Porto!

Porto is one of the coolest cities I've ever been to. We took off last Friday afternoon and stayed in a cramped, smelly, moldy old apartment, but what it lacked in everything else it made up for in an amazing view of Porto's riverfront and general location:

Our airbnb was technically in Gaia, across the river and steps from the Ponte de D. Luis bridge, and so the first night we just walked around both riverfronts, crossing the lower bridge when we wanted to explore Porto a bit, and eating. It was a very lively scene, tons of people out strolling, dining, street performers, musicians, just a lot of fun. We meandered into a few shops, another sardine museum (they are everywhere in Portugal), a port wine tasting movie spot, and just soaked in the energy. 

Full moon rising over the bridge:

Saturday we did a tour of the Duoro river valley, famous for its ports, with a tasting and boat ride. In order to get to the tour bus we had to hoof it up what must have been 90 floors of stairs on empty tummies. This place is not flat. Our first stop on the tour was a town called Amarante, and it was actually very quaint and lovely. We crossed a little stone bridge to a little town square area with a cathedral that was decorated in stolen Brazilian gold and wood. We hadn't done much cathedral touring yet, so it was interesting to do with a guide. Buddy realized that he really should have brought a sweatshirt like we told him to, and had to survive the rest of the day extremely underdressed.

After Amarante we drove quite awhile, including into a tunnel that took over 3 minutes to get through as it was through a mountain. This tunnel was apparently used in Fast and Furious movies, and cut the travel time from Porto to the Duoro Valley by an hour. We finally made it to a beautiful vista scenic point, but unfortunately for us, we were basically in a cloud. I'm sure it is breathtaking on a sunny day. It still was creepy-romantic and a little bit sad-funny. We had a traditional Portuguese lunch and headed to a winery for a tasting. We met some lovely people on our tour, from all over the world. The clouds cleared by then and we could appreciate the beauty of the area, but unfortunately the actual tasting was held indoors and was a little rushed. Good wine, good info about ports and the process, just not enough time to savor. We were back on the bus and down on the river for a boat ride, which again had quite beautiful scenery, but the guide was hard to hear and everyone was a little chilly. I would have preferred another winery to the boat ride, and I think the kids actually would have too. 

Kids learning how to stomp grapes for harvest:

It took 2 hours to get back to Porto so it was about 6:30 when we arrived, and Brian swore up and down that some big concert or sporting event must be going on, because there were so many people everywhere! Turns out, that's just how lively Porto is. We went to the "most beautiful bookstore in the world" where J.K. Rowling apparently penned Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but it was 8 euro a head and we were too late to get inside anyway, so we just peeked. It looked pretty fun. More fun was that you could see the inspiration for so much of Harry Potter everywhere you looked - crooked pedestrian paths that looked like Diagon Alley filled with narrow, colorful tiled buildings and glowing streetlamps. Pictures really don't capture it. Restaurants and gelaterias and shops everywhere, all streets were steep and curvy and occasionally led to some beautiful fountain but mostly it felt like a fun maze. It wasn't overly crowded, but there was so much energy. We had a blast that evening, just exploring, following whatever caught our (my) eye, buying art, eating poke bowls and gelato, stopping for whiskey and fantas, petting all the cats and dogs, and just being part of that atmosphere.

Sunday we had the very best breakfast we've had in Portugal at a place off the riverfront called 7G. Buddy ate several courses of food, the waiters were so impressed (this was not surprising, our family is often very impressive at eating). After filling our bellies we took the gondola up to the top of the bridge and crossed over to Porto on the high bridge part. It was a completely different viewpoint, and sunny, warm, and still lively. There was a biker gang that apparently comes every Sunday morning filling the Gaia riverfront so we were happy to head back over to Porto for a little time to just meander, somewhat aimlessly, taking in the sights and sun. Our time in Porto was coming to a close and we wished we had more time here, but I'd definitely, highly recommend it to anyone heading to Portugal!

Views from the high bridge: