Gaia, across the river from Porto

 After 12 days, I am church and palace out, so my focus was touring wineries on Gaia (across the river from Porto), and checking out famous stores such as Cafe Majestic, McDonald Imperial, etc.  I walked across the famous Ponte Dom Luís I Birdge to the overlook at the monetary Miradouro da Serra do Pilar, then the top to the river front then walked up to an abandoned castle for an overlook. 

I was very impressed by the river front codfish pastel store of Pastel de Bacalhau Com Queijo da Serra da Estrela, which was nicely decorated, with pastel making by a chef on site, as well organ performance. I did not pay 2.5€ for a small piece in the fancy store. 

I waited until dinner at Cafe Almada to have three 鳕鱼饼 （Pastel de Bacalhau）with side dishes for 4€. This Portuguese salt cod fritters are made with salt cod, potato, onion, and parsley and then fried.

Another highlight was fado performance in one of the wineries. I missed the opportunities in Lisbon and Coimbra, and finally made up in Porto. “Fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fate and melancholia.” The sadder the better. The best fado singer can cry during performance and bring the audience to tears. As it is sad, tears replace applauds to praise the performance. While I was wondering in the winery area, I ran into one of my polish friends by accident. What a nice surprise!

I also visited the big garden Jardins do Palácio de Cristal with landscaped gardens designed in the 19th century offering fountains, paths & Douro River views.