Weeknotes #186: Portugal, port and pastel (de nata)

Fizz, animals, pottery, sunshine, coding and books lead to Porto.

An elevated view over Porto looking east along the Douro River, with orange-tiled rooftops in the foreground, port wine boats moored along the Ribeira waterfront, and the colourful houses of Ribeira and Vila Nova de Gaia lining both banks under a clear blue sky.

Week commencing Monday, 10 August 2026

Quantified Self

  • This week: Stand 7/7; Exercise 6/7 and Move 7/7. (95%). Total steps: 76,984. On holiday in Porto.

Life in Portugal

  • Woke up in a hotel in Portugal on Monday, had pastel de nata for breakfast, and went out in the heat.
  • It seems everything in Porto is up a hill. In all directions. Always.
  • Full marks to the tourist information, but I feel that if another customer hadn’t walked in, we might have been chatting there all day.
  • We did the wrong loop on the hop-on, hop-off tour first. Turned out to be a good decision, although it meant we were by delicious-smelling grilled seafood for the journey by the beach.
  • I learned Time Out makes more money from the Time Out Market concept than it does from its old listing business. And the one we visited was excellent.
  • Related, we tried francesinha, considered Porto’s signature sandwich. I thought of it a bit like lasagne, but made with bread. Delicious, very filling, but hardly a sandwich.
  • All the port traders are old. Monday, Caves Burmester claimed 1750; on Tuesday, Cockburn’s claimed 1815 and Croft, not the sherry, 1588. IMHO, the middle one was best.
  • There are lots of restaurants which are lovely, but not obvious from the roadside: Bartolomeu Bistro & Wine (try the Japanese-style pancakes); at Botanico and the panoramic restaurant on top of the Vincci hotel, go for the set menu.
  • The local kids jump off the Dom Luís I bridge, avoiding jet skis and tourist boats. I wonder if it’s really permitted.
  • The Douro Valley is hot and beautiful. Some of the Brits on the tour with us were loud.
  • Last week I concluded that I was no artist. At lunch on Wednesday, a medical artist claimed I was wrong and gave me a drawing lesson while we ate.
  • Livraria Lello has no association with Harry Potter.

Life back home

  • I found Little Portugal in London.
  • I paid for a new phone battery to be installed by Apple. I was surprised when it was not fully charged.

Media

  • I finished the book club book. Adam Kay’s first novel, A Particularly Nasty Case, is a farcical murder mystery, but I keep forgetting about the farce and thinking it’s ridiculous in places, which it was. And quite funny. A great holiday read.