Porto, Portugal

 

A view to the Doro River

Oh, how lucky we were, having our Bnb right next to the Crystal Palace Gardens of Porto. 

At first we thought

Crystal Palace Gardens

we could spend some 30-45min time here before going to dinner and a couple of hours later we were still wandering around the many gardens, enjoying smart and beautiful arrangings, unseen plants and stone strucures. This place also offers a perfect view to the river and big parts of Porto.

One of the biggest surprises at the Gardens were actually its feathery habitants. There were hens and cocks loosely walking around, accompanying us on our walk. But still they were not the highlight of this place. That would be the freely walking around peacocks. There were os many of them, not bothered  at all of all the human visitors. That made us feel almost, as if we were at theirr home and had to be careful not to bother them too much.

On the next day, we started with a free wlking tour, of course. Our guide Diogo was one of the funniest, sweetest guides we ever had the pleasure to meet. I would allow myself to quote him on describing the Port´s weather in one sentence, just so you could get a taste of what to expect, if you ever visit the city. Summers are so hot, you can practically smell skin cancer and winters are so rainy, you cbasically can´t see your hand in fornt of your face.
But not everything was about jokes. Diogo gave us a thorough history of Porto and many interesting facts on this city´s history, landmarks and how it was shaped by its political past.
The Duoro River serves as a dividing line between the two parts of Porto, known as Porto and Cale. which gives us the name of the country we were: Portocal. (today known of course as Portugal. In slavic languages it means Orange. Both sides of Porto have what to offer in regard to places to visit, to eat and to enjoy beautiful views.

The view from Dom Luis I Bridge

I don't want to load you with many details of our trip, so let me just list you some of the places we think deserve to be seen.

Must sees/dos:
1."Dom Luis I" Bridge: A cool way to see this bit of the city is to cross the river on the down level of the bridge, then walk straight to the entrance of the white tower/winery. Then walk back on the upper side of the bridge, make a few beautiful photos with a view (just mind the tube, you'll see what I mean). Then go down to the promenade agan and have a delicious lunch at one of the many bistros along the river bank.

2. The white tower, I just mentioned, is actually a functioning winery, whre you could get a tour and try some wine. Other good feature it has is the view and specially at sunset!
3. Porto Cathedral: It is also a great place to take some shots of the city but the inside of the cathedral, plus its garden are something special by themselves.
4. Visit the Crystal Palace Gardens! Should plan at least a couple of hours for it.

 

Iglesias de los Clerigos

5. Iglesia de los Clerigos: probably the most famous landmark of the city and this is also the reason for the 45min long lines to enter. We decided to skip the waiting and...

A beautiful night view to the Cathedral

                           

6. ...get lost in the city. Just walk up and down the streets. Look to your left and right for small alleys and follow them. You'll be surprised what one could find there by day as well as by night.

 

Don'ts: the lift to the white "castle", but maybe try the funicular on the other side of the river.

Eat&Drink: Port tonic, wine Ruby, Pasta de la Nata (custard tarts) , cod fish, Francesinha is floated sandwich with much meat: ham, ham, sausage, cheese, ham, sausage...

Where the Harry Potter saga begann

Fun fact Nr.1:Porto is a big and busy port, but also a city of artists. The building with the red flag on the top is where J. K. Rowling started Harry Potter and where many artist used to meet. Now is a big touristic spot, with a very long queue to enter. For H. Potter. geeks, and book lovers,with many book on many languages. Ticket is 5€ and if u buy a book, you get your 5€ back(the ticket is some kind of a, coupon).

Fun fact Nr. 2: If you see people in black clothes, black hats and black capes, don´t run. They are just the students of Porto, who dess like that for whatever reason...nobody is completely sure how this tradition started.

We will never forget how Porto made us feel. It is a really loud vibrating city in the best way possibel. While walking down the streets you will see people laughing, having good time(especially with the artificial snow machines), musicis everywhere (people are singing along on the streets, plus it was my first time singing on the street, out in the open ,where people could see me and hear me...? Yes! It was singing along with other strangers, who simply loved having a god time.