Prowling in Porto

For a while, we are free to wander. We did some roaming and some shopping. Some knickknacks were necessary and this was our last chance.

The red building was built to be a market.

Obviously, I was enthralled by the tiled buildings.

The colours are varied and darker than the buildings in Lisbon.

Down by the water, we found many outdoor restaurants.

A stone wall separated the homes from the street.

Two streets come down from the city centre to join in a square. Here we bought a table runner made of cork and cloth. The ends of the runner are coloured like the houses in the neighbourhood. Four cork sardines are sewn near the corners.

Sardines are a traditional dish in Portugal. One evening on the ship, a barbecue dinner was served on the sundeck. Sardines were included on the menu. Deb and I had both been wanting to sample this dish, even though we both knew that we would never choose to eat sardines at home. We honestly expected that these would be different.

I put one sardine on my plate and shared it with Deb. Deb tasted first, then very discreetly spit the taste back into a napkin. I tried second, managing to swallow my first bite. I then carefully placed every trace of the remaining sardine in a napkin and set the napkin beside my plate. It was awful.

Later, as we were leaving the sundeck, our waiter explained that this was a very bad season for the sardines. At this time of year, they are all awful.

Along the shore, the homes are behind a very old stone wall.

The colours are wonderful.

Umbrellas identify small cafes.