We left the hotel at 10 am heading back to Porto. Along the way, we stopped in the town of Guimaraes which is associated with the emergence of the Portuguese national identity in the 12th century. Like all the other Portugal towns, it has a medieval castle.
It is also a fairly large city. We walked around a little before lunch and went into some shops. I have been fascinated by all the things made with cork, but didn’t want to buy anything from a street vendor, however, there was a cork store in town and they had the most beautiful sandals. I waited until after lunch and then went back to the store to purchase them.
Lunch was great. We were in the square at outside tables and had a number of different tapas including a Portuguese dish called Francesinha. It is made with layers of toasted bread and assorted hot meats such as steak and cured ham, sliced cheese melted on top and covered with a tomato-and-beer sauce. I thought it was delicious! Although I don’t think it was for everyone. We of course had many different wines with lunch. Then it was back to Porto for our last night. This time I have a little bigger room, which is funny since I will be in it for about 12 hours. Patty and I walked around for a little bit after we got settled. We ended up seeing two kids jump off the bridge into the Douro. Pedro had told us about that. Although we didn’t see anyone collecting money to see them jump. After walking around a bit, we headed back to the room to get ready for the farewell party. It was at a wine bar across the street from the hotel which made it easy for people to come and say goodbye. Although I was the only one leaving early tomorrow. The car comes to pick me up at 5:30 am for the airport. Tomorrow is a full day of travel.
Photos
