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kazu
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So we walked along with Renato and were enthralled

 

Look at the ironwork and the tiles,

 

Renato told us the tiles help with the salt and winds here on the river.

 

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Every home/building had different ironwork and tiles.  My pics can’t do the beauty of this place justice.

 

CC9519A1-F188-4A31-8823-2D55813118C6.thumb.jpeg.6aaaeb5e5d40ac2c34e95634ab043184.jpeg

 

 

The Main Square or as it was put “our Times Square”

 

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We were about to enter the train station.  Who cares about a train station you might ask?  OMG.  It was absolutely unbelievable.  You needed to be there.

 

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Here you go - the inside of the train station.

 

It’s stunning and amazing and traces the history of this area from long ago.

 

Keep in mind that Porto was never conquered by the Moors,

 

The River and their wall and their determination protected them so this city has NEVER been conquered.

 

22,000 tiles all done by one artist!  All by himself!  Ready?

 

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6384CDDC-4367-463D-8177-5F1291483E51.thumb.jpeg.c78caad23cfe793324fd5efff2b1f310.jpeg

 

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063AF9E8-A7F4-487C-BF19-FC2C1B68E084.thumb.jpeg.d9fc876728a72addbd959691e7a8dd83.jpeg

 

the 3 responsible for the train station -the first did the real part of the train station, the second the building/terminal area and the last - the genius who did all the tile work.

 

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Please do click on the photos so they hopefully enlarge and you can see how truly magnificent the work is.

 

I couldn’t get all the tile work in as the train station is one crowded place between commuters and tourists but I hope this gives you an idea.

 

It is a truly wonderful building telling you the history of this city from the beginning, the fight with Spain, Henry the Navigator and all of the regular parts of every day life for many until modern times.

 

We’ve started to rock and roll a bit (nothing serious - headed back to the Bay of Biscay / Biscayne?   AND we lose an hour’s sleep tonight 😞. Internet seems to be getting troublesome so I will end with this but be back tomorrow with more of lovely Porto.

 

I have but one regret - that we were here for such a short period of time 😉. But I an truly glad we got here 🙂 

 

I could do an overnight here in a heartbeat 😉 

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Loving your thread Kazu.  We have been to all the ports (since Rome) except this last one in Portugal, Porto.  I love reliving our time there through your photos and your trivia along the way - facts that I've forgotten:-). It looks like you have had perfect weather other than a little fog.

I have not heard from my brother, nor have you mentioned that anyone missed the ship.  I hope he is seeing all that you are seeing - what an awesome cruise.  Thanks again for sharing so much!

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Love the photos and all of your interesting descriptions.

While in Lisbon, we ate at Time Out. So many amazing choices! So, so good! 

I loved Porto, and discovered how delicious Port wine is. OMG, the train station is unbelievably beautiful. My neck was sore from looking up. Again, your photos are excellent!

Thanks, Jacqui, for all the time and effort you put into this thread. I'm enjoying traveling along with you!

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Those tarts you got before boarding are not just Belem or Lisbon.  I think they have them throughout Portugal, even off shore.  I got this in Praia da Vitoria:

 

tart.jpg

 

I also got one the next day in Ponta Delgada at this shop:

 

tartsdelgada.jpg

 

Roy

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8 hours ago, sansterre said:

Loving your thread Kazu.  We have been to all the ports (since Rome) except this last one in Portugal, Porto.  I love reliving our time there through your photos and your trivia along the way - facts that I've forgotten:-). It looks like you have had perfect weather other than a little fog.

I have not heard from my brother, nor have you mentioned that anyone missed the ship.  I hope he is seeing all that you are seeing - what an awesome cruise.  Thanks again for sharing so much!

 

Haven’t met him as far as I am aware but I don’t think he was on our roll call?  at least I don’t have someone with that name from Florida on my listing.

 

I haven’t heard that name called as missing though for the ports. So, hopefully he is on and enjoying himself.

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2 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Those tarts you got before boarding are not just Belem or Lisbon.  I think they have them throughout Portugal, even off shore.  I got this in Praia da Vitoria:

 

tart.jpg

 

I also got one the next day in Ponta Delgada at this shop:

 

tartsdelgada.jpg

 

Roy

 

 

They called them pateis de natal, Roy.

 

Not sure if their sign at the Time Out Market that is a lie or not 😉 

 

Anyways, everyone enjoyed them. 😄 

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Good morning from the Prinsendam sailing to Bordeaux.

 

It’s a sea day but not a Gala night which is a good thing.

 

Mariner’s reception for the medallions today and well as the Mariner’s brunch.  Gong to the reception but skipping the brunch as I prefer to talk to Annette about future cruise possibilities and ask some questions at that time 😉 

 

Our social wine tasting get together is this afternoon so I will be a bit busy with some fun 🙂 

 

Weather is much cooler on board today - looks like I best check the weather for Bordeaux.  The good weather may have left us but really, we can’t complain. 😄 

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From the Main Square.

 

CC and the internet don’t like me today so I’ll just try to do a few at a time and see if this will load.

 

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WOW! Great pictures and enlarging the photos to see the detail at the train station 👍

Jacqui as I have told Roy he needs to do a photo book on his wonderful sunrises and sunsets and get it published, and YOU would IMO have an outstanding collection of your journeys and narratives that I would purchase!

Im having lunch on The Seine near the Eiffel Tower and was able to get great WiFi 

Have a great cruise

Denise😊

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47 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

WOW! Great pictures and enlarging the photos to see the detail at the train station 👍

Jacqui as I have told Roy he needs to do a photo book on his wonderful sunrises and sunsets and get it published, and YOU would IMO have an outstanding collection of your journeys and narratives that I would purchase!

