Our Skimobile awaits...

Thursday, May 03, 2018
Porto, Porto District, Portugal
The early morning got off to a good start as the Taxi was ready for us when we arrived in the lobby. We checked our luggage through and went through security. No passport control as we were flying between 2 EU countries but we still had to wait. Good flight, with a bit of turbulence coming into land. The land below looked fabulous, with lots of little, aldeia. Jane, Simon’s English cousin had messaged us that she would meet us about 45 minutes after touch down. We were through within 20 minutes and the EuroLease man was there ready for us. So we messaged Jane saying we were going to get the car and then come back and pick her up. We tried phoning but the call would not go through. The man took us to our Skimobiles our first new European car a Peugeot 308 6 speed Manual with GPS. He explained the car, loaded the GPS to take us back to the airport and we were off. Easy! The EuroLease man was very helpful in telling us where we should park when we came back for Jane. The free express park is for a maximum of 15 minutes over that time the barrier stays down until you pay, which blocks everyone else. We did not go to that part of the carpark. We found Jane patiently looking for us, to walk through the arrivals door. Jane smiled and Simon gave her a Simon hug as Jane was pleased to see Simon but was also desperate to go to the loo. She hadn’t wanted to move in case we walked through. Once the pressure on the bladder was eased she said she had had no messages. Simon took Jane to our Skimobile and headed into Porto. Still easy! You may want to check the definition of the word ‘easy’ in Simons dictionary. Our (all 3 of us) blood pressure was still good. Joao our host kindly let us drop off our bags early (11am) and told Simon where some free car parking was. Car parked, Simon found a different park we caught the Metro into the centre of Porto. Our AirBnB was opposite a Metro station so that was also easy to find. Once at the AirBnB, Jane had switched into the WiFi and received our messages we had sent at the airport.
It was a hot sunny day (high 20s) so we stopped for an early lunch and plan our adventures. We thought of getting a Tuk Tuk tour but it was not going to be that practical time wise. So we walked down to the river area which was full of people. We would hate to be here in peak summer. We got a deal with the Blue Hop on Hop off Bus ( 3 different companies in Porto) giving us a 48 hour ticket plus a boat ride and headed off. It was a big circuit, it is surprising how big Porto is. Porto lived upto the expectations and more. A vibrant city with lots of activity. After a circuit we had some refreshments and headed back to the AirBnB. The AirBnB was great a 4 bedroom apartment with all the essentials. Jane and Simon went to the supermarket which was near by ( it was) and moved the car to a carpark closer to our accommodation which was free over the weekend.
Saturday morning Jane & Simon went for a wee walk. It was also Janes first visit to Porto so she was keen to explore. We found some lovely squares. In one square we saw this long queue. What for we asked each other. It was the queue for @ bookshop.  Livraria Chardron aka the Lello bookstore. JK Rowling frequently visited. AS Mortimer and JA Rennie did not visit. https://www.livrarialello.pt/en-us/livrarialello-institucional The worlds most beautiful bookshop! Simon did do some shopping - be sure to check out the photos. 
We failed in our attempt to find a bakery selling Portugese Custard Tarts so headed back the AirBnB. We passed a lot of  young adults in Big Black gowns, which looked very uncomfortable in the heat. We discovered it  was a graduation weekend. As we only had 2 nights in Porto we headed back down to the river to get the Five Bridges Boat Ride. Yes, you  go under 5 bridges while heading out to the river mouth. The buildings were varied, a lot had been renovated, some were new and some were old but looked all closed up. Again it was too hot for a Port and after a couple of Taxi rides. The first of which was with ‘ The taxi driver with a mission ‘ as he zoomed down the cobblestone streets. It could have been an intentional ride to prepare Jane and Susan for Simons driving! Jaeo had mentioned a restaurant we should go to that served a traditional Portugese dish, Francesinhas. The restaurant  Cervejaria Brasão which in Janes research had also appeared as a possible option. Francesinhas are a Portugese sandwichoriginally from Porto, made with bread, wet-cured ham, linguiça, fresh sausage like chipolata, steak or roast meat and covered with melted cheese and a hot thick tomato and beer .... 
The restaurant was virtually empty when we arrived at 7pm. No booking, well you can have a table as long as you have departed by 9pm. We left at 8.55 and returned to the AirBnB. The restaurant was humming when we left, lots of locals. It was about 3 times the size of the Manchester St Lonestar. Everyone seemed to be having Francesinhas’s. We returned to the AirBnB to prepare for the following day. Sunday we were driving up the Douro Valley  so the day was  going to be....
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