12. Olá Portugal!

 We arrived on the 9th of January in Porto and plan to stay for about 11 days. 

It's in the northern part of the country that's known for its wine growing and production. Every second store sells wine and its main export is Port Wine. The river Douro runs through the middle with the city split in two. The old city and the main business centre are on the northern side.

Max and I both feel safe and comfortable here. The locals are friendly, the streets are not busy and the food and accommodation are probably the cheapest in Europe. 

They certainly love their pastries here and the favourite seems to be their 'Pastel de Nata' - We know them as Portuguese tarts.

Google translate has helped us a lot with communications as, not that we expected it, but we thought there would be more English-speaking locals since it is a fairly major tourist town. 

It is a bit of fun though having a go at some of their language. There was one time when we ordered food in Portuguese and were sweating on what we would get served! All part of the adventure!

The staple diet - Sets you back about $5 AUD



 Us in one of the many city squares


The street of our hotel 


Roasted chestnuts on the street




Some of the many buildings have hand-painted tiles.



Don't come to Portugal if you're thinking of dieting! 

This is a typical counter display of a cafe in Porto!







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