Im having lunch on The Seine near the Eiffel Tower and was able to get great WiFi 

Have a great cruise

Denise😊

You are very kind - thank you 😄 

 

Enjoy your view with lunch 😄 

 

 

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Just taking a mini break while I wait for the food to come for our social wine tasting in our cabin.

 

How many people can you get in a Neptune Suite?  We are about to find out 😄 

 

Hector (one of our concierges and he is very good) to check the set up 😉 

 

“no food?” He said.  I told him not until 1:45 - I want the hot to stay hot. 🙂

 

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More of the lovely main square provided I can get them to load:

 

F51AE520-CC0B-4F69-BF7A-DBE68F5724DF.thumb.jpeg.8de8db1badf09215a0efd20ce6093bdc.jpeg

 

9938E952-C6F6-4A7A-A5B2-45A2D1A9C62A.thumb.jpeg.7630ad72ebc33da58e3ec951b138a7f5.jpeg

 

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9AE83531-9F4F-4A35-82F5-0C84F7D24D56.thumb.jpeg.47674c774a6814e38f711a61bd159562.jpeg

 

Look how narrow the streets are and how tight the apartments and housing is.  Space was at a premium in Porto due to the limits of the protective walls.

 

342198E8-D533-402B-9392-AD25ABA3748E.thumb.jpeg.40b90fd8487c061e1408a3f08c10c772.jpeg

 

Yes cars ride on the cobblestones and yes, they look for anywhere to park - even steps on the pedestrian walkway.

 

 

Walking is the best way to get around here unless you get tired of walking back uphill.

 

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258E5E36-27CF-4F74-B92C-5BB4DB06E454.jpeg

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5 hours ago, kazu said:

 

 

They called them pateis de natal, Roy.

 

Not sure if their sign at the Time Out Market that is a lie or not 😉 

 

Anyways, everyone enjoyed them. 😄 

 

They are a staple Portuguese pastry and are available in every bakery that caters to the Portuguese community no matter where in the world you are,  My BIL is Portuguese so I have eaten them many times but I have never set foot in Portugal,  they are so delicious !

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Jacqui, Thanks again for taking us along with you on your journey.  The pictures from Porto are just beautiful.  I have never been there but with all your pictures it is the next best thing, as you show us the beauty of that city.  Maybe some day I will be lucky enough to visit.  I also enjoy the food porn in the thread, especially the dishes off the ship like the tapas tour and others.  Thank you again for sharing this trip with us.

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We interrupt Porto for a bit of fun on our sea day.

 

Today we had our wine and water social (water or pop for those that don’t drink)

 

I have to say they really went out of their way to set things up for me.

 

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These are the munchies that I had on hand

 

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The ships:

 

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I kind of rearranged it and the in room service asked me if he could take a pic so he could remember. 😉 

 

The olives are ours and the cheeses on the other table.  The rest is from the ship.

 

Everyone seemed to have a really good time.

 

I took the pics too late as some had left.

 

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You can DEFINITELY get a lot of people in a Neptune Suite on the Prinsendam.  Might as well use the room, right 😉 

 

Gwilli made the most beautiful cork screw.  Tom is a craftsman in wood working and kindly offered one as a prize.  I happily accepted.

 

The ironic thing is that their wine would have won as a favourite so of course, they turned it down.  

 

The bingo addicts slipped out for a few minutes to buy their cards and were back in no time. 😉.  After our party we went to play bingo and of course, newbies won a couple of games.

 

Fortunately a regular won the jack pot 😄 

 

I guess you have surmised that none of the roll call addicts won a DAM thing.

 

But, we did have fun 😄 

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4 hours ago, kazu said:

More of the lovely main square provided I can get them to load:

 

F51AE520-CC0B-4F69-BF7A-DBE68F5724DF.thumb.jpeg.8de8db1badf09215a0efd20ce6093bdc.jpeg

 

9938E952-C6F6-4A7A-A5B2-45A2D1A9C62A.thumb.jpeg.7630ad72ebc33da58e3ec951b138a7f5.jpeg

 

3E6D5FEA-039B-4FA0-8217-5786842DC126.thumb.jpeg.4fe470e37dd02b410441b9f269154c28.jpeg

 

9AE83531-9F4F-4A35-82F5-0C84F7D24D56.thumb.jpeg.47674c774a6814e38f711a61bd159562.jpeg

 

Look how narrow the streets are and how tight the apartments and housing is.  Space was at a premium in Porto due to the limits of the protective walls.

 

342198E8-D533-402B-9392-AD25ABA3748E.thumb.jpeg.40b90fd8487c061e1408a3f08c10c772.jpeg

 

Yes cars ride on the cobblestones and yes, they look for anywhere to park - even steps on the pedestrian walkway.

 

 

Walking is the best way to get around here unless you get tired of walking back uphill.

 

14CB3058-B01C-42C2-A477-2AB78F7A425D.thumb.jpeg.a1e5ac2235f032c69e41357da1f3e56c.jpeg

 

14CB3058-B01C-42C2-A477-2AB78F7A425D.thumb.jpeg.a1e5ac2235f032c69e41357da1f3e56c.jpeg

258E5E36-27CF-4F74-B92C-5BB4DB06E454.jpeg

 

 

Sorry, I did try to edit this post but internet burped and then people arrived.

 

The third picture down - if you go to the top you get fantastic 360 degree views of the city and out 6 kilometres.  No escalator though.  You need to climb about 400+ stairs.  

 

No time on the walking tour and we didn’t go back to do it 😉 

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Back to Porto - our guide took us down narrow, gorgeous streets and we landed at nice spot for views.

 

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Sadly it was still a bit foggy but eventually the sun came out 🙂

 

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A scary moment in time - we both posed for a pic 🙂 

 

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