This morning we had a walking tour of Oporto scheduled. So after eating breakfast, we went to the lobby to wait for our guide. The tour was to begin at nine and was for four hours. Our guides name was Daniel. He was born and raised in Oporto and really loves the town. In addition to speaking Portuguese and English, he also speaks French, Italian and Spanish. He took us to the old train station which is still used today. Inside is these beautiful tile murals that tell the history of Portugal. We went to a church and he told us about the wood carving that are covered in gold. There was also rose marble and silver ornaments. Next we went to a book store that you have to pay 3 euros to enter. The bookstore had been written up in newspapers like the NY Times so that so many people were coming into the bookstore just to look around and take pictures, but they were not buying anything so the owners started charging admission. There was a line to get tickets. After that we went to a McDonalds that was in a restored building and had the original artwork. Then we walked down to the river where our guide left us. Jay and I decided to have lunch and then we took a boat tour down the Douro River.
After the boat tour on the way back to our hotel we did some souvenir shopping. Then we walked up the steep hill to our hotel to rest up some before dinner.
After our dinner, we walked back down to the riverfront to eat dinner. This time I opted for the roasted chicken leg with rice and French fries. After we ordered they brought some appetizers and said you pay for what you eat. The appetizers were olives, various cheeses and fried cod cakes. We did not touch them. They have various street performers along the riverfront. While we were eating a young man took off his shirt and started doing various exercises using the bench. Then he started doing yoga poses. It was kind of interesting to watch the people passing but try to figure out what he was doing.
After dinner, we walked back up the steep hill to our hotel. All of this walking was about nine miles, so I am exhausted.
