This will be our last day in Porto, as we collect a hire car in the morning to head up the Douro Valley to Peso da Régua.

We started our day by watching the NRL Grand Final – Broncos versus Storm – from our apartment on my laptop, using a VPN so we looked like we were in Australia. It was such a thrilling game, and when our team came from behind to win, it was even better.

This year we have become more interested in footy, in particular the NRL and the Broncos. That is because our new young neighbour is one of their stars, and we have actually (unofficially) adopted him as a grandson because his family is from New Zealand. He is such a good kid, and like all these professional players, works very hard.

Anyway, now on a high, Mick and I went for a wander down Rua de Santa Caterina, which was again filled with people, despite many of the shops being closed today. We were treated to a very energetic performance by a group of young men who were dressed in black suits and knee-length black coats. I joked to Mick that they might be celebrating the Broncos win too.

We spotted a few more colourful sites today, complete with graffiti as many of these places looked for sale or for rent. We were really chasing the shade today as it was quite hot.

There are many beautiful churches in Porto, many of them are no longer used as Churches, despite almost 80% of the population being Catholic. Fewer than 20% regularly attend services so many of them are only open for tourist visits – as museums.

But this one – Igreja da Ordem do Terço – I found down a small street, still offers Masses on Sundays and is open for worshippers and visitors at various times.

It was built in the 18th Century in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary by a lay Catholic Confraternity devoted to Marian prayer and charitable works.

The use of blue tiles is a common feature of these churches.

Mick and I enjoyed a light lunch out today, as we were going out to dinner with our visitor.

My sister Suzanne arrived during the late afternoon from the UK where she lives with her husband. She will join us for a few days in Régua before heading back to Porto and then home.

I had chosen a restaurant for tonight that I’d pencilled into my notes many months ago for this holiday. I couldn’t remember why, but it was also one of the few restaurants opened on a Sunday evening.

The Wine Box Porto is located in the Ribeira district, so we needed to get an Uber there and back, which was easier than I had thought.

We had a great evening, and Mick was happy with his choice of carpaccio Octopus.

Suzanne had calamari, but I decided I’d give the second-most-favourite Porto dish a go. It is called Bifana – and it is described as a “typical Porto sandwich with sliced pork cooked slowly in a special sauce and served in a rustic bun with chips”. It definitely was better than the famous Francesinha.

But only just. I won’t ever order another one.

When we got there I remembered why I had wanted to visit this place – as the name suggests, The WIne Box had lots of wines on its list that you could choose by the glass or by the bottle, and varying in price. We resisted trying a glass of one red wine I spotted for €175 per glass, and instead Mick and Suzanne shared a bottle of local white wine – which was flinty and dry and they both seemed to like it. And while I stuck to ‘authentic’ for the meal, I chose unusual Portugues varieties for my wine – a glass of chardonnay and one of pinot noir. We never knew they made them.

Tomorrow – there will be some windy roads ahead of us. And yes, you can use both meanings of the word ‘windy’ in this context.