We were packed. The taxi was on its way to take us to the train station to depart Porto. I can’t say that I was really ready to go, but the excitement of going to a new place is always greater than the sadness of leaving.

On settling into a new country or town, we often search out one of the “walking food tours”. Of all the things we learned on our food tour in Porto, the most interesting, fun, and delicious was how to eat tremoços.

Porto is really working hard to clean up and revitalize itself from deep economic problems of the past. Here are two examples of their progress and potential.

Traditions are everywhere. Some are shrouded in the distant past, others evolve within a couple of generations. Some exist within families, communities, regions or countries, and some are merely personal.

The alarm went off at 07h30. The day was expected to be hot, so we decided to go to Porto’s northern beach of Matosinhos, to visit the Mercado Municipal de Matosinhos and eat seafood.

The Douro River flows to the Atlantic from high in the mountains of Spain, passing Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia about 5 km (3 mi) from the ocean. So we went.

Sanctioned or unsanctioned, love it or hate it, street art exists. Is it really art? What do you think?