Yes, perched up high in the “hop on, hop off” yellow, double-decker bus we toured the colourful city of Porto, albeit slowly due to the traffic congestion, and Metro roadworks!

However, first we had to get to Porto ! Grabbing our overnight bags, our Uber driver , €13 , collected us from the front of the campground and took off like a madman! ! I’m sure he was a frustrated Formula One racing car driver! I hold on for grim life as he speeds around blind corners….and when we almost had a head on collision!! Ugh !! We were very relieved when we arrived at our accommodation in one piece and PLEASED to see the last of him!

Six years ago, we first met our friends Martin and Edith from Germany, whilst we were cycling from Passau in Germany to Budapest in Hungary, 750 km. Our meeting was quite a humorous one. To cut a long story shortish….we all happened to miss a turn off on a badly signed cycling route and ended up lost on a narrow, sandy path in a corn farm !!  Bev and her 20 kg bike fell over in slow motion in the sand in front of Martin and Edith! Ha ! Then  behind us, we saw a huge tractor driving towards us. We waved him to pass, but no!…. I think he just wanted to watch & laugh at us trying to push our bikes through the thick sand! Ugh!  Later that night over dinner we laughed about this experience and decided to ride together for a few days. We enjoyed their company immensely &  we met up again in Budapest to celebrate the end of our epic bike adventures. Fast forward to now, we excitedly wait in the courtyard for the arrival of Edith and Martin who are also staying at this beautiful, boutique hotel, complete with beautiful gardens and large communial modern kitchen lounge area. It’s a short walk to restaurants and the bus too.

The yellow  double-decker bus slowly takes us around the old & newer parts of the city past many interesting buildings, both modern and ancient, and also art sculptures.

We disembark & stroll through the crowded cobblestone streets and couldn’t resist some pics with the superheroes —- for the grandkids…..  of course! We notice many varied mode of tourist transport – vintage cars ( expensive) , tuk tuks & motor scooters.

This group of buskers were very amusing & entertaining -definitely a hit with the crowds !

On an hour long wooden boat cruise on the Douro River we admire the spectacular views of Porto , on either side of the river  !

Near our accommodation was the modern “Casa  Da Musica” or music hall, and we were lucky enough to purchase tickets for today’s piano performances, wonderful!

After  a very long , scenic walk along the “surf” beach promenade back into the centre of old Porto, we reward ourselves with a delicious Portuguese dinner! Unfortunately, it is our last night together. My seafood linguine was really good, and “when in Porto”  one must experience a port tasting! Mark loves them all! Cheers!!

The lights of Porto are shimmering on the river as our more sedate  Uber driver delivers us safely back to Fort Knox! ……oh no , It’s now 1145pm !!  Fortunately the guard allows us entry with our green card, thank goodness!!