Oh, Another Port

The port in question is Porto, Portugal, on the banks of the Douro River.  We visited Porto in 2013, but arrived by bus from Lisbon. There is now a new modern port on the Atlantic which can accommodate large cruise ships where we were greeted by local dancers.










We then had a 45 minute drive into downtown Porto.  Along the way we saw monuments to sailors, forts and a lot of rocky shore.

Our bus took us around downtown Porto with a few stops but we did not have time to get out and see the railway station with its magnificent tiles.  Portugal is known for its tile and tiled buildings.  The picture on the left is what we saw in the railway station in 2014.  The picture on the right shows some of the buildings with some tile decorations.







One of the stops was on a hill above the river since the bus could not navigate the narrow and steep streets.  Henry the Navigator looks down on the river, and pigeons look down on him.


























This "double church" was actually two churches.  On the right was the church where the population was allowed.  The church on the left was for the monks who had a monastery next to the church.

The Baroque interior with lots of gold

No visit to Porto would be complete without a visit to a Port warehouse.  The grapes are grown, harvested and pressed in the Douro Valley, farther inland than Porto.  At one time casks of juice were transported downriver in small boats. Now it comes by tanker truck, so the old boats were converted to tour boats to show visitors around up and down the river and under the many bridges. 



All the major brands of port wine have warehouses along the river, and we visited Calem (a major brand of port.) The port is fermented and aged in barrels or large casks, depending on the characteristics desired.  Our guide gave us more information about port wine than we ever wanted to know.  Of course, we just had to drink both glasses of port we were given.  You do not want to insult the hospitality, after all.