The beauty of being somewhere long enough to not have to rush around chaotically is wonderful. Today, we explored the upper part of town, the Dom Luis I Bridge and the upper part of Villa Nova de Gaia.

With our directions in hand, we left the apartment. Since it was Sunday, the buskers were out and filling the air with the sound of music. Knowing what hills lie ahead, even Julie Andrews wouldn’t be dancing though.

Our route had us going down, then up; zig-zagging through residential streets, then heading up near the old Roman ruins. At that point, we needed to rest a little bit.

Moving on, we headed down a bit to the beginning of the bridge.

This upper part of the bridge combines metro train tracks and a pedestrian walkway. The view down to the river and across the city is stunningly beautiful.

Across the bridge is the town of Villa Nova de Gaia. Here, most of the major port wine makers are headquartered in the areas below. One of the best places to view the sunset is from the park that lies at the end of the bridge.

Tonight’s restaurant for dinner is also located just at the end of the bridge. The views look fantastic during daylight. I can’t wait until this evening.

We walked around the park for a bit before heading back. We decided to stay high and then go down to the riverside tomorrow.

I’d swear that anyway you go in Porto is an upward climb. There were lots of people to navigate through – some more adept at walking than others. We eventually made it back to our home area. As a reward, we stopped at a bakery called ‘Castro’ and bought a few Pasteis da Nata to tide us over until dinner.

Pasteis da Nata are a Portuguese favorite pastry. They are made by taking a pastry shell and baking them with a creamy custard filling. The custard is made with egg yolks, milk, flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Are they rich? Yes! Are they delicious? Yes!

Back in the room, we enjoyed our snack and rested up while listening to some music.

As dinner time rolled around, we cleaned up and re-traced our steps from earlier in the day. We went to Restaurante Ponte de Ferro just over the bridge in Vila Nova de Gaia.

Crossing the bridge, you could see the throngs of people in the park awaiting a view of the sunset. The “golden hour” was approaching, but our reservation was at about the same time. An opportunity missed?

Not at all. We arrived for dinner and our hostess told us to follow her. She led us to the patio where we could see and take in the beautiful sunset. (Obrigado, Marie!)

Our table was located perfectly to get to take in the beauty of the bridge, especially as darkness fell and the lights came on.

Would the meal live up to the ambiance? Definitely!

We started with a glass of sparkling wine to go with our amuse bouche. The amuse-bouche was a small tuna taco and a cod croquette. What a great way to begin the meal. For starters, Sue chose a green salad, while I had a seared scallop with caviar and teriyaki pork belly.

For our main dishes, Sue had the Sea bass and I had the grilled duck breast. We were both very happy with our choices. We paired the meal with a bottle of Dona Marie Amantis red wine from the Alentejo region, which was delicious.

Sue was finished, but I managed to enjoy a warm molten chocolate cake with coffee ice cream for dessert.

Overall, it was an awesome meal. The service was top-notch, matching the ambiance and the food.

We took a slow walk home enjoying the gorgeous evening’s weather.

It was delightful day and evening.

If the Dom Luis I bridge reminds you of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, you have a keen eye. The designer of the bridge that commemorates the first King of Portugal was a devoted student of Gustave Eiffel – the designer/builder of the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris.