seems to be a sizeable Indian/Nepalese population. Each evening a bunch of the local boys take over a square and play cricket - they seem to revel in fast bowling and big slogs (maybe they can get the IPL here?). The cricket guys take over from the skateboarders each afternoon. Just over the road from the square is the internet cafe we're using - €0.50/hour which is very reasonable.

Today we got lost trying to find a particular tram that goes to the coast (a suburb called Foz) and thus had a long but enjoyable walk till we eventually found it (but caught the bus instead). We caught the tram back to the city centre and went for afternoon tea at the Majestic Cafe - all very swish. Tomorrow we have an all day excursion booked: upriver by train to Peso da Regua and then downriver on a ītypicalīlocal boat (like those they used to bring wine/port from the vineyards to the warehouses in Vila Nova).

Till next time

Tony and Chris

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Porto Bridges	View west from Ponte de Dom Luis I   Comments!	Porto houses near cathedral	Porto skyline (north from cathedral)
Majestic Cafe, Porto	High Tea @ Majestic Cafe, Porto   Comments!	Paris-inspired Avenida dos Aliados, Porto	Poto Deli

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