17th October (cloudy, mild, rain in afternoon) 0 km

After a good night’s sleep, we woke to the sound of seagulls once again in full song and some of the local cats tearing each other apart. Both were sounds we hear regularly. Cats facing off against each other and the sometimes annoying, but also comfortingly familiar sound of seagulls, reminding us of home.  One thing that has immediately struck us about Porto, is the amount of cats roaming around – and most of them are not too pretty.

I remember my teenage years on the Wirral and in Liverpool. In those days every youngster went around spitting, it was disgusting and totally unnecessary. Jump forward forty years and it’s even worse seeing grown adults fill their mouth and spit into the street. I spoke to Jess, our trainer earlier this year after she’d visited China on a rugby tour. One aspect she hated which had stuck with her, was the amount of spitting. Even in fancy hotel reception areas, they would spit on the floor. It’s definitely one point I detest.  Our hotel sits just below one of the attractions in Porto, the Cathedral. In the street outside sits an elderly lady, who seems to talk and shout, at no one and everyone, all day. On a regular basis, she thinks nothing of filling her mouth and letting it go in the street.  However, the youngsters don’t seem to do it, so hopefully it’s a dying art.  

A quick shot of the Skoda Fabia before we hand it back

Still feeling quite full from our meal last night, we didn’t bother with breakfast as such and went to return the car to the depot about 5km away.  Got that all sorted and booked a car to pick up that we can take to Lisbon tomorrow.  Not enjoying all the driving in the cities, but it is a necessary evil at the moment.  We just have too much area to cover to cycle it and there are things we want to see and goodness knows when we will get back here.  We have heard the south of Portugal is best for cycling and are very keen to get back on the bikes and the simple life that camping offers.  In the meantime there are things to check out between Porto and Lisbon with not very cycle friendly roads to do it from.  With the lack of time, the car seems the best option, although we both feel like we’re cheating!

After sorting the car, we went to have a coffee and croissant from the café next door and it was delicious!  Only 3.50 euro for the two of us as well.  Then we walked back to the centre of town, checking out the sights and taking photos.  About 2pm we had another coffee and something to eat in the downtown area, which was also excellent value.  

A cute little church we spied on our way back from dropping the car

Our apartment is above the three umbrellas,.

On returning from our adventures around Porto, we noticed a police car and ambulance outside our apartment…….and no spitting old woman.  Pete swears he had nothing to do with it, but I have my suspicions…..I mean, he really hates spitting.

The overall photos of Porto are stunning, but the details are equally impressive

Tiled buildings are a really big thing over here.

Pete here; Ju is correct, that is a habit I’ve always hated, even on the footy field, where it was quite common. However, as we sat in our apartment this afternoon, supping on our Port and bringing ourselves up to date with our blog and photos, there was something else, fortunately that you don’t see on an even semi regular occurrence, that drew our attention. There are an awful lot of drunks, druggies, beggars and down n outs in this area. We fully expected our rental car and gear to be ripped off, so we were a little surprised to find them all still where we had left them. As we gazed out of the window today, a female and her male dreg of a companion, beer bottle in hand, took a lesser known flight of stairs leading to the Cathedral, right outside our window. There, he proceeded to pull down his pants and defecate on the stonework. There is a public toilet less than 50 metres away. I would, as Lauren Todd is aware….shoot him in the head…what a waste of space.

The rain became a drizzle and we waited for an opportunity to venture out for something to eat. By now, there was very little left in the bottle of Port. I had been able to clean our bikes thoroughly and the next time they get that much attention, it will be to pack them up for their final journey home. Had a chat with Teresa, our host. She is twenty seven and single. She told us that she and her brother, both work for her Dad. He has three buildings and they look after this one and run the shop. As single people, they live at home. Only when they get married will they move into a place of their own. They studied at the local university, to save living expenses elsewhere. When their parents are older, they will be expected to have them live with them rather than go into a rest home. They have two relationships with their parents. From early morning until 7pm, they are employees, from 7pm, they are family and the two are always kept separate.

About 7.30pm we ventured out for dinner - it was already dark as Portugal are an hour behind Spain.  We headed downhill and over the river again but tonight it was almost deserted, probably because of the weather.  We went back to the same restaurant but were not as thrilled with the meals, the service or the size of the ports.  Tummies full, we ventured back to the apartment and had a chat with Briana before bed.