I woke up a little earlier our last morning in Salamanca and went to a little park to do a short workout. It was very tranquil to be out and about in Salamanca in the morning when there was hardly anyone on the streets and you could just hear the pigeons choo-ing. I also heard a unique bird sound and looked up to find some very large nests on the tops of the buildings with some large birds on top, which was a fun finding that I never noticed the previous day when we were walking out and about.
Convent de San Esteban
Most of the morning consisted of cleaning up and packing up, but before we left Salamanca we stopped at the Convent de San Esteban. They had the convent area and then also the church connected to it.
It provided some interesting views and insight into convent life. My favourite, and more unique parts of the visit, included a view of the sanctuary from the choir loft at the back and the confessional chambers. Our daughter was in one of the confessional chambers and an audiovisual came up with a nun talking - she quickly backed away and out of it until we verified that it was just a video. :-)
On the Road to Porto, Portugal
A majority of the day was spent driving from Salamanca to Porto. If we had taken the non toll road route, it would have taken us over 5 hours of driving. With two little ones we decided it was worth the money to pay the tolls and only have 3.5 hours of driving instead. The toll road system in Portugal was unlike any we had seen before. As a foreigner you just had to insert your credit card as you entered the toll roads and then it connected your license plate number to your credit card and as you drive along and hit the various electronic toll readers the toll amount is deducted from your credit card.
Shortly after we entered Portugal the scenery changed from the dry arid scenery we had seen in Northwestern Spain to small mountains and lush vegetation with lots of trees. We came across a few vineyards as well, which having some good port in Portugal is one of the things I'm looking forward to.
Porto Accommodations
We arrived at our place - River Place Apartments - in Gaia (just across the river from Old Porto) and it was absolutely amazing location. We have a view of the river, the bridge and the Old Town from our windows, as well as the various Port Caves right below us. We headed out to get dinner at a little café down along the river and enjoyed some fresh cod for dinner - delicious! Of course, we had to stop for some Italian gelato for dessert as well.
A little sneak peek view from our place here in Porto.
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