There was a walking excursion on offer this morning that involved going to the top of the Clerigos tower.
I've lost count of the number of stairs I've walked up and down in the last week. The cities and towns on the sides of the Douro all seem very hilly with steps everywhere. Anyhow, Becky and I decided that viewing the Clerigos tower from outside was just fine and decided to do our own thing.
We started by visiting the biggest of Porto's markets: Mercado do Balhao. Here we tried some local traditional cake thing, which I didn't catch the name of. Then on the way back we passed the Clerigos tower and the statue of Henry the Navigator. Henry was the 4th son of King John I of Portugal and is credited with inspiring subsequent Portuguese exploration by Vasco da Gama and Magellan. Although one of our guides told us that poor Henry suffered from sea sickness.
We met up with Deb back at the hotel and went out to lunch at a Basque restaurant, followed by dessert at the Boutique de Gelado. Becky headed back to the hotel after lunch while Deb and I walked to the church of St Francis, which is noted for its amazing internal baroque decoration. I've never seen so much gold leaf in one place. Sadly photography was not allowed.
Later in the day we got together with Deb and Dave in the hotel bar for drinks and something to eat.
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