Porto looked pretty good in daylight,

and even more amazing by night.

Even with me blocking half the view.

Or other “photo bombers” getting in on the act!

That’s Australians for you!

Today, we explored the city and discovered a bookshop which inspired JK Rowling – specifically its staircase. The shop gets so crowded you have to buy a voucher to get in, but you can take that price off the purchase of a book.

Tourism has taken off here in the last few years and you can see this in the marketing of Portuguese specialties such as bacalhau (dried cod) and canned fish.

The steampunk overtones give their style an appealing and eccentric edge.

As it was Sunday, it was appropriate that we turned from material concerns to more spiritual ones. This is a Carmelite church with an uplifting, bright interior.

This is the Romanesque Porto Cathedral where King Joao and Philippa of Lancaster were married.

The railway station also had us lifting our eyes in admiration of blue and white hand painted tiles.

Not just the spirit but the body needed feeding, but perhaps not this much.

Thank you, Carol, for the photo! The food is a Portuguese favourite called Francesinha.

Our lunch time view did more for the soul:

The final event on our itinerary was a port tasting.

Then we, rather sadly, parted ways.

Now I’m in a hotel where students learn the hospitality business. I did not order a drink with my salad, but the young bar staff are using me as a guinea pig for a new cocktail. Sigh.

Perhaps all this food and drink will make me as thin as the Portuguese. I think that is what is called a slim hope.

I’ve been photographing the cute carts which have various offerings. This wee mock up of a VW combi van sells yogurt ices:

This one sells…guess what?

And here it is, ready for business:

At this cart you can press your own fruit smoothie with cycle power:

Or a stronger tipple is a possibility:

With some gourmet snacks:

This cheerful chap is selling waffles to music and has matching chairs (not shown) for his customers.

Today, in Porto, I spotted this one:

Looks like real lemonade, but the Portuguese are very fond of sugar! And they’re as thin as pins.

Another family Quinta, or wine estate, delighted us today. This time it was the garden which was the attraction. Everywhere you looked there was something beautiful, such as this tea house, and the deep colours of the hydrangeas.

There were goats in an amazing round stone goat house with a board walk winding up to each level. This is a baby goat:

There were swans and cygnets on one of the ponds:

A rooster and a peacock entertained us:

This is an old family business. The chapel in the grounds is dated 1788.

Desks from the vineyard’s past showed two time periods.

There’s a sense of humour here too: