Europe

We got off to a pretty slow start today, but it was nice to have a sleep-in. We got down to breakfast around 10:15 am. We had been looking forward to eating a few Pasteis de nata (Portuguese tarts) in Portugal. Luckily, the hotel did their part and made sure there were plenty on offer at breakast.

We had an excellent breakfast, with Vegemite again making an appearance.

After a very relaxing and enjoyable breakfast, it was around midday when we finally managed to get outside to go for a walk.

Our hotel is located on Avenida dos Aliados, just down from the Porto City Hall. The Porto City Hall has a 70-metre-tall clock tower, making it one of Porto’s most recognisable landmarks. We admired the building from afar but didn’t stop to go in.

We meandered through the pretty streets of Porto to R. de Sá da Bandeira, where we found a lovely store called O Patinho Azul, which sold hand-made Portuguese children’s clothing. Unfortunately, it was closed but it will be open tomorrow, so we’ll think about coming back then.

Just a little further up the street we came to Igreja de Santo Ildefonso (Church of Saint Ildefonso), a beautiful Baroque-style church, completed in 1739. In the 1930s, blue-and-white azulejos tiles were added to the facade of the church.

Next, we headed to the bustling R. de Santa Catarina.

On R. de Santa Catarina is the Capela das Almas (Chapel of Souls), one of the most famous (and most photographed) tiled churches in Porto. The church dates back to the 18th century, though the current form is mainly from the 19th century. The striking blue-and-white azulejo tiles, which illustrate the lives of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Catherine of Siena, were added in the early 20th century.

We picked up a little bit of shopping on R. de Santa Catarina, which we then decided was too inconvenient to carry around, so we headed back to the hotel to drop it off in our room.

We left the hotel and set off for Jardins do Palácio de Cristal, the renowned gardens in Porto. On the way, we passed the Igreja do Carmo (Church of the Carmelites), and the Igreja dos Carmelitas, two separate churches that appear to be connected. In fact, they are separated by the narrowest house in Porto, just one metre wide, built to separate the two churches and prevent contact between the nuns (Carmelitas) and monks (Carmelites).

On our way to the gardens, we walked through a nice area with a park called Jardim da Cordoaria.

We got to Jardins do Palácio de Cristal around 2:45 pm. We enjoyed a nice walk around the gardens, and took in the view over the Douro River.

From the gardens, we backtracked and headed for the Luís I Bridge. On the way, we passed the Igreja de São Lourenço, better known as the Igreja dos Grilos (Church of the Crickets). The church was built in the 16th century by the Jesuits, but the Jesuits were expelled by the Order of Saint Augustine, who were nicknamed the “Crickets” (Grilos) in Portugal.

A little further on from the church, we decided to stop for an ice-cream and a short rest.

Feeling recharged after our ice-creams and a short sit-down, we walked down to the Luís I Bridge, which spans the Douro between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. At the time of its construction, its span of 172 metres was the longest of its type in the world.

We walked across the bridge from Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia, which afforded us some lovely views across the river to Porto.

We crossed back to the Porto side and contemplated whether we’d take the cable car back up the hill or take the stairs. We opted for the stairs, which proved to be quite the workout!

We got back to the hotel around 6:15 pm. The hotel is beautifully decorated. We were particularly taken by the bear sculpture on display in the hotel’s lobby.

We decided to have dinner at the hotel’s Japanese restaurant, but the earliest table we could book was for 9:00 pm. Luckily, we could order from the restaurant and have dinner delivered to our room, which is what we did. We had a thoroughly enjoyable dinner.

Having done a lot of walking today, we decided on an early night. Tomorrow, we think we’ll go out and do a bit of shopping in the morning before heading off on a 300-kilometre drive to Lisbon.