9th June 2019
The journey from San Sebastián to Porto was a long one! We broke it up into three days and we covered some serious miles. The final leg of the journey unintentionally saw us taking the back roads through the Douro Valley. Both Morgan and I think it is one of the most spectacular drives we have ever done albeit terrifying. The roads were VERY narrow and constantly winding. On top of this, we were competing with the Portuguese drivers who would overtake on blind corners and ride very close up the back of us. It was a tense couple of hours!!
We found an epic spot to camp on the outskirts of Porto. It was literally 5 minutes walk to the train station, had toilet facilities and electricity and it only cost us €5 per night! What a score!
10th June 2019
We spent a total of 3 full days exploring Porto. It quickly became one of our favourite cities we’ve visited so far. Although Porto is a large city, we thought it had a really authentic feel to it compared to Lisbon (which we visited after). The cityscape lining the Douro River is colourful and vibrant, especially when looking back on it from the Ponte Luís bridge. Porto is such a lovely place but also has a very laid back vibe.
We spent the first two days wandering the winding cobblestone streets, taking in the sights. We started at the São Bento Railway station which definitely takes the cake for the most beautiful railway station I have visited this trip (I’ve been to my fair share of train stations in the last few months!). São Bento is a 20th-century station covered in beautiful traditional ceramic tiles that tell the story of Porto’s history. You really do feel like you’ve stepped back in time.
We then made our way to Confeitaria do Bolhã, a 120-year-old patisserie I had come across when researching the must do’s of Porto. It serves up some of the best cakes, fresh breads, croissants and best of all…. heavenly Pastel de Natas (custard tarts). I’ve probably eaten 100 of these now. The addiction is real.
After a few sweet treats, we continued wandering the streets. We stopped off at Igreja do Carmo, a beautiful church that had stunning blue tiles down the side of the building.
We stumbled across Praça de Lisboa, a small grassed park area in the center of the city. It had a few bars, good music and bean bags scattered outside that drew us in. We initially decided on one cold beer (it was a very hot day) which quickly turned into multiple beers and 4 hours later. What can I say, they got us! We had such a lovely afternoon laying in the sun, drinking cold beers and looking at the beautiful view of the Clerigos Tower.
We eventually managed to get our butts up and moving again, only to find sangria this time! We wandered to Miradouro da Vitòria, a beautiful viewpoint with postcard-perfect views of the Douro river and terracotta rooftops. We sipped on sangria and soaked up the sights Porto as the sun started to fade.
11th June 2019
The sightseeing continued the next day. We wandered the streets seeing more beautiful architecture and coming across amazing viewpoints of the Ponte Luís bridge. That evening we wandered across the other side of the bridge to watch the sunset. The sunset in Porto was something else. The sky lit up in the most beautiful shades of red and yellow which made the terracotta rooftops even more vibrant. The perfect way to end our final night in the city center.
12th June 2019
Now, no trip to Porto is complete without a Port wine tour, right?
Morgan and I were pretty convinced at the start of the tour that we didn’t really fancy Port all too much but we had the mindset of “when in Rome”… so off we went.
We had an absolute blast!! Our group was small, consisting of an American couple, a British couple and two best friends from Aussie, Bev, and Carmel. We hit it off with Bev and Carmel and quickly became Facebook friends.
We started the day at a beautiful vineyard where we did our first tasting. From there we took a boat cruise down the Douro River, of course drinking more Port along the way. We finished off the day with a 3-course lunch (and more port) at another beautiful vineyard. We were all in fits of laughter the entire day and were kind of like the naughty school kids out of all the tour groups! By the end of the day, everyone was booking tickets for our wedding! They were such a great group of people.
And incase you were wondering… after hours of tasting all sorts of different aged Ports,that were bloody expensive to buy, we actually don’t like the stuff! That didn’t stop Morgan drinking his weight in Port though… as he said, he paid for this experience so he certainly made sure he got his money’s worth!!!
Porto totally exceeded our expectations. It has an authentic vibe and views to die for. Pop Porto on your bucket list!
