A Day in Porto

When Matt and I were in Portugal several years ago, we only had a couple of hours to see Porto before heading to Braga the next day for the Habitat for Humanity build. Allie and I used our first full day in Portugal to get some rest and enjoy Porto before starting our Camino.

It was a holiday (São João), so there were a lot of people taking a day off. It made for a very relaxing day. We did find remnants of the big celebration, and street crews were hosing things down.

We spent quite a bit of time near the Duoro River and took a ride on the aerial tram.

We had our first olives at lunch.

I was brave and ordered a francesinha sandwich. My advice is "don't bother!" It is an interesting idea - grilled ham, sausage, beef, cheese, ??? - but is finished off with an awful sauce that makes the whole thing soggy. It's apparently a Portuguese tradition. I'm glad I tried it, but I won't be eating more of them.

Another part of the São João tradition is giving manjerico plants with special messages attached. Rubbing the leaves creates a nice basil-like aroma.

After a nice tapas dinner, including yummy sausage over a flaming dish,

we were ready for bed and the shift into Camino mode. We had walked about 8.2 miles on our day in hilly Porto.