5th - 9th of July 2017
Introduction:
I went to this trip with somebody I used to know (as they sing in the song), but I have no regrets:
Anyway, here we go:
5th of July
Everything has been calculated... My last day at Veolia... taking time to say goodbye to all my colleagues I used to work with, some tears in the eyes... The best way to recover: the plane for Porto was waiting for us. It doesn't happen often to me to leave from Orly (the second Parisian airport), even if the airport is closer to Paris going there is a bit a mess. I finally managed to reach it. For information Orlyval (a small train connecting the airport from the station of Anthony) costs 9€ for 3min ride no matter if you have a monthly subscription or not (didn't know that, well no choice I paid :) )
I met "Her" soon later and by 8pm we went for the boarding. The flight was quite short (less than 2h) and it took us around 30min from the Airport to reach the Porto's downtown by metro. We reached Trininade station which seems being the main one. As the weather was a bit cooler than in Paris but still nice we decided to walk from there to the Airbnb. So before midnight we managed to check-in at our Airbnb which was located near Marques station.
First impressions:
"She" had elaborated a 4 days plan. The initial one was a visit of Porto on 6th of July then a trip to Braga and the surroundings and back to Porto for the rest of the time. Once we arrived we realized that might be challenging so we decided to fully enjoy Porto.
6th of July - a big tour around the old city
We woke up early and went for a walk. Back to Trinidade where the city hall and the church Santissima Trinidade are located and where we saw a really beautiful piece of street art on a parking wall. From this part of the city it starts basically the old Porto.
Our first stop was the Porto local market (Bolhao Market) which was a huge hall with fruit, flowers and fishes stands. Really charming and authentic place ! We had a lunch there where I could enjoy a squid. Indeed, my appetite regarding sea fruits increased in the recent years, but i still prefer seeing them underwater and swim with them.
We walked then around the small streets. I think I have never seen so many churches in such a small perimeter. The main ones were covered by a blue painted tiles with stories or saints from the Bible. The first impressive one was chapel of Souls which was literally covered from top to bottom.
Here is the architecture break: even if the tiles is something you usually use for the bathroom of your apartment or house, it is definitely not the same vision Portuguese have. Indeed, all the old houses and churches have tiles on their frontage which actually makes them quite unique from what I have seen elsewhere. Also I better understand now some of the jokes about the Portuguese tiles.
We stopped at the National Library which was keeping records of everything published in Portugal for centuries. Quite an interesting building and really cool to see some newspapers recordings from the 18th century. And we went for a coffee at the Majestic Café: a famous café in an old building keeping an authentic atmosphere from the old days. The coffee was really good but I think I definitely preferred their French toast (not because of nostalgia... really)
We continued our journey in the afternoon:
The plan of the late afternoon was visiting the Clerigos Tower which was offering a 360 degrees view over the city and is also the symbol of Porto and then go to Douro river quays. We reached the tower but the waiting time to reach the top was about an hour long. Quite long when you have spent already a lot of time walking and especially when we had 3 more days left. After checking, it seems that the less crowdy period to visit it is before 9am and after 7pm... so we passed and decided to do it another day. We decided to go to Douro quays and to take our time. As old Porto is located on a hill we needed to go down to the river and explore the district of Ribiera, and who tells going down also says view spots. Indeed, we found THE view spot: Miradouro da Vitaria (mentioned in the guide, located in the Jewish district nearby Igreja Paroquial da Vitoria) offering a great view over the city, the river, the colorful buildings, the Bridge Luis I.
While going down we stopped at the red metal market (Palacio da Bolsa) which was transformed into an art shop for the locals and tourists. It made me think of the Pavillon Ballard located in the suburbs of Paris.
At this moment the weather started to get very cloudy and we even felt some rain drops. It was time to go down and even considering going for a diner.
Well once we reached the quays, and no matter the weather, it was impossible not to stop to enjoy the view, the river and buildings. Indeed, it is such as you come back in time. The buildings are small, tall and colorful and the river beside makes them look like a part of a cartoon, telling a story about the middle age. It is the moment I also realized how huge the bridge Luis I was. Really impressive piece of work out there!
After some picture breaks and as the weather was getting really rainy we decided to cross the bridge and to go on the other side (city of Vila Nova de Gaia) for a dinner. We found a small restaurant offering traditional food like the bacalau or a francezinha (which I ordered). The francezinha, which literally means "small French girl", is a dish inspired from the French croque Monsieur ou croque Madame, imported by the Portuguese. Well, they made it even heavier as the toasted bread is full of meat and egg and swimming into a wine soupe. Okay, heavy but really delicious!
It was also the moment we tried the Porto wine which is sweater than normal wines but really delicious.
During the dinner we decided to change a bit our plans for the next day. Instead of renting a car and going to Braga and to the north, going for a boat trip on the Douro river to see the wine-yards. Well when we finished dinner (9-10pm) it seemed a bit complicated to book a boat trip... we went walking back on the other side of the river where "She" found a hotel in which a nice lady told us where to go the next day so we can catch the boat.
We then went back walking in the small streets to Sao Bento station to catch the subway and went back home. Quite a productive day!
I went to this trip with somebody I used to know (as they sing in the song), but I have no regrets:
- firstly because I was expecting the worse but it went surprisingly well. And hopefully I haven't met her real personality during this period because it could have become a disaster trip... So you will understand, that I am not mentionning her name in the text below.
- and secondly because it has already happened to me to miss a trip because of recent broke up... I didn't want this to happen again. I think I will also consider going by myself if something like this happens next time... We all learn from mistakes: )
Anyway, here we go:
5th of July
Everything has been calculated... My last day at Veolia... taking time to say goodbye to all my colleagues I used to work with, some tears in the eyes... The best way to recover: the plane for Porto was waiting for us. It doesn't happen often to me to leave from Orly (the second Parisian airport), even if the airport is closer to Paris going there is a bit a mess. I finally managed to reach it. For information Orlyval (a small train connecting the airport from the station of Anthony) costs 9€ for 3min ride no matter if you have a monthly subscription or not (didn't know that, well no choice I paid :) )
I met "Her" soon later and by 8pm we went for the boarding. The flight was quite short (less than 2h) and it took us around 30min from the Airport to reach the Porto's downtown by metro. We reached Trininade station which seems being the main one. As the weather was a bit cooler than in Paris but still nice we decided to walk from there to the Airbnb. So before midnight we managed to check-in at our Airbnb which was located near Marques station.
First impressions:
- The light metro: I have heard about it, because Sofia wanted to build one instead of the third line, but have never used it. It is indeed a really nice device. It looks much more like a modern and big tram, but faster.
- The hills: they were going up and down, I especially felt it around 11pm when we were walking from Trinidade to Marques.
- The floor: a part of the pedestrian area was covered by black and white tiles. Very similar to the one in Copacabana in Rio (not a big surprise, Brazil used to be a colony). Well, it is cool to feel the origins of the thing :)
- French: it seemed that everybody speaks French in Porto even the guy working in the small local market. French is one of the most studied language in Portugal.
"She" had elaborated a 4 days plan. The initial one was a visit of Porto on 6th of July then a trip to Braga and the surroundings and back to Porto for the rest of the time. Once we arrived we realized that might be challenging so we decided to fully enjoy Porto.
6th of July - a big tour around the old city
We woke up early and went for a walk. Back to Trinidade where the city hall and the church Santissima Trinidade are located and where we saw a really beautiful piece of street art on a parking wall. From this part of the city it starts basically the old Porto.
Our first stop was the Porto local market (Bolhao Market) which was a huge hall with fruit, flowers and fishes stands. Really charming and authentic place ! We had a lunch there where I could enjoy a squid. Indeed, my appetite regarding sea fruits increased in the recent years, but i still prefer seeing them underwater and swim with them.
We walked then around the small streets. I think I have never seen so many churches in such a small perimeter. The main ones were covered by a blue painted tiles with stories or saints from the Bible. The first impressive one was chapel of Souls which was literally covered from top to bottom.
Here is the architecture break: even if the tiles is something you usually use for the bathroom of your apartment or house, it is definitely not the same vision Portuguese have. Indeed, all the old houses and churches have tiles on their frontage which actually makes them quite unique from what I have seen elsewhere. Also I better understand now some of the jokes about the Portuguese tiles.
We stopped at the National Library which was keeping records of everything published in Portugal for centuries. Quite an interesting building and really cool to see some newspapers recordings from the 18th century. And we went for a coffee at the Majestic Café: a famous café in an old building keeping an authentic atmosphere from the old days. The coffee was really good but I think I definitely preferred their French toast (not because of nostalgia... really)
We continued our journey in the afternoon:
- first stop: at the church Santo Idelfonso which was really again beautifully decorated in bleu painted tiles.
- the main train station of Porto. Here again it is a an old beautiful building (as the most of the main old train stations in Europe) but inside ,surpriseee!, there was again the Portuguese touch of the bleu storytelling tiles. It is the moment I also tried to apply my "speed" photography class we took the week before... conclusion, I might need buying a better camera :)
- we continued to the Lello library which inspired the movie Harry Potter with its curvy red stairs. This area by the way is hiding a lot of small art shops which showed how creative the Portuguese artists are. Very impressive.
- we walked around the Clerigos tower and on the Vitoria square which was huge and of course decorated by the Portuguese touch.
The plan of the late afternoon was visiting the Clerigos Tower which was offering a 360 degrees view over the city and is also the symbol of Porto and then go to Douro river quays. We reached the tower but the waiting time to reach the top was about an hour long. Quite long when you have spent already a lot of time walking and especially when we had 3 more days left. After checking, it seems that the less crowdy period to visit it is before 9am and after 7pm... so we passed and decided to do it another day. We decided to go to Douro quays and to take our time. As old Porto is located on a hill we needed to go down to the river and explore the district of Ribiera, and who tells going down also says view spots. Indeed, we found THE view spot: Miradouro da Vitaria (mentioned in the guide, located in the Jewish district nearby Igreja Paroquial da Vitoria) offering a great view over the city, the river, the colorful buildings, the Bridge Luis I.
While going down we stopped at the red metal market (Palacio da Bolsa) which was transformed into an art shop for the locals and tourists. It made me think of the Pavillon Ballard located in the suburbs of Paris.
At this moment the weather started to get very cloudy and we even felt some rain drops. It was time to go down and even considering going for a diner.
Well once we reached the quays, and no matter the weather, it was impossible not to stop to enjoy the view, the river and buildings. Indeed, it is such as you come back in time. The buildings are small, tall and colorful and the river beside makes them look like a part of a cartoon, telling a story about the middle age. It is the moment I also realized how huge the bridge Luis I was. Really impressive piece of work out there!
After some picture breaks and as the weather was getting really rainy we decided to cross the bridge and to go on the other side (city of Vila Nova de Gaia) for a dinner. We found a small restaurant offering traditional food like the bacalau or a francezinha (which I ordered). The francezinha, which literally means "small French girl", is a dish inspired from the French croque Monsieur ou croque Madame, imported by the Portuguese. Well, they made it even heavier as the toasted bread is full of meat and egg and swimming into a wine soupe. Okay, heavy but really delicious!
It was also the moment we tried the Porto wine which is sweater than normal wines but really delicious.
During the dinner we decided to change a bit our plans for the next day. Instead of renting a car and going to Braga and to the north, going for a boat trip on the Douro river to see the wine-yards. Well when we finished dinner (9-10pm) it seemed a bit complicated to book a boat trip... we went walking back on the other side of the river where "She" found a hotel in which a nice lady told us where to go the next day so we can catch the boat.
We then went back walking in the small streets to Sao Bento station to catch the subway and went back home. Quite a productive day!
7th of July - boat trip
The boat was leaving at 9am and the journey least almost a whole day as we were supposed to be back at Porto around 19h30. We went at the port at 8h30 so we can be sure we can get in. Not so complicated than I thought, we soon later met the tour guide who enrolled us. The trip could start!!!
The weather wasn't good at all (cloudy and some rain drops here and there)... the worse: my weather applications were giving me false hopes of sun penetrating the clouds every hour... Well, by the end of the day we managed to get some.
We left to Peso da Régua which is kind of the capital of the Porto wine and was located 100-120km west from Porto on Douro river. If I have to summarize the trip there were 6 different views:
We finished by reaching the city of Peso da Régua which didn't seem having a lot to visit. To go back to Porto we needed to take a train which took around 2h to arrive at the central station at Sao Bento a bit after 7:30pm.
It was almost dinner time. The night before I have been checking Foursquare which had suggested me a restaurant nearby. I really like this app especially when travelling as the tips are usually done by tourists, the suggested places are always nice and has the price range. So we went to Cantina 32... well like in the most of desired restaurants there is need of reservation and we hadn't. The waiters asked us if we wanted to share a table instead, which is a really nice suggestion when you want to try the restaurant and especially tired to look for another one. The table was located on level -1 in a huge charming room and there already was a family eating. The hesitation of staying there went away as soon as we saw the room (the decoration was in an old abandoned style which was making it look so special). The choice of food wasn't huge but everything looked so tasty. After 2 platters of cheese and salmon, an octopus salad and a bottle of wine we were more than happy. The food was really delicious and the service really good. I can only recommend the restaurant.
Soon later we went back home.
The boat was leaving at 9am and the journey least almost a whole day as we were supposed to be back at Porto around 19h30. We went at the port at 8h30 so we can be sure we can get in. Not so complicated than I thought, we soon later met the tour guide who enrolled us. The trip could start!!!
The weather wasn't good at all (cloudy and some rain drops here and there)... the worse: my weather applications were giving me false hopes of sun penetrating the clouds every hour... Well, by the end of the day we managed to get some.
We left to Peso da Régua which is kind of the capital of the Porto wine and was located 100-120km west from Porto on Douro river. If I have to summarize the trip there were 6 different views:
- the bridges: Porto has built 6 bridges around the city from which the Louiz I might be the most impressive one. They are very all tall (connecting two hills on both sides) and were definitely changing the landscape.
- the "rich district": soon after we left the city of Porto, beautiful houses started to appear. Some of them clearly made by modern vision architects.
- the old industries, the small villages with their port, the fishermen and the beaches. Quite surprised by the sand on the beach. It looked like sea sand.
- the kayak training: it seems that this is the national sport in the area.
- virgin forest landscapes and abandoned houses where the nature was getting back its territory.
- the river dam and the water adjustment levels were quite impressive.
- and at the end the wine yards spread all around the different hills. We were lucky because at this time the sun appeared which made them look even prettier. At some moment the only thing you were able to see around the river were wine yards.
I really liked seeing how a river had contributed to the economic life around it.
We finished by reaching the city of Peso da Régua which didn't seem having a lot to visit. To go back to Porto we needed to take a train which took around 2h to arrive at the central station at Sao Bento a bit after 7:30pm.
It was almost dinner time. The night before I have been checking Foursquare which had suggested me a restaurant nearby. I really like this app especially when travelling as the tips are usually done by tourists, the suggested places are always nice and has the price range. So we went to Cantina 32... well like in the most of desired restaurants there is need of reservation and we hadn't. The waiters asked us if we wanted to share a table instead, which is a really nice suggestion when you want to try the restaurant and especially tired to look for another one. The table was located on level -1 in a huge charming room and there already was a family eating. The hesitation of staying there went away as soon as we saw the room (the decoration was in an old abandoned style which was making it look so special). The choice of food wasn't huge but everything looked so tasty. After 2 platters of cheese and salmon, an octopus salad and a bottle of wine we were more than happy. The food was really delicious and the service really good. I can only recommend the restaurant.
Soon later we went back home.
8th of July - the city and the coast
The morning of our checkout as we were moving to a hotel in the area of Boavista which would allowed us to visit the west part of the city and especially the coast. The check-in in the hotel was scheduled at 2pm so we had the morning to visit some new things. The goal was visiting the Tower before 9am and then the Photography museum which used to be an old prison during the time of Balthazar.
It was also the day I tried the "pasteis de nata" (traditional Portuguese egg tart) which actually I realized I have tried in China (I didn't know that it was Portuguese), in Macao, and also in Brazil (kind of normal as they used to be Portuguese colonies). Well, from all I have tried I can only say that they are all heavy but tasty.
We abandoned the idea of visiting the Clerigos Tower as soon as very soon because the weather was very cloudy and we wouldn't see anything from the top and again my weather app made a joke saying that the weather will get sunny by 9 am... nope, not in Porto. We directly applied the second plan, going for the museum which was located nearby the Tower. Well bad luck again, the museum is open only weekends from 3 to 5pm... quite uncommon for a museum... well I guess Portuguese have their reasons.
Blan B: as the churches we saw are beautiful it was a shame not visiting at least one. It seemed that the most impressive one to visit was the Sao Nicolau located down next to Douro river in the Ribiera district.
