It’s early November, but the weather has been fabulous, with temperatures in the low 20’s Celsius and beautiful clear blue skies.

We had a slow start on Saturday because … we always have a slow start if at all possible. The train strike is over, so just before noon we headed over to the station to book our train tickets back to Lisbon on Wednesday. We mentioned that we were seniors, and … the tickets were nearly half price. This seems to be common in Portugal – we love it. After booking the tickets and working out how the metro works to get back to our apartment (really quite straightforward once you figure it out) we grabbed a late lunch and then headed to the meeting point for our Port tour. Our guide, Alex, explained that all the port houses are actually across the river in Gaia. The reason … lower taxes, of course. This is a view of the Porto waterfront from Gaia.

Our port tour included stops at three port houses, with seven tastings in all. At the beginning of the tour, our small group was very reserved and formal. After the first two tastings, we were starting to relax, and by the end we were best friends. We had a hoot.

Porto is very hilly, so there are a number of funiculars and cable cars. When we were on our port tour, we walked under one of the cable cars on the Gaia side, as the sun was setting.

We had dinner reservations across the river in Porto, so when the tour ended we walked (stumbled???) back. It was a lovely warm evening and we had a perfect view of the port houses in Gaia along the way.

Our dinner reservations were at Restaurant RC, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because it preserves the decor from when it was founded in 1894. No pictures, but we had a lovely meal, followed by Fado and dessert … with port, of course. Perhaps not the best plan, but fun…

Sunday we woke up feeling surprisingly spry and I headed out for our customary latte. Every morning I’ve seen the sun on these tiles on the building across the street. Nothing special – just an average (lovely) building in Porto.

We didn’t have anything planned for Sunday, and it was such a wonderful day that we decided to keep it that way, and just wander the city enjoying the views.

Note the gorgeous blue sky in this next picture.

We spotted a busker singing Fado (we think). We stopped to listen and then bought his CD to show our appreciation. Later, when we told someone this, their reaction was “they still make CDs”? This is when I feel old.

Another statue – presumably a knight … I didn’t investigate to see if it was a white knight or a black knight…

Then we headed across the Pont Luis I (bridge) on the high level. The walk took us past the old city walls, dating back to 1300.

The seagulls love them…

As we were walking across the bridge, a couple asked us to take their picture, so we asked them to return the favour.

Once we got across the bridge, we bought a round trip ticket on the cable car (see earlier picture) and discovered that once again, there was a senior discount. At the bottom, we wandered aimlessly (the theme for the day) and came across a lovely restaurant patio where we had a delicious lunch with a view of Porto. Well, at least Jan had the view…

There were a number of scenic lookouts in the area (one of the advantages of hills, I suppose) and we took advantage of this one to get yet another stunning view of Porto.

As we were walking back over the Pont Luis I bridge, we spotted a couple from our port tour on Saturday, and stopped to chat. As I said earlier, but the end of the tour, we were best friends.

Beside the bridge, we saw these old buildings being restored. I can only imagine the price tag when they are finished.

Tomorrow we get up at a ridiculous time (for us) to make it to the pickup spot for the Douro valley tour. It should be fun, in spite of having to get up so early.