I caught the regional train to Aveiro, connecting to the commuter train to Porto. I'm glad I did not take the express; in the Porto suburbs a group of scouts got on the commuter train en route to a camping trip. The leader pulled out his guitar, and the group sang some songs (1).
Once in Porto, the old trams provided a ride along the Douro River to the sea. The waves were quite high, crashing over the breakwater, which was closed off due to the high surf (2). A roasted chestnut vendor provided lunch.
The walk back to town took about an hour. A bike tour in the afternoon was shared with a student from Korea, who is on a term abroad in Finland studying physical therapy (3). On one of the tour stops, I chatted with a man walking his dogs who turned out to be from Rhode Island, but who spends the winters in Portugal.
We cycled through Porto and to Gaia, on the south Bank of the Douro. Most of the Port wine companies (4) are situated in Gaia, historically beyond the reach of the Bishop of Porto and his high taxes (5). The port wine, grown and produced up river, ages in barrels in Gaia.
I found a place to eat that was open crazy early (by Portuguese standards; it was only 6:30 p.m) and watched a Porto soccer game with the locals, who, judging by their shouts and high fives when the local team score a goal, seemed to assume I was there to watch also.
(1) In Portuguese, of course. The only word I caught was Coração (heart).
(2) One of the other tram passengers actually had a surfboard with him.
(3) Who did not seem very comfortable riding a bike, especially on the hilly terrain here in Porto.
(4) For example, Taylor, Grahams and Cockburn. As you might guess by the company names, Port is a favorite among the English. This taste is said to date from the Napoleonic era, when British forces help keep Portugal free from Napoleon (a).
(a) The English and Portuguese have a long and friendly relationship; the oldest extant treaty in the world is the Treaty of Windsor between the two countries, dating to 1389.
(5) The Bishop held great temporal power in Porto; his residence was officially (and literally) a palace.
The regional train to Aveiro
The scouts singing (my seat mate was too engrossed in his mobile phone to notice)
View of the Douro from the train
São Bento Train Station
On the tram
The motorman has switched the trolley pole at Passeio Allegre to reverse and head back to town
The 1 Tram along the Douro
Later on, the tram heading downhill
Roasting chestnuts
Why the breakwater was closed
Eiffel Train bridge over the Douro (recently superceded by the structure behind). I've been on two Eiffel railway bridges: on the narrow guage in the Republic of Georgia and over the Prut River on the Romania-Moldova border.
View of Porto from Gaia
Descending to the lower level to records to Porto
We happened upon a ritual baptism at the Lion Fountain for new students
A bookstore people queued up to see, as it alledgedly help to inspire some features of Hogwarts (J.K. Rowling lived in Porto at one point). The locals say that the author named "Salazar" Slytherin after Alberto Salazar, Portugal's dictator for much of the 20th century
The tallest building in Porto
The Bishop's Palace
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