October 30, Day 6 - Porto

After breakfast we met our guide for a short tour of Porto before we separated from the group. Most were going on a cruise and wine tasting. As we have already done a cruise of the Duoro river we did not take this optional tour. One of the first stops was the Livraria Lello book store. It is rumored that this was the inspiration for the Harry Potter movies. It cost 5 Euros to go in and there was a long lineup so we did not go in. Along the way, we saw many beautiful tiles on building and in the S. Bento train station.

We saw Clérigos tower which is to Porto what the tower of Belém is to Lisbon. We made a stop at the S. Bento train station and then we walked right by the Airbnb where we had stayed in 2018. Just before the station I mentioned that so far I had not seen any familiar places but as soon as we exited the station I recognized the street and our apartment that was about 5 minutes away. We separated from the group at the river.

We spent our 2 hours of free time roaming around the river geocaching. We crossed over on the bridge designed by Eiffel to meet the group in front of the Calem Porto store.

After coming back to our hotel by bus we went for lunch at Gazela with Geri and George, a place that was recommended by Rick Steeves. We placed our orders and the waiter said no, what you want is each a hotdog and a plate of fries to share. That's what he served us but it was like no other hotdog that we have ever had. It was very delicious with just a bit of a bite and melted cheese on a grilled or toasted bun. They have received the world restaurant award for their hotdogs in 2019.

Afterwards we went hunting for our 25,000th cache. Geri and George came along to take the picture. We finally found it with the help of 2 local women who had seen someone replacing the cache a couple of weeks ago. They did not know what geocaching was and were intrigued.

We came back to the hotel with plenty of time to pack our suitcase for our last day and return to Lisbon before meeting our guide for the fado show.

The fado show was amazing. We didn't stay until the end but stayed for 3 sets. Appetizers, main course and dessert were included in the price as well as wine. Although we did not stay until the end it was almost 12:30 before we arrived back at our hotel.

Livraria Lello book store

S. Bento train station

Interesting flower decorations

We saw coat of arms on many buildings

Not certain what this sculpture represents.

The apartment where we stayed in 2018.

Fanciest McDonald's I have ever seen and no, we did not eat here.

Interesting place for a church.

Another creative sculpture made from garbage.

We found geocache number 25,000 in Porto

A night view of Porto from the restaurant where we attended the Fado show.

One of the Fado signers.

A second signer is at the other end of the room.