Ah Porto, so glad that our apartment doesnt suffer from airbnb construction syndrome. It was a great nights to Aveiro and theres a coffee machine in the place. What else could you want?
We made ourselves a quick breakfast and went to talk to the ladies at the office of running the airbnb. They are super friendly and gave us some ideas of where to go and what to see, and better yet, how to get there. They gave us a route that was downhill and walkable that went along the river to see the sights. They also suggested a really nice spot to see the sun set where the locals gather to sit and drink beer or wine. We pretty much took all their suggestions and it helped a lot. We started by going to an interactive light show called Porto Legends, where they explain the history of the city. Anne and I found it interesting but the kids thought it was boring. We then walked further down the river and checked out all the little restaurants right at the edge of the water. It was a good way to see some local dishes. We
came across a little store where they sold our new favorite popsicle. Its a pineapple mint popsicle and it is super refreshing, especially in the heat of the day.
We then walked across the Luis bridge to the city of Gaia. From there we could look back at Porto and see all of the old school houses along the river. Definitely a nice view. We explored Gaia, which means we looked for bracelets for Camille and came across a few Port wine caves. We found one that had a opening in a French tour and took it. It worked out as the tour itself wasnt super exciting and we kept waiting for the tasting part. Ok, the casks were pretty impressive to see and there were some there from 1852? After sipping some port and picking up some for later we jumped on the cable car that took us back to the top of the Luis bridge. We tried to sit for a bit on the hill and wait for the sunset but we all got restless and hungry and decided to leave a few minutes before the sunset really settled in. We got a decent view walking across the
top of the Luis bridge though. We backtracked to a restaurant we found earlier that Cameron could eat at that served Francesinha sandwiches, which is bread with ham, steak (real steak), two different sausages, topped with a slice of cheese, and doused in sauce, kind of like a gravy with beer and wine. It was good but didnt live up to the hype. Not sure if it was the place we ate at or if were not big fans, but I think Ive had my fill. Camille said its a once in a year sandwich. Cameron seemed to really like the sauce as he kept dipping his fries in it. It was so big that I wasnt able to finish it and they had a mega version that was 45€! Apparently you win a prize if you finish that one without help- good luck. Took a quick Uber ride home to recharge our batteries and get ready for another day.
