Spain & Portugal Ep 7 - Chaves, Parafita, N103, Venda Nova, Fafe, Rio Douro, Gondomar, Porto,

We set off from Chaves, as we wanted to see Porto and had also received a weather warning in the area that was deemed to be a "Risk to life and property" ( I only found out after we had returned home, that 30 miles away from Porto, they had the storm and the damage caused by huge golf ball sized hailstones wrecking cars/ houses ) , so best to try and stay in a more sheltered city, so decided to stay there for two nights, and travelled along some fantastic roads (N103 is a lovely sweeping road with ever changing scenery along the way - ride it ! ) and scenery through towns including Parafita, , Venda Nova, Fafe, etc until we saw the Rio Douro, Gondomar and eventually arrived in Porto. We had some very mixed weather along the way, which didn't bother us, but the weather had turned to fairly heavy and persistent rain when we arrived in Porto.
When we found our central hotel, we had booked it for one night, until we saw what it was like and then decided to stay two.
As luck would have it, they were due to start some renovations the next morning and wouldn't know if we could stay the two nights, until the morning and the builder confirmed him definitely starting etc. We really didn't want the bother of packing up again, so luckily next morning, the hotel confirmed that we could stay, so that gave us a bit more time seeing the city.

When we arrived, the hotel was on a busy central one way, cobbled and a now wet and slippy street. It was also on a bit of a downward incline, so a bit of care was needed, when going up the ramp, on to the high pavement, and then up another small ramp into their two storey garage, but thankfully there were no dramas get the bikes in and secured.

Porto is a lovely city and we really enjoyed our first foray around it, even in the rain. We found a bar & restaurant which was called the Big Bad Bank, so got fed and watered there before more wandering and eventually returning to the hotel.
The anticipated storm never arrived in Porto and we were met with glorious sunshine and warmth next morning. Perfect !!
Hopefully the footage and photos will help you decide to visit Portugal and Porto, if you haven't already been. I had visited 6 years previously for a day trip ( I was camping just outside the city and got a bus in, did the Port tasting tour, river cruise etc and loved it), so my second visit allowed me more time to see areas I hadn't seen before.