A good early start to the day, a flawless ride to local train into Lisbon then to the regional station for a 9.30am train. Reading the ticket carefully, so proud that we have the correct seat and carriage number. The panniers have to be off the bikes but no wrapping required. We must look knowledgeable as some others asked us if they were on the other correct train. I able to tell them their carriage number and seat allocation … warm fuzzies. The next station only minutes away and an influx of passengers … some argy-bargy about seat allocation … I’m feeling rather chuffed that we have it right today.

3.5hrs later and we are in Porto we cross the Duoro river with impressive sights of a nearby bridge. We are very close to the hotel from the station a 700m climb to start … Porto has its share of hills also. Bikes in the garage, room allocation and we are off and running and getting information at a tourist office. Outside in a square is a man with an umbrella, ‘free walking tours’ yes we can join in 30mins … yeah!! There were 8 of us, he was a history graduate, great tour of the city to get us started. A bit of history, culture, gastronomy and roadmap of the town. A lovely group; French, Indian and USA.

A bit of trivia; J K Rawlings (Harry Potter fame) lived in Porto for many years. The Majestic Cafe was one of her favourites.

Tonight we tried a Porto traditional dish Francesinha … a sandwich with a difference.