Day 34 - Thursday 25th May 2023

Today we'd be leaving our Scenic cruise ship.

Although we had to be out of our room and checked out by 8:30, we were allowed to stay on the ship in the public areas. Scenic had organised for a taxi to take us to our hotel at 2:30pm because our check-in time for the hotel was 3pm. We could still have lunch on the ship too.

I set my alarm for 6am and we went down for breakfast at 7:30. By this time, we had almost finished packing.

Scenic has a well organised system for handling departures. Some people were leaving during the night, others at various times during the morning and afternoon. For each departure, they gave people colour-coded tags for their luggage.

It was even more complicated than that because people were arriving on the ship too - just like we had at the start of our cruise. What's more, there were staff changes too. It was a logistics challenge.

After checking out, we sat in the lounge until about 9:30 when we set off for a walk. The plan was to catch the cable car on the other side of the river. The cable car doesn't start until 9:50. We wanted to go early before it got too hot and before the crowds arrived.

The weather continued to be kind to us. It was another bright warm sunny day. Ideal for taking more photos.

When we walked past the narrow terrace next to the river, most of the cafes hadn't yet set up the tables and chairs. Further on, the plaza was not crowded yet and there was no queue for the ferry to cross the river.

The ferry company advertises that it's the quickest way to cross the river and they were right - it only took a few minutes. The alternative would have been to walk further along the river and cross the bridge.

Then we walked about 200m back along the river to catch the cable car which goes to the top of the hill on the Gaia side of the river (Vila Nova de Gaia). This is a twin city to Porto on the other side of the river.

The four of us had a cable car carriage to ourselves which made it easier to take photos as we went.

The views at the top were spectacular. You can see down the river, over to the Porto side of the river and back in the other direction. There are so many photo opportunities.

The cable car station at the top of the hill is close to the steel bridge (Dom Luis Bridge) which has two levels. The lower level is just for pedestrians whereas the top level is shared by pedestrians and the metro.

Rather than walk to the top of the structure next to the metro line, I stayed to explore the park while the other three continued up near the monastery. The hill in the middle of the park provides more great views.

After catching the cable car back down to the river level, we stopped for coffee in a cafe near the river. The girls then went shopping in the nearby open-air market. We came to the conclusion that the Gaia side of the river is newer and more modern than the Porto side.

When the ferry got us back across the river, there was a queue for the ferry including tour groups. It was just as well that we had gone early. It was also warmer - about 25C. We were back on the cruise ship at about 12:15  - just in time to have lunch.

The taxi to take us to the Hotel Catalonia Porto arrived at about 2:20. Chris and Janet were going in a different direction for their overseas holiday and so this was the time to say goodbye after enjoying their company in Scandinavia and Portugal for the last few weeks.

It took almost fifteen minutes to get to the hotel which is located higher up the hill in one of the many cobblestone streets. It's an old building outside but very modern inside.

Our room had a king-size bed, desk, cupboard with hanging space and shelves, fridge, safe, wine glasses, air conditioning, lounge chair, tea and coffee making facilities. The bathroom had a large separate shower recess. There were plenty of power points and USB charging outlets. The Wi-Fi speed was about 4.5Mb/s in both directions.

There was no carpet and so you wonder whether people in the room below hear noise from scraping chairs etc.

At about 4:30pm, we went out to explore the hotel and nearby streets. Outside the hotel restaurant, there was a pleasant outdoor area with a pool.

Suzy had been researching somewhere for dinner. The one across the road looked expensive but the one around the corner had better reviews. After talking to the owner, we booked a table for 7pm which is when restaurants open around here for dinner.

When we arrived at the restaurant, Gondarem Baixa,  just before 7pm, we were the only people there and by the time we left at about 8:15, there was just one other customer. Apparently, people eat late here. Sunset isn't until about 9pm.

The restaurant has a fixed menu at 15 Euros per person which includes soup, main course and a glass of wine. For main course, you do have a choice - turkey, fish or eggplant. I went for turkey whereas Suzy had the eggplant.

They also offer dessert one of which was a dark chocolate mousse. How could I possibly say no.

I also had an extra glass of wine for only 2.50 Euros - much cheaper than we were paying in Scandinavia (but more expensive than on the Scenic river cruise where it was "free" - except that we'd paid heaps for the all-inclusive cruise).

On the way back to the hotel, we noticed plenty of other restaurants. Perhaps they were more noticeable now that they are open for the evening meal (later than we are used to). There was plenty of choice and competition.

When we got back to the hotel, we asked the man at reception about what we could do tomorrow and the next day before our Back Roads tour of Portugal and Spain starts on Saturday evening. We told him we'd covered the areas close to the river.

He had a lot of suggestions and marked them on the map. It reminded me of the advertisement you see back home about Melbourne. The suggestions went on and on - a lot longer than a 30 second TV ad. Obviously there are plenty of places to go in Porto.

For some reason, we were feeling quite tired and ready for bed. All this holidaying, sunny skies, warm weather, beautiful scenery and photographing wears you out. This is a great place.