Porto hugs the north side of the Douro River and is quite picturesque as the city is uphill from the river. It is about three miles to the where the Douro meets the Atlantic, and the entire way is a paved walkway. Foz is the Portuguese word for mouth in terms of a river. Thus, the neighborhood known as Foz do Douro is where the river and ocean meet. Trev found the path a great run out to the end of a jetty and back. A few times I went with him on a walk.
We discovered a very nice park – Jardim do Passeio Alegre – with benches and shade. A great place to do some plein air painting, read a book, a cool off on a hot day. Bonus is there is a public bathroom there, and not just your run of the mill bathroom. This turn of the century building has some of the most beautiful art nouveau tile. Individual stalls have toilets and bidets (so yes, I took photos) and Trev had a funny story about the men’s urinal (no photos).
The palm trees along the parkway host lots of green parrots, similar to what we’ve seen in Austin. Each tree seems to have its own cluster, colony or family group of birds, squawking, nesting, and peaking out at passers by below. I got a chuckle out of thinking they are almost like a row of apartment buildings.
On one of the trips, we planned for a lunch at A Capoeira which was classy and wonderful. It is a long walk out from our rental at about 3.5 miles one way. Great exercise, great views. We love to experience new cities on foot. After a long, hot day of walking, it is always nice to have lunch on the patio. Fresh fruit, cheese, cucumbers, bread and wine…. and maybe a little painting. Life is good.
