From Porto To Matosinhos By Bus

Where in the heck is Matosinhos (I can’t pronounce it either, barely got it spelled correctly!) and why did I go from Porto to there?

The why part of the question is that’s where the Tour bus drove to.  And it wasn’t disappointing!

It was a bit chillier riding in the topless double-decker bus than in Lisbon…but that’s alright with me.  I love the view!

This tour bus ride wasn’t quite as adventurous as the one in Funchal because it was without the mountains, hills and cliffs but there was some rather unique sights for my pleasure.

Just as in Funchal there are two tour lines and this is also the ‘Yellowbus’ with the yellow and blue lines.  But this time we’ll do both lines in one day.

I’m becoming a ‘BIG’ fan of using these buses to get acclimated as a tourist to these large cities with lots of variety to see.  For me, Porto is an eye opener to the past.  I’ve always loved history and geography so being here in Porto and seeing some remnants of the Roman empire is just fascinating!  Everything here on the right and left is artifacts from the Roman Empire!  I’m totally in ‘awe’.  In one room of the museum I took pictures of every artifact along with the accompanying plaques that told the story.  That’s me!  I did the same in Lisbon.  No wonder I have so many pictures!!

 Here are a few of the exhibitions down that hall.

Back to the bus!

Here’s what’s considered about these bus tours.  They are hop-on/hop-off.  Studying a map and finding the local TV information station will arm you with the information needed to make the best use of these tours.

I’m not to Matosinhos yet!

One more thing about preparing for these bus tours…..I neglect (intentionally I might add) to take my own advice. You see, I don’t approach my visit as a tourist…yes I am, but I like staying away from the tourist.  The above Roman relics from the church museum above were the end results of a 1100 meter trek uphill and not the bus which started probably about 500 meters away.

Oh! That’s another thing!  The two bus lines weren’t convenient to reach from each other….thus more walking!

Anyway, back to the bus on my way to Matosinhos.

This bus ride is both routes and the first route is over the Douro River to the north bank which has all the wine storage cellars from which companies like Taylor Wines ship the world-famous Port Wines.  The bad thing about this part of the tour is that it’s backwards.  Backward you may ask and I’d reply yes, backwards. You see we get to this cellars before we even know that we’ve gotten there!  There’s no signage except from the opposite of the route. So, to see where we’ve been we need to look over our shoulders for signage.  Thus, no pics.  Boohoo!!!



It was interesting.  At one time the barrels of wine were shipped on these boats known as Rabelo boats.  Now the boats are merely a tourist attraction.  They are still plentiful, at least to me.  I think they look a little like a gondolier on steroids.

Now onward to Matosinhos.  But first we have to change buses.  No easy task as the walk is uphill about one and a half kilometers!!!

I’ve fallen in love with the Port wines…

At the first stop, where we get on the double-decker is my first memorable picture of life in Porto (not really, I’m just trying to be cute about this…)  it’s McDonald’s.  The only one I’ve seen in Porto and I’ve only seen one in Lisbon.  I did see a Burger King on the way to Matosinhos and I only remember it looking like a ‘condo’!!!  Nothing other than its name gave way to the fact that it was a food stop!!

 On both the tours this church is passed by at least two-time.  They are doing some restoration work (a lot of that is going on around Porto) and you’ll notice the cable lines to the left, that’s for the cable car that I mentioned a bit earlier.

Most of the building have a dirty grey look to them  which honestly, I found charming.  Sort of matched its age.  Plus there are some gothic buildings here and you know you are looking into the past here.



So, what’s so special about Matosinhos that I would include it in the blog title?  It’s flat, there’s plenty of street vendors cooking their fresh caught fish and there’s… the beach!!!  I’m not gonna be seeing a beach everywhere I go, so I take advantage of seeing a beach when I can.  There’s even some ‘beach bars’ here but, my itinerary doesn’t allow me the time to visit.  That’s okay.

  This was a really weird site!  It’s a fisherman’s net!  Here’s a bit better shot.

We’re in Matosinhos…it’s just how far the bus went, that’s all!

It is surprisingly hard to get some of these pictures from a quality stand point.  I’m on one side of the bus and although there’s a tour audio, somethings are just not mentioned and what may be mentioned isn’t really of interest to me.  Like the Burger King was of interest and there was no warning and by the time I had my camera ready….I was past it.  You can’t stand up on a moving bus and the raised backside of the bus blocks the downward shot.  I’d have loved to have gotten a pic of that Burger King!

I didn’t know of the street vendor’s doing their cooking either so I missed shots of grills full of huge fish freshly caught!

We traveled down the longest boulevard in Porto and the surrounding area, “Avenida da Boavista” which is a straight shot from Porto to Matosinhos.  Not one turn or crook!!!

One curious sight along the boulevard was this concert hall .  It is designed for nearly every type of music imaginable and the acoustics are reset for whatever performance and remodel simply for the audiences total enjoyment.  Wish I could’ve visited.



Here’s a few shots on the way back.  Enjoy!!! 

More Porto when I return….I like the wines!!!

I might add…..no one mentioned Donald Trump or Hiliary Clinton!!!  Smile!

Peace, love, and beaches,

John

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