We took our time walking around the small, wet and empty streets. At this moment Porto could look like a small village with the small fruit shops, the reunion of the elderly and the old ladies looking down the street on the people passing by expecting to see or learn something she can probably share during the reunion.
We reached the church. The area was really nice combining the last stop of the old tram, some street art and coffees and of course the old church. We got into the church in which however pictures were forbidden. I think I haven't seen such a church until now: it was totally enveloped into gold painted wood representing different saints or figures. Quite a good work done out there and really impressive. The other part of the church was hiding the tombs but especially a really bad smell (and where pictures were allowed, well you can imagine that not many people are practicing this activity there...).
In less than an hour we went out and went walking on the Douro docks. The city was still waking up with the coffees getting out their tables and some artists working in their workshop. On the main buildings a stage has been prepared and a lot of flags of FC Porto were dressed on the windows or on the frontage of the buildings. I don't know what exactly it was about to happen but I guess there were either presenting the new official t-shirt of the club or celebrating the beginning of the new season.
We crossed the bridge Luiz I and decided to go walking to the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar located on the top of a hill and which was offering a beautiful view over the bridge and old Porto. We finished by going to a really charming but abandoned old house Casa Barbot surrounded by buildings built in the 80-90'. Two breaks here:
We then took the metro to go back to our Airbnb and to take our luggage. We crossed the bridge Luiz I by it and the view is really nice !
Around 2pm we reached our hotel. We checked in and right away we rented bicycles to go on the coast. In the meantime the weather got better (at this moment I have already stopped looking on my app). All this coast area has been made cycled which was very pleasant. We stopped by the light and then by the fort.
Time was ticking away and I was starving ... so we went for a restaurant. "She" had found one suggested in the guide (Sao Valentim) where we could enjoy a barbecued fresh sea food (squid for me)! I can only recommend here again.
We then spent some time on the beach and went back.
In the night we went to Casa da Musica. A modern building where a group has been performing for free rock music. Perfect way to finish the night: chilling and enjoying.
The morning of our checkout as we were moving to a hotel in the area of Boavista which would allowed us to visit the west part of the city and especially the coast. The check-in in the hotel was scheduled at 2pm so we had the morning to visit some new things. The goal was visiting the Tower before 9am and then the Photography museum which used to be an old prison during the time of Balthazar.
It was also the day I tried the "pasteis de nata" (traditional Portuguese egg tart) which actually I realized I have tried in China (I didn't know that it was Portuguese), in Macao, and also in Brazil (kind of normal as they used to be Portuguese colonies). Well, from all I have tried I can only say that they are all heavy but tasty.
We abandoned the idea of visiting the Clerigos Tower as soon as very soon because the weather was very cloudy and we wouldn't see anything from the top and again my weather app made a joke saying that the weather will get sunny by 9 am... nope, not in Porto. We directly applied the second plan, going for the museum which was located nearby the Tower. Well bad luck again, the museum is open only weekends from 3 to 5pm... quite uncommon for a museum... well I guess Portuguese have their reasons.
Blan B: as the churches we saw are beautiful it was a shame not visiting at least one. It seemed that the most impressive one to visit was the Sao Nicolau located down next to Douro river in the Ribiera district.
We took our time walking around the small, wet and empty streets. At this moment Porto could look like a small village with the small fruit shops, the reunion of the elderly and the old ladies looking down the street on the people passing by expecting to see or learn something she can probably share during the reunion.
We reached the church. The area was really nice combining the last stop of the old tram, some street art and coffees and of course the old church. We got into the church in which however pictures were forbidden. I think I haven't seen such a church until now: it was totally enveloped into gold painted wood representing different saints or figures. Quite a good work done out there and really impressive. The other part of the church was hiding the tombs but especially a really bad smell (and where pictures were allowed, well you can imagine that not many people are practicing this activity there...).
In less than an hour we went out and went walking on the Douro docks. The city was still waking up with the coffees getting out their tables and some artists working in their workshop. On the main buildings a stage has been prepared and a lot of flags of FC Porto were dressed on the windows or on the frontage of the buildings. I don't know what exactly it was about to happen but I guess there were either presenting the new official t-shirt of the club or celebrating the beginning of the new season.
