mccalls repurposed

Two round trip tickets from the Sao Bento station to Aviero was just under 15 euros.  We decided to go because they call it the Venice of Portugal because they have natural canals.  The Moliceiro boats are now used for tourism, but they were used to haul salt (major industry there) and gather seaweed (Molico) to fertilize the fields. I love quaint, tiny streets and unique architecture, so this place was right up my alley today.

These first few shots from our train window of two of the six bridges over the Douro River connecting the two halves of Porto.  As you arrive in Aviero and exit the modern train station, you see the old train station and head down Av Dr. Lourenco Peixinho and eventually, you will come to the canals and the quaint shops and neighborhoods.  The colors, tile work, mosaic walkways, and intricate architectural details were beautiful.

We wandered the streets for several hours and entered a fish market for fun…they had some ugly looking stuff on display!  We wandered past a fire station and I asked if I could take a picture with the firemen there, but they didn’t want anything to do with me and dispursed quickly laughing.  We got a chuckle over it as well, “Run! It is a giant, strange, blonde woman!” LOL

We also found Kirk’s next truck…haha. Well, it is about downsizing.  We finally made our way back around to get on a boat and tour the canals. After our tour, we grabbed some lunch at a little cafe’ and headed back to the train station and back to Porto.  The other fun take-aways were watching the people on the train, looking into the open doorways while wandering through the streets, meeting a young lady from New Jersey who had moved her family there six months ago, and spending another great day with my best friend.