Day 82-86

Portugal is wonderful, so excuse me if I seem to gush a little. Lisbon is the home of the best portuguese tarts so I could never do anything but love it. The city is charming, the buildings pretty, and the people some of the friendliest in Europe. I stayed in a hostel right in the middle of the main square and spent my two days there wandering around checking out the typically European shops and dining on portuguese chicken (tastes nothing like Nando's by the way). A highlight was going up the ancient elevator for fabulous views of the city.

I then trained it up north to Porto, which was even better if possible. I spent the first day travelling between the different Port companies, drinking samples and taking tours (I'd never had port before and I quite like it - which i think makes me an old man on the inside). The riverfront is charming and the food good - if you order the right thing, and the shopping was great. But with only two days I didn't have a lot of time to explore the city. I had to leave it behind for another day as Paris lay just ahead of me.