Porto and Braga

The bus ride to Porto was scenic but this young portuguese girl stole my seat when i got off to have a cafe and i knew why she had done it. There was a noisy baby behind her so she took my seat deliberately to get away from him. When i asked her to move she refused so I took her seat and luckily the baby slept the whole way.

Upon arrival in Porto I had hassels finding the hostel and I met a few not so friendly people and also a few very friendly people as well. Its all part of the journey. Finally upon arrival at the hostel I met a few backpackers who were really nice.

I met Jakub from Poland in the hostel and we had some dinner together and we spoke with Max from Austria. Anyhow Jakub was going to Braga the following day so I arranged to go there with him. It will be good to see another city in Portugal.

We set out the following day and Jakub showed me around Porto. Wow what an amazing city. We went up to the cathedral which had the most amazing views of the city. Then we went across this bridge which had stunning views of the city of Porto and also views of the river. It was very beautiful. He also showed me a really nice park where I took heaps of photographs.

Then we went back to the train station where Jakub bought our tickets for Braga. I let him do the talking as he speaks spanish which is similar to portuguese. He has been living in Madrid. The train ride to Braga was really scenic and we talked the whole way. He told me many things about Poland and also the second world war.

Upon arrival in Braga, we went through the city centre. It has beautiful fountains, gardens and cathedrals. It also has the nicest old buildings. We then caught a bus out to this cathetral called Bom de Jesus Monte. It had amazing views of the city and the gardens up there were just beautiful. We talked heaps up there. Jakubs cold seemed to be getting worse and I seemed to be catching it, as I was sneezing heaps by the end of the day. There was a storm brewing so we decided to catch a train back to Porto, which was a good decision as there was a lot of lightning and thunder.

The whole way back in the train wee watched the rain falling down and upon arrival we used the internet cafe and then caught a bus back to our hostel. On the bus we talked to some lovely italian people who were stayiing in our hoste. Once back at the hostel we had a drink with Max and the Italians and also a guy from Prague. It was a great day of travel. Jakub is such a nice guy and very thoughtful and I hope to see him in Melbourne some day soon. He is so organized and heaps of fun to travel with.

The following morning I saaid goodbye to Jakub and the two spanish guys who we shared breakfast with. It was a cold day and raining heavily. Last night I had a dormitory to myself. No snoring to keep me awake.

The following day I walked around the city with Max from Austria. A really great guy, and so easy going. It was great to spend the day with him and we had a few beers beside the river. Life is sweet. The old buildings and the beautiful bridges make this town so so gorgeous. Max is coming to Australia soon so it will be so much fun to host him in Australia.

Spent a restless night in the hostel in Porto where this british guy snored his head off. It was so so bad. The worst I have ever heard and it kept everyone awake. I had breakfast with three really nice spanish backpackers and then hit the road. I walked around the coastal area of Porto and then caught a bus into the city centre. Its jusr a stunning city and im lucky as my last day here and its so sunny and hot.