World Cruise Day 131/152 - Leixões (Porto), Portugal - It was a bumpy road getting here

Cruise day: 131/152

Ports days: 65
Sea days: 66
Countries: 22
Continents: 5
Ports: 48

Wow.  Overnight, Captain Lars hit every single pothole, railroad track, speed bump, whale, dolphin, and fishing boat!  Well, that's what it felt like.  We were reminded last night that we are no longer in the Red Sea or the Mediterranean Sea - welcome back to the Atlantic Ocean!  Wham, bang, creak, groan!  Last night wasn't quite as violent as when we sailed toward Los Angeles after transiting the Panama Canal, but we certainly were bouncing around.  Hmm...Captain Lars was in charge then as well.  A connection? :-)

Here's our path for the last few days - Monaco to Barcelona to Cartegena through the Strait of Gibraltar to Porto, Portugal

As we were approaching the port today, we passed by this - I'm guessing it is a flag for some sort of seafood trap, but that's just a guess.

It was pretty windy and a little chilly as we sailed in.  But once we went into town, it was another spectacular day with tons of sun, light breezes, and a temperature near 70-degrees - perfect for a walking tour.

Today, Porto was somewhat overrun with college students. This is the annual celebration that marks the end of the college year, so many areas of the town were closed to traffic.  This meant that our tour bus had to take a roundabout route to get us close to the town center.  That worked out fine as we got in a little sightseeing along the way.

Our Viking Star and the striking cruise terminal

They have a beautiful beach here, even though the water is always a little chilly

This kinetic sculpture - Rotunda da Anémona - known locally as The Jellyfish - is designed to evoke fishing nets - it moves with the wind and is quite striking

The very modern Vodafone building

Crossing the Douro River

The Ponte D. Maria Pia, designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame) in front and the Ponte de São João train bridge in the background

We arrived at our stop and began our walking tour.

Statue of Vimara Peres, a ninth-century nobleman

Sé do Porto (Porto Cathedral) - started in the 1100s, final construction wasn't completed until the mid-1700s

This guy was playing America the Beautiful as we walked by - pandering to the audience, perhaps?

The Bishop's house is attached to the Cathedral

São Bento da Vitória Monastery

Câmara Municipal do Porto

Clérigos Tower

This used to be a fish market but is now closed - the live roof was pretty cool

We made a stop to see the train station.  J. K. Rowling lived in Porto for a bit.  It is claimed that the robes worn by local university students and this train station helped inspire the clothing at Hogwarts and platform 9-3/4 in the Harry Potter books.

Many of the buildings we saw were adorned with cool three-dimensional tiles.

This was known as the road of flowers

Even though buildings have been repurposed, if they were originally private residences, they have tried to retain the family's coat of arms over the door

Misericórdia Church

Not sure what this was - to me, it looks like a concrete Q-tip

One of the oldest pharmacies in Porto, operating since 1804

The Port Wine Institute certifies all Port wine

Palácio da Bolsa

A portion of the Monument Church Of St Francis that is attached to the palace

A monument to Henry the Navigator

Parish Church of St. Nicholas

Monument Church Of St Francis

Easily the best-looking McDonald's I have ever seen

Port wine varieties

The Luís I Bridge

The original gate where coal was delivered to Porto

A street performer - when he received a tip, he would hammer the shoe

Fonte Da Ribeira - a drinking fountain

Sculpture of St. John, The Baptist on the fountain

Fonte do Cubo

Sardines are a big thing and a beloved dish in Portugal

Evidence of the British influence in Porto

The smallest house in Porto - the pink one - it was perhaps ten feet wide

Senhor do Padrão cultural center

We arrived back at the cruise terminal at the Port of Leixões.  The terminal has a very contemporary design and just looked cool.

This crane was one of two that were used to move the massive stones to build the port - they were nicknamed the Porto Titans - one has been repurposed as an entry/exit for the port

We wished we had more time to explore and perhaps shop a little, but it was a relatively short visit from noon to about 8PM.

We set sail for Portsmouth, England - one of two more ports remaining in the actual world cruise.  We have two sea days before we get there, so it will be two days of bridge, trivia, and art.