Oh no, grey skies and rain! Never mind, we catch the bus into Porto (less than 3 euros return for one person) and get off when the bus stops outside the photographic museum, for which we make a bee line, in order to shelter from the rain (and to see the photos, of  course!). Unfortunately it’s closed, so we explore the streets of the old town…

 

 and pay a brief visit to the Sé (cathedral)…

 before wandering down to the river bank…

Porto is a fascinating place, with really interesting architecture, but we’re getting drenched and opt for coffee in a glass box of a café where we can almost imagine sitting outside in the warm!

 

Back out into the weather, and there’s definitely top marks for street art….

Then we head for the station – no, not to catch a train, but to take a look at the wonderful azulejos (tiles painted by one Jorge Colaço in time for the station opening in 1903).

 

Doesn’t this young lady look coy…

 

A quick  walk up towards the R. Dos Clérigos with its ancient looking trams…

 

Up Av. Dos Aliados with its smiley statues….

 

(I’d be pretty miserable if I were her in this weather…)

…then a look round the market (mostly covered) and it’s lunch at a cheap and very cheerful cafe, where the waitress actually takes time to discuss the menu – in a mixture of French, Portuguese and gestures which mostly involve putting her hand to her mouth and pretending to eat. We opt for the home-made vegetable soup at 1 euro for a big bowl.

Then it’s back to the bus stop, not before watching several people’s umbrellas turn inside out, but somehow it all seems to be taken in good spirits…

How could there be any rain left in the sky?