I'll have chips with that, please.

After two years of planning, E and I finally made it to Porto, Portugal's second biggest city. Well, we almost made it. We first glimpsed Porto on our ride from the airport, as our driver gesticulated wildly towards the spectacular view of Porto on the left, and the river Douro meeting the sea on the right. (We would have preferred a little less gesticulation at this point, and a little more steering. But he was right about the view.)

For now we're staying at Praia de Salgueiros, half an hour's bus ride from the city. Our apartment really does have sea views (albeit with some temporary scaffolding included). Liliana, our landlady, is young, helpful and friendly; her brother too (although as mentioned he sees steering wheels as optional when driving) and her mother delightful and helpful despite not speaking English - the will is there (and she insisted her son translate how to use the dishwasher, cooker etc - not sure he would have bothered on his own.) This part of the coast is still gearing up for tourism really - signs of development - but this means that you do feel you're still amongst the Portuguese, it's not overly touristy. I suppose it might be later in the season but right now we seem to be the only tourists around. (Mum and Dad - I've spotted a few camper vans.)


View from flat, complete with scaffolding

Territorial divides:
After a few holidays together (post E's back operation), apparently my mattress testing and suitcase manoeuvring skills have improved. Her packing skills have certainly improved - alleluia for the ebook. Anyway this time I get the master bedroom, but E gets the pink flowery sheets, to her delight. I get orange towels in the ensuite bathroom, E gets lime green. You could fit my studio apartment into this one about four times over. It really is lovely, well furnished, well stocked (I even found tea). I may change the locks.

 The all-important category of: FOOD
Our first foray into a supermarket had us under the mistaken impression these Porto types are incredibly healthy, as we could only see wholewheat pasta. (How wrong we were.) You know how UK supermarkets keep the chocolate at the tills for temptation? Well, that's where the bakery cakes were. Quick quiz: translate 'bolo de noz'. E thought it meant 'nose bites'. Her take on the local language is one of the reasons I travel with her. Still laughing at her attempt to ask for a banana in Italian.
Three days later, we now know that Porto does not go in for vegetables in a big way - chips, on the other hand, come with everything, including rice. We had a worrying moment earlier today with a cake when we suspected it of having potato on top. (It turned out to be apple.) We're so deprived of our 5 a day, we're seeing chips everywhere. And this is coming from two girls of good Irish stock, genetically pre-disposed to appreciate the potato.

Pleased to see the sausage wrapped in cheese comes with chips


Next post: E will regale you with tales of sand, how she almost started a banking crisis single handedly, the actual sight of Porto itself, and maybe something about diggers (particularly for nephews).