With a bit of time to spare before heading back to the states, we decided to stop by Oporto, Portugal. We both like port wine, so why not take the 3 hour bus ride down for a couple of days?
Date(s): Aug 5-7, 2005. Album by Michael Bang. Photos by Michael Bang. 1 - 14 of 14 Total. 1319 Visits.
1 Clergyman Tower In the heart of Porto, there's a tall tower with a great view. It's only a few hundred steps to the top...ugh!
2 Climbing the Clergyman Tower Here we go...
3 Porto The view from the Clergyman Tower.
4 Dinner In Ribeiro We found a quaint little restaurant on the Douro River. That's VilaNova de Gaia across the river.
5 Walking Through VilaNova de Gaia The main headquarters of all the Port Wineries are actually in VilaNova de Gaia, which is across the river from Porto. Some were up steep cobblestone streets.
6 Ribeiro District - Porto All the best restaurants are along the river.
7 Porto Train Station Have you ever seen such art work in a train station? It was on all walls.
8 Porto We climbed yet another church on a hilltop for a view. The Clergyman Tower is in the background.
9 Blue Tile Church in Porto Blue tile seemed to be the predominant building material for older important buildings.
10 Boats on the Douro River These boats were used a long time ago to bring the freshly picked grapes from the Douro Valley to the main locations in VilaNova de Gaia for fermentation. The boats are mainly for show today.
11 Calem Cellars One of the wineries that we visited.
12 Croft Cellars Elana standing by a VERY old bottle of port. The missing one is in Elana's bag...just kidding.
13 Taylor Cellars This particular room is longer than a football field. You can see the Taylor logo on the far back wall.
14 Old Boat on the Douro Once a year, the wineries race these boats from the Douro Valley. Sounds like a lot of work!
