Woke up early at Erica’s flat. I didn’t hear her come in last night, but Sally did, around midnight. We quietly packed and got ready to. She woke up a few minutes before we left We got a chance to say goodbye.
Took the blue line to St. Sebastian and then the red line to Oriente where the bus terminal is. Had over an hour before our 10:30am bus. Bought bus ride tickets for the next legs of our journey, Porto to Coimbra, Coimbra to Fátima, and Fátima to Nazare.
Nothing remarkable on the bus ride. Disembarked at Porto Campanha rail station. We could have taken the subway part way to our lodgings, but we needed the 2+ mile walk and the chance to introduce ourselves to Porto.
Today is Festival day in Porto. The Main Street we were walking to our apartment was blocked off and filled with people in goofy costumes. We had to weave our way through the crowd and enjoyed taking pictures along the way. We found an open cafe and had a bowl of squash soup and some French fries for lunch. There we met a family from the Toronto area coming to Lisbon to watch their sister/daughter give a presentation at a symposium on brain research.
The main square in old town Porto is completely torn apart with construction of a new subway line. We had to detour around it by a couple blocks to get to our place. We had a little trouble finding it and had to call the manager to get directions. As it turned out we were standing right below the windows, but the entrance was on the other side of the row of buildings that made up the block.
Sally found a perfect location when she booked this place. We are right across the street from the Church of the Clerics and it’s iconic tower, right in the middle of the city. Once in our room (about 4:30pm) it was time to leave it and explore the city, following one of Rick Steve’s self guided tours of the upper town. We checked out the famous bookstore, park with a mall under it, pastry shop and more. At the university there was a large crowd of students in the square with a lion fountain. They we chanting loudly. As we came to understand, they were initiating the Freshmen with a type of baptism, splashing water on their heads with gigantic wooden spoons as they leaned over the fountain. Much hilarity and antics-a university student thing. We stopped by a grocery store on our way home and stocked up for the days ahead.
Descending Wrica’s street on our way to the bus station
Crazy Costumes in Porto
Granite Tower in heart of Porto from park with a mall underneath
Harry Potter Bookstore
Freshmen at University waiting to be baptized
Example of tile murals found all over town
Downtown Porto square at the foot of main Square in front of train station
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