Porto Center Hotel

... which shouldn’t be missed. When we arrived in Porto we decided to get a campsite next to the beach. After setting ourselves up we took a walk along the beach. What a wonderful feeling seeing the Atlantic stretched out in front of you and hearing the water rushing in at you. It was fun to know that we were staring across at home too!

There was no internet at the campsite and both Chris and I had some stuff we needed to do so the next day we ...

My flight from Madrid into Porto was my first flight experience with Ryanair. I had heard many controversial things leading up to the booking of my flight so I was interested to see if my story would be one of the endless ones ending in heartache. Considering I wound up in Porto, I'd consider it more or less a success.

I had done quite a lot of prep work to make sure that I squeaked in through the lines that outlined the rules. They have an absurd weight limit ...

... 1088;уго 75;о. Старе 85;ькие, узень 82;ие, обвет 96;авшие домик 80;, облиц 86;ванны& #1077; тради 94;ионно& #1081; порт ...

... 10 72; все вымер 83;о - ресто 88;аны закры 74;аются, никак 86;й кипящ 77;й жизни (ну, кроме пьяны 93; типоч ...

... 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

... the room when it turned out that the word "previous" was superfluous.

Well, it's only for one night and pretty soon we're wandering the streets of the university town, the pension, its 1950's décor, dodgy bathroom fittings (why is it in cheap hostels it's always the little plastic shower head-holder that breaks and never gets replaced?) and absent-minded receptionist becoming a distant memory whilst we begin the search in earnest for Coimbra ...

... how to get down off that hill to the street below. I had no clue but asked where she was from. It turns out that she was from Belgium and a former flight attendant whose husband is now a 737 captain. She had used her benefits to travel down to Portugal for the weekend, and we had travel and work in common. This seemingly cultured woman told me emphatically that the Casa da Musica was a must see and I would be very sorry ...

I was planning to only go to Lisbon in Portugal but I can still remember the look I got from the Paraguayan guy when I told him I was only in Paraguay for a day. So I decided not to insult the Portuguese by seeing more than just Lisbon. First stop Porto. This is a World heritage city so you know there is something special about it. The drive in was through concrete Lego suburbs that did not look that different from the new Spanish towns. The bus ...

... tower from anywhere in the city, sticking out like a triumphant granite beacon, reminding everyone and everything of the wealth and power that Porto once had.  All we had to do was look up and follow it. For a discounted price of 1€ each, we were granted permission to climb the 240 steps to the top ...

... just a little further, just to the next bridge" and then before we knew it, the night was falling. Along the way, we just had to stop for lunch at a little cafe floating on the sparkling river with, yes, you guessed it, another set menu for us to gorge ourselves on. Numerous courses, wines and the obligatory bitter espresso to finish - all for 5 euro. Just incredible. «Take note for future travellers to Portugal: if the waiter proffers ...