Day 23, 11th September Porto (Leixoes) Portugal

 We had a big day here today our ship was in port from 7.00am to 5.00pm so as soon as we finished breakfast we got off and hopped on the free shuttle bus that took you to the exit of the dock, as it’s a large working dock they won’t let anyone walk out. Once outside we decided it would be a good idea to go on the hop on hop off bus as the city is very large with a population of 220,000. It’s Portugal’s second largest city with quite a lot to see, the city is 9klms away from the port. It’s best known for it’s port wine and being the city of bridges with 6 crossing the Douro River, the most famous is the Luis I Bridge it’s a double decker bridge which you can also walk across and was designed by Gustave Eiffel  who designed the Eifel Tower. We saw the Clerigos Tower which opened in 1763 and is the undisputed landmark of Porto being the highest bell tower in Portugal. We saw so many beautiful places including the Church of Santa Clara with construction starting in 1416 and finishing in 1457, Palacio da Bolsa and so many other places. Most of there buildings are tiled on the outside with beautiful tiles that they are famous for, they even have a tile museum dedicated to the tiles. We started out on the red line then when we had seen everything on that line we swapped to the blue line so we could see as much as possible. Came back on board in time for a few drinks and dinner before going off to see the illusionist Gaston Quieto with his new show which was equally as good as his first show. Then up to the Dutch Café for a nightcap before bed.
















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