Today was at a fairly relaxed pace as once you've seen the bridge, been on a cruise and tried port here you've pretty much seen it all!! So we started off by having a look at the cathedral and the old bishop's palace. Then we headed downhill and went to the Palacio da Bolsa (chamber of commerce) where we were the only 2 people on the English tour! The girl was a few years older than us and was so nice! We were shown around beautiful rooms (no photos allowed though!) including a courtroom, offices and a boardroom. The building was built in 1834 and is still used today. The girl there talked to us heaps about Australia and the soccer we are going to tonight (apparently we want Porto to win or their cheersquad can be pretty feral - sound familiar???? A bit like afl!). Then she told us about a local dish we had to try for lunch which was nice of her!!
We went to the Trade Museum next. It was quite boring as there was no English to read so I had no idea what was going on! Not sure why my guidebook directed us there! It was free though and we didn't spend much time. We found a cute little handcraft shop next door where I bought a necklace and matching earrings designed like the azulejos tiles that are on all the buildings. All different colours!
Then we went for a walk along the river. We saw lots of Malaga fans. They are everywhere for tonight's champions league match! Malaga is a city in the south of Spain so they have all driven or flown here for the match. Then they play each other again in Malaga on March 13.
We found a cafe next to the river that served Franceshina, the dish our tour guide recommended. It is a bacon and sausage sandwich covered in melted cheese and egg and sitting in a spicy tomato soup. It was delicious! She had also recommended eating it with a beer so we followed her advice. Apparently it's a signature Porto dish. I give it a thumbs up! These massive seagulls must think it deserves a thumbs up too as they kept hanging around hoping we would leave some scraps (no such luck for them!!!).
Next we bought a ticket for the hop on hop off bus and sat on it for 2 hours. We didn't have anything else left to do so figured it was a good opportunity to see the outskirts of the city with an audio commentary. It was very cheap as well. Most things are here, the food is as well! Even cheaper than Spain. We passed the beach area that had a nice looking promenade, as well as a few monuments and parks and the other tourist attractions we had already been to. In Liberty Square there were 1000s of Malaga supporters chanting and waving scarves. Everyone is getting pumped for the match tonight. It's the first time Malaga have ever qualified for the champions league and they have managed to make it to the knockout stage which billy tells me is good. So they are very loud and proud!
I'll post a little later if I'm not too tired about the soccer!
Love to all,
Claire
Xoxox
Now we are resting in the room and heading off
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