First Day in Porto for the sisters

/ 3sistersabroad

3 flights and many hours later  we arrived safely in Porto.  Our flights from Australia were ok.  I think I actually slept a bit.  Which is not the normal for me. I flew from Melbourne to Singapore and Muriel from Perth to Singapore.  We then flew from Singapore to Frankfurt.  We had a couple of hours to spare so we wandered around for a bit.  Mainly to stretch the legs after the long flight.  We made ourselves comfortable at our departure gate.  I plugged my phone into charge and checked my emails.  Yes there was an email from Luftstana that our gate had changed.  Lucky, as they don’t announce flights etc.

The other gate was a bit of a walk.  Frankfurt airport is very big.  As we got to our gate  my birth name was being called out.  I laughed as they were actually prouncing it correctly!  It was just to inform me I would be in the exit seat.  It was a short 2 hour flight from Frankfurt to Porto.  Just a hop skip and jump.  You lucky folks living in Europe.

Do you like Pretzels? They are  everywhere in the Frankfurt Airport.

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Brezel / Pretzels

 

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Pretzels

Unfortunately no gluten free Pretzels so I didn’t try any, but don’t they look good!

 

 

 

 

 

Walking out of the arrivals  at Porto we were greeted with a sign “Scenic”…Being greeted by that sign was so lovely after our long trip. He took us over to some comfy couches where we met some fellow travelers.

Once we were all together he took us to his  9 seater van and he pilled all our luggage in the back.  Muriel and I sat in the rear seat with a lovely lady Sarah.  Her hubby sat in the front with the driver.  Do you know I don’t remember who sat in the seats in the middle.  I know they were on our cruise however.  Sarah and the two of us chatted all the way to our hotel.

Usually check in is around 2-3pm however the lovely Sheraton in Porto had our rooms ready at noon.  Muriel and I basically dumped our bags, after I took some photos of the room and took off to find somewhere to have lunch.

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Part of our room at the Sheraton Hotel

 

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View from the bathroom

 

We walked for quite a while just soaking in the atmosphere.  We went  into a few cafes/restaurants however it must have been the in-between time.  Finally we agreed to go to Macdonalds.  Now I don’t eat take away but funny enough we were starving.  The girl on the counter spoke no English and that stage I spoke no Portuguese.  Somehow I managed to get a burger with no bun.  We ordered a coffee at the Mcafe (funny how its all the same across the world)  I think it cost us a total of $2.50 euros each… – I remember it was very cheap.

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my bunless burger

 

 

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tiles in Porto this was on a fence

 

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Tiles on the buildings…all different colors

We were in what was more of a business area however seeing a lot of buildings with those colorful tiles on the facade was lovely.

It began to rain,  a promise of what was to become.  Early April so Spring days hadn’t actually kicked in yet. However, the  flowers were in full bloom.  Wisteria and Camillias everywhere.  The orange trees were bursting full of fruit.

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Wisteria

 

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Orange tree

 

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Camellias – the trees were full

 

That night we decided we would eat in the restaurant of the hotel. The waiter showed us to a table and we began looking at the menu.  Sarah and Peter, who we met on the courtesy bus in the morning were at another table.  They invited us to share their table.  A night of laughter, great food and wonderful company.

 

What a wonderful start to our holiday.

 

*Our journey continues  on our second day with the Hop on Hop Bus in Porto.*

 

 

 

 

 

39 thoughts on “First Day in Porto for the sisters”

  2. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos of Porto. Portugal is very high on my list of places I would like to visit. I am thinking maybe Spring of 2020. Porto is definitely on the itinerary!

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  7. I think being in the UK we don’t appreciate enough how close we are to the beautiful cities of Europe. Our good friend lives in Perth and when they come over here they always try to combine it with a trip to another European country too.
    #MLSTL

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  8. We visited Portugal for two days in 2017 but unfortunately didn’t get to Porto, although I’ve heard it is a must. The long flights from Australia can certainly be a killer and we are now at the stage where we just have to break up the trip. Have a wonderful time and I look forward to reading about it. Thanks for also linking up at #MLSTL especially when you are on holidays! Enjoy!

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  12. It looks like it’s a lovely place to visit and the days ahead will be really enjoyable. Australia is certainly a long way away from most places though isn’t it? That 17 hour flight is a killer and my ankles end up quite puffy by the time I arrive – the price you pay (besides all the $$) to holiday in Europe!
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂

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  13. Hi Three Sisters, I am meeting you via #MLSTL. A good reminder to check our phone when we are travelling. Why do I have a craving for pretzels all of a sudden.🙂 Great photos. I am always curious about rooms and the little things. Great start. I look forward to reading more:) Erica

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  14. I find it a bit off-putting that you had to find out about the gate change via email, what if you ran out of battery or didn’t have WiFi/3G? Everything’s online now, which is great in some ways but not always! At least they pronounced your name correctly at Frankfurt airport 😆
    I really like buildings with colourful fronts, always make a place look bright & interesting. And don’t you just love it (I do!) when check in is mid afternoon but you arrive early & the room is already ready. I remember that happening when I stayed up North in the UK for my uncle’s funeral & I was desperate to put my bags down after the drive and get myself sorted out, I could have hugged them all in reception!
    Shame about the rain but it’s lovely to see the spring flowers appearing! xx

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