Saturday 10 September

The Mercato now houses an art gallery

We were up for a prompt start to breakfast at 9am. Same as yesterday - we had orange juice, muesli and yogurt, coffee, bread roll and cheese and croissant and jam. We talked to our landlady Sofia about last night's concert. There's another one tonight.


We set out to visit the church of Sao Francesco, one of the most ornate. On the way we saw a statue of Henry the Navigator. We went inside the red Mercato building but instead of the market, it was an art gallery with an exhibition of photos.

Next door was the Sao Francesco church which we had to pay to enter. No photography allowed inside, but the walls were covered in gold carvings of religious scenes. The Tree of Jesse featured biblical figures clothed in Portuguese dress.

The Luiz I bridge is very impressive from above and below

The Ribeira district from the opposite bank of the river

We also visited the adjacent catacombs with named tombs and an ossuary which was a bit creepy. We emerged into hot sunlight and walked down to the north quay in the Ribeira district with many outdoor restaurants. We chose one and had tapas of bacalau, bread with olive oil, chorizo cooked over a flame and delicious tuna pate. Plus a refreshing beer or two.

The iconic Sandeman's logo and our guide Vincent

Then we crossed the Luiz I bridge on foot and found the Sandeman winery. We joined our reserved tour in English from our guide Vincent, dressed as the Don from the classic adverts. He explained the history of the company dating back to 1790 and the styles of port - ruby, tawny and white. We saw the wooden vats used to store the port and saw a film about its manufacture in the Douro Valley. Then we tasted two types and bought a bottle of classic white port.


We took the modern funicular up the hill and the metro from Sao Bento to Aliados and walked up the hill home.