On to Porto,the last stop on this tour.

Sunrise from our hotel in Lamego in the Douro Valley.

We got on our bus at 9 o’clock in the morning for the two hour ride to Porto. Once in Porto, we met with our local guide who was a delightful woman who spoke incredible English. I wouldn’t actually call Porto a beautiful city, but it sure is fascinating. We learned a little bit about the history of Portugal, specifically the city of Porto. We learned about the importance of trade, especially the wine trade. I really love the architecture in Portugal. First of all houses are many different colors. They got incredible balconies with beautiful ironwork. A lot of house facades are tile. I wish the sun had been out so the pictures could’ve come out better.

Douro River
The Cathedral
Nice view of the main entrance to the cathedral.
Love these narrow streets
Great tile work
Prince Henri the Navigator was born in Porto in 1394 and was responsible for the early development of Portuguese exploration and maritime trade with other continents through the systematic exploration of Western Africa.  Unfortunately, he is also considered to be one of the most responsible for developing the slave trade in Western Europe. 
Got to love these pink buildings
More tile work
Another replica of the boats that were once used to bring wine down from the Douro valley.

In the early evening, we got to go to a fado concert. I really enjoyed the female vocalist. The instruments were a regular guitar and a Portuguese guitar, which had a really nice sound. 

After the concert, Reggie and I went to a small shop to have some pastels de nata for dinner. The standard pastel is a Portuguese egg custard tart pastry but you can get them filled with just about anything. I had a sardine filled one and a traditional one for dinner. Reggie had a lemon one.

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