Shirley and I were off at 9:45am so it was a leisurely breakfast and natter until we went down to the Playhouse to get our bus numbers and directions.
We had gone for the included tour which took in Leixões, Porto and Gaia, the three parts to the province of Oporto.
Each part has it's own characteristics; Leixões is the newest and is the main port town, Porto itself was the port due to its position at the mouth of the river Douro and the place where port wine was matured, and originally shipped, whilst Gaia has links with the Roman's and the Celts and is known for its olive trees.
Three quite distinct areas, each with their own heritage.
Our tour went along the coastal road taking in the mouth of the Duoro River and then into Porto old town where we saw the old monasteries (now hospitals and other government style buildings), the outsides of the amazing cathedrals which dripped with gold leaf and the book shop JK Rowling based her Hogwarts library on.
Ironically, the school uniform of one of the prestigious schools here also featured in Hogwarts as the school's main uniform. Little wonder the similarities existed, JK Rowling married a Portuguese man from Porto
and lived here for some time giving birth to her son here.
Two things were sad though; it was a free coach trip so getting on and off was seriously restricted and it was a bank holiday so pretty much everything was shut.
If there was a third it would have been the rain which was incessant and at times, torrential.
Writing this, I am back on the ship and sweltering in the sun! The storm has past and naturally, we are due back on board within the hour.
I have some amazing images to relay to you, but they will have to wait until I get back home and post them up.
Would I come and stay here? Yes, I would. The train and subway links are excellent as are the buses so getting around would be no problem. The beaches in Leixões are superb with deep pale sands and Atlantic waves, perfect for surfing.
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