Porto - What, No Chicken Burgers!

Spectacularly unhealthy

Well, there probably are chicken burgers but their real regional speciality, explained our cab driver, was the Francesinha.  "Cheese, ham", he opined, and I'm thinking "I'm just hearing toasted sandwich here", "bacon, spicy sausage", he continues and now I'm starting to think "Oh my God!", "Steak, topped with melted cheese and a fried egg - served with chips" he concludes.  Okay, so now we're talking heart-attack on a plate...  "All Porto food", he informs us, "Is basically fat and spices".  My kind of place then.

If I turn it on, Starsky & Hutch must come on

We'd stopped for one night en route to Porto in Coimbra, a university town according to what little research we'd done and so it appeared by the many troupes of uniformed young women marching about town.  It was clearly induction week and there was a lot of competitive singing going on, like between the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs.  We were clearly the Muggles in this town.  Our hotel had been described as a 70's hotel.  The TV was probably a technological breakthrough in its day...

Porto, where we finish our trip in Portugal is a remarkable place.  We were staying out near the beach, and in the tradition of 70's style hotels, this one was billed as something of a Fawlty Towers experience... and whoever coined that description was right on the money.  There was a constant air of disarray at the front desk, any questions would be met with a vague wave and "Down on the corner".  Clearly, a Creedence fan, I thought to myself.  Either that or it's one magical corner.

As it was, I had to make a visit to a pharmacy on this magical corner and was promptly referred to hospital as an insect bite (although I am none-the-wiser as to when this occurred) I'd received on my leg had flared up.  The chemist printed me off a map and called a taxi for me.  And this was how it was in Porto.  People were incredibly friendly and helpful.  The doctor who saw me at the hospital came back out of her office after seeing me to wish me a great rest of my trip.  In a cafe, the young girl serving us said to me "I can see you are not well.  I hope you get better soon."  People were genuinely warmhearted.

Add to this that Porto is a very beautiful city, and it all makes for an amazing visit.  We decided to do a bus tour.  This took some persuading following my previous such tour but I had a jacket this time!  This tour took us into the Ribeira area along the banks of the river Doura.


This is the area where Port was first exported to the world.  And yes, that's what the city's name relates to.

Not, apparently, spicy chicken burgers.

Next stop: Paris!