Friday, 10 May 2024

Day 5, Porto, Portugal, May 10, 2024

I should mention that although we have the Uber app, we have not used it. The exercise we are getting in Porto, where every destination is either up or down multiple times, is what we like. Today our goal is to climb the 75 metre-tall bell Clerigos Tower which was built by Nicolau Nasoni, and on completion in 1750, donated it to the Barogue church to which it is attached. 

Next goal was to find a restaurant which featured the famous, Anthony Bourdain endorsed, pork roast on a bun called a bifana. We used Google maps and TripAdvisor to find Xau Laura. There was no sign out front, just a few tables and chairs. It was basically a hole in the wall restaurant, yet inside was a multi-level restaurant. The waiter came out and went through the Portuguese menu, item by item. Lots on offer, but we ordered what we came for - the bifana and an order of chips to share and two large draft Super Bock beers. The chips were a surprise, as they were a slightly thicker cut of potato chips with some fine dry parsley sprinkled on top. Absolutely delicious as was the bifana. Total bill, 19.90 Euros. Start the car. 

We strolled to the tower via a small craft market where we each bought something for ourselves. We lined up at the tower for our 2pm entrance. Once we were moving, we were winding up and down staircases to various rooms the priests used, past portraits, and finally up we went. There was only one way up and down so we had to squeeze into corners to allow those exiting to pass us as we maneuvered our way up. The height of each step was considerably higher than normal. Might explain the pain in our legs. The tower was what fishermen and explorers used as a visual marker to get back to Porto as it was the tallest structure. Once on the top, I got several pictures of Porto from all angles, then it was back down with lots of squeezing.

We slowly made our way home via the grocery store to replenish our wine and spaghetti. Jill suggested we use up the salmon leftovers and make my salmon pasta with the addition of smoked salmon. That was the plan. Another great day in Porto.















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