When people think of Portugal, people most often think of Lisbon. It is, after all, the capital. But Porto has a certain unique charm that I would argue shouldn't be missed.
Our flight arrived pretty late, and despite the awesome metro system - we opted for a taxi. We cashed in some hotel rewards on this trip so we stayed a few metro stops outside of downtown. It really worked out!
Our flight arrived pretty late, and despite the awesome metro system - we opted for a taxi. We cashed in some hotel rewards on this trip so we stayed a few metro stops outside of downtown. It really worked out!
Our Saturday started with coffee and croissants. And then we set off to explore.
Porto City Hall
Being silly in front of the Porto. sign!
Don't think I will make it to London, so this will have to do.
Azulejos! Azulejos are Portuguese tin-glazed tiles. They can be found all throughout the city, but the most impressive spot is in the Sao Bento station.
Charming streets, making our way to Clergios Church.
Clergios Church!
Inside the church! It was very beautiful.
On the back side of the church is a bell tower which you can climb for views of the city! And I say climb because there were A LOT of stairs!
But the views made it all worth it!
The street along the river was outstanding!
Selfies in Porto!
In order to see the infamous port wine houses and to taste port wine at the source, you have to cross the Dom Luis Bridge.
Image courtesy of Oporto City Hotel, because lets be honest. I could never capture something like that!
Anyways, I didn't realize that I am kind of scared to walk across bridges! We walked along the bottom, and then returned on Sunday to cross the top. Needless to say, my limits were tested!
Once you cross the river you are in port wine tasting heaven. We selected Calem and went on a tour.
Now, I had never tried port wine before (and I didn't think I would be a fan), but having it at the source seemed like the right thing to do!
Port wine is produced exclusively in the Douro Valley of Portugal. It is typically very sweet, often red. I learned though that it also comes in white varieties. The tour got very technical in the process of making port wine - from the grapes to the way it is stored/aged. The tour concluded with a tasting.
I didn't actually hate it! I was shocked. It has a very high alcohol content and it is very sweet, but in small quantities I could see how one would drink this as a dessert wine!
After our wine tasting/tour we just relaxed with a bottle of wine by the river and admired the beauty that is Porto!
The next morning I set out to find some pasteis de nata.
It is essentially a custard tart... and I was not a fan!
It was raining pretty hard after our breakfast stop, but we carried on and made our way to the Porto Cathedral!
Cathedral from the other side!
From the very top of the Dom Luis Bridge! Lovely view of Porto...Super scary when windy and rainy!
Next I made Blake take me to Livraria Lello... The only bookstore I have paid to enter.
Because WOW!
Livraria Lello is on every list of 'Most Beautiful Bookstores' and for good reason! It is rumored that the red stair case inspired J.K. Rowling when she was writing Harry Potter during her time living in Porto. (For all you Harry Potter fans.)
Reality photo... There were TONS of people.
But we really enjoyed spending a bit of time looking at all of the books!
The rain continued to pour, but we made one last stop before making our way to the airport.
We admired this church! I loved seeing the blue tiles all throughout the town.
