We walked across the bridge connecting Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia (the side of the river with the wineries) to do some wine tasting. But first we found an interesting piece of street art…the Half Rabbit! Half of it is on one street and the other half is on another. Standing in the middle, you were able to see the entire thing. I thought it was painted on the building but it is from scrap metal.

On to Sandeman…Mike had chosen the port and chocolate tour. He enjoyed the wine and chocolate while I enjoyed the chocolate. We did learn some interesting things about port.

After the wine tasting and lunch, we started towards the cathedral, a landmark for pilgrims. That is when the steep hills of Porto really got our attention! We think we climbed at least 25 flights of stairs (not kidding about the number)! We’ve learned it isn’t good when the map on your phone gives you the elevation you’ll be climbing and also has warning signs for steep hills and stairs! Evidently Porto (built into the side of a cliff) has an elevation gain of more than 460 feet…and it’s not gradual! We discovered a chapel for pilgrims on our way to the cathedral. We were unable to go inside the cathedral (after all those stairs) and so decided to return to the hotel and rest our legs…we still have 120 kilometers to walk in the coming days.

We did return across the bridge for sunset.