Friday, Oct 11th, Porto, Portugal

Greetings!

With a hundred miles to drive today, we decided to instruct Google Maps to avoid toll roads and freeways.  We used it to guide us along the back roads between Coimbra and Porta, trying to stay as close to the coast as possible.  Beach towns with well-maintained roads aren't plentiful in most countries, and especially in Portugal.  The country does an excellent job between the major cities, but country roads are narrow, varied in maintenance, and not well understood by Google Maps.  It can get you lost, and give you confusing directions.  Today provided us with lots of evidence of that.

Arriving in Porto earlier than we expected, we parked near our studio apartment, and found a small Vietnamese restaurant just down the street.  We highly recommend Viet View, for their food and for how much they welcomed us to their city as we waited to unload our car.

Before stocking up at a streetside grocery for three-day breakfasts and some lunch emergencies, we took a walk down to the university and the train station.  The day after ttomorrow, we're planning on taking the train out to where Portugal makes its port wine.  Tomorrow, we'll try to explore more of the central area of the city by tram and foot.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Friday, Oct 11th, Porto, Portugal.