Six word Saturday

Stunning!

Spectacular Sao Bento railway station in Porto

Fabulous!

Port side!

Serene

Sailing on the Douro

Blissful

Tavira Island

Wonderful

A Portuguese Water Dog arrives to perform

In action in the Water Dog Trials, Lagos

Portugal

Pretty Guimaraes, European City of Culture 2012

Just six words? Sorry- quite impossible!

Some of the highlights?  Undoubtedly, sailing back to Porto from Peso da Regua on board a beautiful barco rabelo- the wooden boats used originally for carrying port downstream to mature in casks in Vila Nova de Gaia.  The company of two young Americans, on the last day of their honeymoon, made it extra special.

The free walking tour we took around Porto, with Iris and 22 internationally varied others, was pretty good too.  After 2 and a half hours of ups and downs, the Francesinha (a lavish cheese and meat toastie in a piquant sauce), and exchanged life histories, were also pretty great.

A glass of port in the surreal surroundings of Lello’s bookstore (sorry, no photos allowed)- it doesn’t get much better.  The highly entertaining antics of the Portuguese Water Dogs, followed by a trip round the grottoes in a small water taxi- well, you know how I feel about water!  You’re right- there will be more posts to follow…. I took over 570 photos.

For now I need to say thank you to Cate of Show My Face for welcoming me back again, and rush off to check what you’ve all been up to in my absence.  Hope to see you all back here next week.  Follow the links for more information.

57 comments

      1. I’ve just booked a weekend in Porto in February with a friend so I shall be picking your brains of all the best things to do before then! My first trip to Portugal at last…

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      2. Awesome! Suspect you’ll need a warm coat, but you’ll surely enjoy the wine tastings. My last 2 “blue” posts are full of Porto stuff, just to get you in the mood.

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    1. Absolutely not, Paula. The meat is excellent, particularly the black pork and javali (wild boar). The pork comes from a dark skinned pig and is much the same colour as normal pork but is delicious when cooked well. So, you have no excuse?

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    1. Certainly is, Andrew. Thanks for pointing it out. There was a caption with it which seems to have gone walkabout (bit like me!) so I shall go back there immediately and find it. Cheers!

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    1. I went azulejo crazy! Much more to follow.

      Yes, Quinta de Marim, near Olhao was, I believe, their start point. There’s a museum in the Vila Albacora Hotel grounds dedicated to the style of fishing they were used in. This particular event was on in Lagos and is held yearly. There’s a breeding centre on the road out of Lagos towards Sagres.
      Their antics were highly amusing, especially those that didn’t really want to perform. One little guy arrived on the front of a Harley Davidson- very cool!

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