We crossed the bridge Luiz I and decided to go walking to the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar located on the top of a hill and which was offering a beautiful view over the bridge and old Porto. We finished by going to a really charming but abandoned old house Casa Barbot surrounded by buildings built in the 80-90'. Two breaks here:
- Actually I wouldn't be surprised seeing this kind of landscape in Bulgaria. Indeed, the fast urbanization of Sofia made the government build ugly blocs next to beautiful houses.
- There were a lot of abandoned houses in Porto. Some of them are getting restored but there is still work to do. In the meantime Rhodes houses are really a piece of still living art. The moment to invest !
We then took the metro to go back to our Airbnb and to take our luggage. We crossed the bridge Luiz I by it and the view is really nice !
Around 2pm we reached our hotel. We checked in and right away we rented bicycles to go on the coast. In the meantime the weather got better (at this moment I have already stopped looking on my app). All this coast area has been made cycled which was very pleasant. We stopped by the light and then by the fort.
Time was ticking away and I was starving ... so we went for a restaurant. "She" had found one suggested in the guide (Sao Valentim) where we could enjoy a barbecued fresh sea food (squid for me)! I can only recommend here again.
We then spent some time on the beach and went back.
In the night we went to Casa da Musica. A modern building where a group has been performing for free rock music. Perfect way to finish the night: chilling and enjoying.
9th of July - day of departure
We had almost a full day to spend as the plane was leaving Porto at 7:30pm.
We first went for breakfast and then we tried the swimming pool of the hotel. We were freezing but not trying it would have been a shame. So we did.
By 12 we did the checkout and left to do our final tour. Outside it was sunny and the temperature above 25. "She" had made the plan of the day once again so I followed :). We went to:
Mission of the day: completed !
I went for some souvenirs and right after we went back to the hotel to get our luggage and left to the airport.
We had almost a full day to spend as the plane was leaving Porto at 7:30pm.
We first went for breakfast and then we tried the swimming pool of the hotel. We were freezing but not trying it would have been a shame. So we did.
By 12 we did the checkout and left to do our final tour. Outside it was sunny and the temperature above 25. "She" had made the plan of the day once again so I followed :). We went to:
- The botanical garden which was 30min away from the hotel. It was actually a big garden with a huge house inside. The most impressive for me were the white and pink lotuses which were in one of the small attirail makes there.
- The Cristal Palace and the Romantic gardens, located about 20-25min away from the botanical garden. Here it was something much bigger. I would separate this garden into two parts: a parc zone or the upper zone (around the Crystal palace) with big trees and picnic places, where animals are walking free (like some peacocks). With a magnificent view over Douro and the bridge Ponte da Arrabida. At the moment we were there a bio fair was taking place so we managed to enjoy the young family atmosphere and the shadow of the trees with a juice.
And a second part, the gardens zone or the lower zone with a lot of French style gardens. It was a much calmer and peaceful zone with a lot of olive and exotic trees. Those gardens were a great mix between the French and the Mediterranean styles. They were surrounding all the upper zone and offering a 180 degrees view over Porto and Douro. - - Clerigos tower: around 2pm we managed to be there. As the weather was good I was expecting again an hour wait. Well, we were lucky: no queue!!! We got our tickets and got in. Before starting to climb there was a walk on the balconies of the church. It doesn't happen often having the opportunity to see church from there and the view is nice.
Right after the church the path started to get increasingly narrow, so narrow that at some moment in the tower it is almost impossible two to pass (#trafficjam). Well, no matter how borrow it was the view is splendid from the top. You can see the new and the old Porto. The new architecture mixing with the old one. Really really nice !
We managed to get down right before the new wave of tourists arrived. We did a 30min shopping stop and went for our last stop: - The photography museum. Well we finally managed to get in :). It is a huge place which used to combine a court and a prison. The doors, Gosh, they were huge ! I think Portuguese anticipated a lot the future size of the humanity (#giants).
The museum indeed preserved this old prison decoration with the old doors and windows bars.
On the first floor there was a photo exhibition whereas the last floors were exposing the story of the photography presenting the evolution of the cameras from its origins to now.
Mission of the day: completed !
I went for some souvenirs and right after we went back to the hotel to get our luggage and left to the airport.
In conclusion,
Those few days spent in Porto gave me the desire to discover more of Portugal. The architecture, the culture and the people are lovely! Obrigado, Porto!
Those few days spent in Porto gave me the desire to discover more of Portugal. The architecture, the culture and the people are lovely! Obrigado, Porto!