Beta Porto Hotel

It really is a shame we already booked our flight to France from Porto. We could have easily stayed an extra week in Portugal, there is so much to see here. But we did pretty good with our 2 days in Porto. It's right on the river and the ocean, and on one side of the river are tons of cute, old tiled homes, that look across to the other side of the bank where all of the old Port ...

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We drove to Madelana about 8 kilometers from Porto. As we got near Jessica decided that she was no longer going to be our sat nav floozie and left us in the lurch in a narrow cobbled street. A kind passerby volunteered to accompany us out of difficulty but there was no room in the car. Where upon a passing motorist stopped and offered to lead us to the camp site. There followed a journey down twisting cobbled streets some of them two way as he stopped the oncoming ...

We drove through the rain and Jessica (sat nav) took us up into the mountains. When she wanted us to do a sharp hairpin bend that was impossible with the caravan we had to carry on to a dead end in the road. As the rain got heavier we had to unhitch the caravan, turn round and rehitch and retrace our route. Unfortunately we did it very ...

... the better part of an hour looking for any restaurant that was opened. Our meals were : a tuna salad (a can of tuna, unrippened tomatoes and lettuce) and pork (a peice of pork, rice and french fries.) Long story short we were more then enthusiastic to get on the road in the morning to leave Porto behind

... cum-queue of would-be diners standing patiently outside in the metre-wide alleyway waiting for a table.<br><br>Porto, until now a place evoking memories of last season's promising start to the European Cup campaign, grabs you as soon as you alight from the train at the stunning Sao Bento train station with its impressive tile panels. We couldn't wait to get exploring and even the need to carry the rucksacks up a steep road liberally sprinkled with ...

... a look at this building and then take the bus further out of the city to the beach. Two trams later I was at the appropriate stop and did indeed see a big building. A grey concrete cube with green glass rose above Stalinist style apartment blocks that made me feel like I was in Bulgaria rather than Portugal. A European woman with culture and style couldn't possibly lead me astray so I eagerly walked over to the Casa. Shiny ...

... because the Lonely Planet map was wrong. I saw plenty of sights. The old town is full of steep streets with colorful 6 to 8 storey attached buildings. Some are decorated in mainly white and blue tiles. As you get closer to the river the streets get skinnier, the buildings get closer together and the sunlight rarely reaches to street level. This is probably a good thing as it is quite cool down at street level. This is not a city for ...

... pulpits and pelmets all in Rococo ornamentation.  The Italian artist and architect who was commissioned for this job, was brought over by the dean of the Cathedral, but ended up never leaving Porto and was buried in his greatest creation.   The day was getting hazy with that same fog-like sky that was ...

... Porto is a bit rundown. Objectively, the food is nothing special and in many ways the town is the poor relation of Lisbon and Madrid. Yet if forced to pick a favorite continental city, this would be it. There's no hassle or hustle in the locals, and it seems to pack in so many different districts into one good (OK, long) walk. You can seemingly be in Melbourne one minute, then in New York, then at Bondi Beach. Its linked together with a shiny new ...