A British made Locomotive most of the Vintage
Stock was German
A Typical City Street in Oporto
Travelling through these huge rocks on our trip from the Spanish Border
Hazardous area for boats in the past
in soot when we returned,I had black hair.
30th September
Arrived home from my holiday Portugal on Sunday at lunchtime. Flew Ryan Air out of Liverpool my first from that airport. I must admit I was pleasantly surprise after hearing lots of conflicting rumours about these cheap flights. Plenty of legroom and a smooth journey the only complaint was the restriction on luggage weight at 15kgs.
Portugal was brilliant we had sunshine every day and rain for no more than two hours one morning. We where based at Regua in a 4star hotel overlooking the Douro River. Dot and I had a Suite! But unfortunately no time to enjoy it. There were forty in our group, many couples and a few singles . All of the men and two women were avid Train Enthusiasts. PTG Tours (Portugal Traction Group) are brilliant at filling our day with old and new variations on Transport with some very interesting places of interest all first class. Needless to saw in Portugal we visited a few Vineyards. I have never drunk so much port and wine in in the day ever, I remained very sober as we ate such huge meals. We sailed along the river from the Spanish Border down to Oporto in two stage, passing through 4 enormous locks 35 to70metres depth, it was quite an experience. We had three days in the city, exploring the medieval city of Guimaraes in the Minho Region, visited mountain Sanctuaries at Braga and the obligatory vineyard travelling back to the city First Class on the Pendolino, fantastic.
I am so glad we had such wonderful weather on holiday, as coming home to the grey skies and miserable rain was a downer, my central heating has been on ever since.
