Porto - my Portugal favourite

Two train rides to Porto and after a quick bag drop at Hotel da Bolsa we headed off for lunch and a chance to sample the local speciality - Francesinha. A ridiculously large ham, chipolata, steak and cheese layered sandwich, drowned in melted cheese and swimming in thick hot tomato and beer sauce that “should be tasted once in your lifetime”. Chicken salad for me and their oh so delicious, pumpkin and port gelato. The further north we go the bigger the wine pours - needed to do breast stroke to get across todays lunchtime glass. An hours break in our rooms to unpack and we were off again for an orientation walk of Porto. So many cute narrow streets, up and down we went making me grateful for Wellington street fitness and guilt

free gorging on all the delicious food.

< Francesinha. Porto. Harry Potter lookalikes fleecing tourists (the sneaker wearers) and the tower I didn’t climb.

BELOW: Port and a cod and potato savoury for brunch in a handy artist’s palette that Sandra being an artist, brought back to NZ. The 3rd and best octopus I ate that suckered to the plate when I held it down with my fork to cut it. And after all that walking (6 miles today according to Debbie’s Fitbit), well earned desserts - no I didn’t eat them both, one was Debbie’s!
> My favourite Porto views and yes some from top of the inescapable 1881 constructed 45m high Ponte Luis bridge, that is two storied for easy access to the upper and lower parts of the city. People jump off it after first pumping up the onlookers for contributions to ‘reward their bravery’ aka stupidity. Tiled artworks in railway station.