Round The World and other travels

Once again, I had an excellent night's sleep and woke at about 0730. My customary glance through the curtains revealed somewhat misty conditions, which were not exactly inviting. I hoped that the gloom would burn off. I had breakfast in the hotel as usual and was surprised at how many people were up and about at this time on a Sunday morning. I was ready for the road by 0930 and stepped out into the rather cool conditions. I once again began by taking a no. 3 bus to Liberty (or was it Liberation?) Square, but this time bought a day ticket from the driver.

I made my way, in leisurely fashion, up through the rabbit's warren of steep, narrow streets that I reckoned would take me to the cathedral precincts. Fortunately, my sense of direction did not let me down. Unfortunately, the cathedral itself was a bit of a mess, presumably due to restoration works. I took some pictures and made my way down to an excellent viewing area that I had noticed some distance below. The views here were stunning, but my eagle eyes also spotted some furtive behaviour by two young men, one of whom was receiving a veritable stream of none-too-wholesome looking visitors. Money was definitely changing hands and something was being handed back in return   Although part of the UNESCO World Heritage site, I was fairly suspicious of this little corner of the area, which was covered with graffiti, so it was with some relief that I emerged into the square opposite the Chambers of Commerce.

Following a tip from the American ladies at lunch the previous day, I checked the tour times at the Chambers. I wandered around for a bit and joined the 1230 tour of the building, a former Stock Exchange, built on the site of the convent that was once attached to the Church of St Francis next door. The building took some 60 years to complete, and no wonder! The rooms are incredibly impressive, even if many of them are finished using plaster, painted in such a way as to imitate other materials. The Arabian Room has to be seen to be believed, and a visit here should be considered a 'must' by all visitors to the city.

I had lunch at the same riverside place as the previous day and then walked across the bridge to take in that other 'must' : a visit to one of the famous port wine houses. Strictly speaking, I was no longer in Porto, but in Vila Nova de Gaia. The views of Porto from this side of the river were absolutely spectacular. I joined a tour at Sandeman's, which I learned had been founded by a Scotsman ... the company, that is, not the tour   It was interesting to learn something about the different varieties of port and how they are made, and the tasting session at the end of the tour also proved to be highly enjoyable

By now, it was past four o'clock - how time passes when you're enjoying yourself! I walked back across to the Porto side. Following on from my transport-related chat the previous day, I wanted to sample the initial line of the brand new, tram-based metro system. Accordingly, I took a bus to the coast - an interesting ride in itself - and transferred onto one of the sleek new trams. I thought that, if this first line was anything to go by, it was going to be a hugely impressive system. I made a brief stop along the way for a spot of photography and eventually emerged at Casa da Musica, which I noticed was only a short stroll away from my hotel.

Back at base, I had a relaxing bath followed by dinner in the hotel restaurant. Then, using the hotel's Business Centre, I was able to OLCI for both my flights the following day. I realised that I was making no great progress with the Porto / Oporto question, except in noting that it was quite definitely Porto in Portuguese. I wondered whether I had made any kind of breakthrough when I saw 'Oporto' in some Spanish text. Hmmm.