During my previous year as a language auxiliar in Vigo, I had many chances to visit Porto...well at least their airport. Everyone I have met who has had the chance to visit Porto, Portugal, had said it was one of their favorite cities in Europe and even though I lived only 45 minutes away by car, I never got the chance to visit. However, now is that time with my two great friends by my side. Kim, Cooper, and I — fresh off our trip from Morocco —, were able to pass another long weekend in this beautiful northern city where we did everything in our power to experience all that Porto has to offer.
We were able to stay in a wonderful water-front Airbnb that overlooked the Rio Douro near the edge of the city. While we were considered to be outside the city it never proved to be a problem because the entire thing could be covered in about 15 minutes walking in any direction. However, in Portuguese fashion, those 15 minutes were filled with daunting hills and soon-to-be sore legs. Kim, Cooper, and I, arrived in Porto late on a Friday night where we took their metro system into the center of the city and climbed our first hill up to our lodgings. While we were all very excited to finally be in this new city, all of the big fun was to come the following day. So, we ended our first night in Porto on our terris watching the late-night cruises sail in and out to sea and sipping some much awaited Port wine.
Just by coincidence, Saturday turned out to be one of the busiest days I had scheduled in all of my travels. To begin, we woke up early and walked across town to make our reservation to learn how to make one of the most iconic portuguese treats and my personal favorite, Pastel de Nata. This flakey yet creamy custard pastry first stole my heart in Lisbon during my break out trip while living in Europe. To read more about my first time in Portugal follow this link to read about my journey to Lisbon and Sintra:
Being the first to arrive to our class, we had extra time to relax and get to know our chef and teacher for the day, Joana. Having lived in Porto her entire life, Joana said that she loved meeting new people and welcoming them into her home to share her family’s coveted pastel de nata recipe. As we waited for the other guests to arrive we sipped on some much needed coffee and got to know one another. Finally the other guests arrived, a large group from southern France, and we got started! Joana conducted the class teaching us the individual processes of the dough and custard step by step. Everyone got a turn to learn how to make these delicate pastries as we all communicated in a mix of English, Spanish, and French. If you want to learn more about the process of how to make my favorite portuguese treats, you can follow this link to my page where I share some tasty secrets!
After the class and a quick snack for lunch, we hurriedly made our way to the meeting place of my favorite Sandeman’s free walking tour. We barely made it and were able to meet up with our group just in time before our guide showed us one of his favorite views of the city located in the middle of the Old Jewish neighborhood called Vitória. From there we discovered the famous Lello — or better known Harry Potter — Bookstore, marveled at the tilework inside the São Bento train station, stood beneath the towering Torre dos Clérigos, learned about the “Eiffel” connection to the Dom Luís bridge, and craned our necks to admire the city’s iconic tiled buildings. After the tour we decided to head across the Rio Douro to get a better view of the city from the Serra do Pilar before returning to the apartment to rest for a little bit. It was there across the river that I learned that the river did not divide the city of Porto, but it actually split two cities — Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.
That evening, after a short break in our apartment, we hopped once again on the metro system and headed out to the Estádio do Dragão to catch my first football game of the season! That evening the FC Porto Dragons were taking on the Río Ave Sharks. Porto’s stadium was ginormous and very modern, and of course filled with die-hard fans. We sang along in portuguese with the other fans to their fight songs and screamed in excitement when we scored. It was a great game for both teams, however it all came down to a technicality when an overdue call overturned the winning goal for Porto. Even though the game ended in a tie, we all felt like winners heading home that night.
Our final days in Porto were filled by walking around the city, enjoying more delicious pastries and meals, and checking off things we did not have the chance to do earlier in the day. My highlights from these last days had to be touring Calem Winery to learn about their process of making, distributing, and of course tasting, port wine; seeing a traditional portuguese Fado show; and visiting inside the famous Librería Lello where we saw many influences J.K. Rowling translated into her books.
Overall I had a wonderful time in Porto and I have to agree with others when stating that Porto has to be one of the most beautiful cities in Portugal...and maybe even Europe! The food was amazing, the culture was lively, and everywhere you looked you’d find something beautiful. I am so happy to have finally made this trip happen and to be able to have all the great experiences we did while in this wonderful city. Porto was truly picture perfect in every which way.
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