Porto is Pretty!

On a very sad note, we had to say goodbye to Lisbon and take the train North to Porto. Both of us really wished we had one more day in Lisbon (we didn’t hit a few places we wanted to, oh well!). We wanted to go to Porto for a variety of reasons. The flights back to Paris were much cheaper from Porto. We also wanted to see another town in Portugal other than Lisbon. Plus, it’s just beautiful. 

Porto is on the northern end of Portugal (whereas Lisbon is in the middle of Portugal). Porto is situated on a river just a mile or two in from the ocean. The town is extremely hilly because it rises up from the riverbanks to the hills on either side. Porto is most famous for making Port wine. Fun fact, port wine isn’t actually made in Porto. The wine itself is made up the river in the middle of the country. The port wine was just stored and shipped from Porto thus the fame.

We woke up early and took the subway to the train station. Unlike the day before, we made all the connections and got there with plenty of time. It was a little confusing buying the train tickets because there are commuter trains to the suburbs and then there are intercity trains. Lacey has very good eyes and found the right spot. We bought the tickets, got some pastries for breakfast, and made it to our train. 

The train was very comfy and went about 100 miles/hr the whole way. We sat by a group of deaf people which was a little interesting but fine. Lacey slept and I wrote blog posts. The ride took about 2.5 hours. We are staying at a hostel on the opposite side of the river from the main town so we got off on a spot before everyone else. We walked down from the train station to the river. To our surprise, there was a biker rally going on at the riverfront! We made our way through that and to our hostel.

Our hostel is called Sandeman Hostel and Suites. We picked it because it looked really cool and it was on the opposite side of the river so a little away from the commotion. To save money, we stayed in a dorm bedroom instead of a private room. Because of the biker rally, all the hotel rooms were INSANELY expensive so it was kind of our only option. We couldn’t check in until after 3pm so we left our bags to explore.

Like I said, Porto is divided by a pretty deep river. We walked up our side of the river to the famous pedestrian and tram bridge that spans the gap. It is very high up and offers BEAUTIFUL views of the town. We were starting to get hungry for lunch so we walked across the bridge to the main town side. We bought a pizza from a restaurant place but the pizza was literally half-baked so we didn’t eat the crust haha. 

Based on the recommendations of the hostel worker, we walked along the main shopping street which was pretty. Then we made kind of a circle through the main town areas. All the churches in Porto have blue and white tiling on the outside that is absolutely gorgeous. The town is so pretty. Lacey and I both think it reminds us of Edinburgh. A lot of buildings have similar architecture to Scotland and they have that kind of black stained exterior that Edinburgh is famous for. 

We stopped at the famous bell tower (it’s very tall) to see if we wanted to go up. It was over a 30-minute wait so we passed. Instead, we got coffee and pop and hung out in a coffee shop for a bit. We walked through the University district which was really cool. Again, we absolutely loved Portugal and weather and the people and the buildings and the food. Porto was no exception. 

We were getting hungry so we made our way back to the riverfront (but on the main town side, not our hostel side). We walked around a bunch looking for an easy, affordable place but couldn’t find one. Eventually, we did find a sandwich place that seemed to fit the bill. I was going to get a Francesca sandwich (Porto’s famous sandwich) but they were out. Instead, we got pork sandwiches that are also a Portuguese thing. They were good!

The riverfront had all sorts of performers and the weather was perfect and it was really nice. It was after 3pm so we walked back across the lower part of the bridge to our hostel. We checked in and the guy was showing us our dorm room and there was a guy in there already snoring loudly. From the moment, I knew I wasn’t going to sleep well that night. I just don’t do well with snoring people, I never have. We hung out in the lobby for a bit and charged our phones.

After resting and charging, we took the gondola/funicular thing back up to the top of the bridge. We wanted to watch the sunset from the bridge. To prep for the sunset, we got some churros and fortudas (fried dough with sugar) in the park right by the bridge. The sunset was beautiful like everything else in Portugal.

We walked back down to our hostel and had a free welcome drink and beer. What a great moment having a drink with each other and looking at the lights of the city across the river turning on as the sunset. 

We ate outside at a restaurant just a little way down from our hostel. Lacey got a shrimp dish and I got the Francesca sandwich I wanted earlier. As it turns out, the shrimp weren’t what Lacey thought so we split both dishes. The Francesca sandwich is bread with sausage, pepperoni, and ham inside and then a huge piece of melted cheese on top with a gravy. Not diet food but it was goooooood stuff.

We went back to the hostel and the snoring guy was still awake so we went to bed with peace and quiet. Unfortunately, some people checked in at 1am and woke me up. The guy was snoring and I couldn’t sleep. I ended spending the rest of the night in the lobby watching youtube videos and reading twitter. It wasn’t that big of a deal because we had to wake up at 5am for our flight back to Paris. But being awake all night isn’t fun either haha. 

It’s not often I say that I want to back to somewhere while I’m still at a place (I love seeing new places) but Portugal definitely felt that way. I realllllly wish we had 1 more day in Lisbon and I realllllly wish we had 1 more day in Porto as well.

Tomorrow back to Paris and the next day back home!