After doing a bit of research and lounging, we took to the city of Porto. As we walked to the city centre, we were feeling a little peckish so we stopped at a cafe along the way. We did our best to communicate as the staff didn't speak great English but Kalina and Jeff got a couple of ham and cheese pastry things. Me? I got a couple of pastel de nata's (refer to my previous blog entry for explanation). We walked out probably looking like a bunch of weirdos because we don't think it's common culture to get something "to-go" as it was a little difficult to get this across to the staff. They were super nice about it though and we planned to visit once more before we left Porto.
We first stopped by the Porto Cathedral (Sé do Porto) which once we got there, were immediately stunned by the beauty of Porto. From the Cathedral, you get a great view of the Clérigos Tower (Torre dos Clérigos) and surrounding buildings.
Porto is just as hilly as Lisbon was so next we crossed the Luis I Bridge (Pont Luis) on the upper part which offered an amazing view of the city again.
Once on the other side, we had no idea how to get down to the bottom of the massive hill we were on. An old man, noticing how lost we looked voluntarily told us in Portuguese where to go. "Obregado" we said for "Thank you" and I couldn't help but notice how much nicer people are in the less well known cities than the big ones.
Once at the bottom of the hill, we went to find the Croft house for Port. The area we were in had all the Port houses condensed together so our choices were endless on who to visit. We had decided on Croft because we read that it's 5€ for a tour and tastings of 3 ports. We walked to where I thought it was but we couldn't seem to find it so we went back to retrace our steps when we stumbled upon a sign that told us what direction "Croft" and "Offley" were. Offley was to the right while it said to go straight ahead for Croft. We did just that and basically ended up doing one massive circle trying to find this place. Once back at the sign, we took the "right" and ended up finding Croft. Why didn't the sign say both Croft and Offley were to the right!?!? It was a laugh as well because by the time we got to Croft, there were no more tours for the day so we decided we would come back the next day. However, we did end up going to this little house that seemed to share some art gallery with its space. What intrigued us was the "free tasting" advertised on a sign outside. We went up to their small bar they had and not only had the free tasting, but about 5 other tastings between the 3 of us. I was in love with Port.
Afterwards, we made our way across the river, this time on the lower part of the Luis I Bridge, to find a restaurant that Jeff had heard about. To get there, we had to make a steep climb up to the top of the hill, in which we deemed "DA CLIMB". Breathless and out of shape, we made our way to the top and found the restaurant wouldn't open until 7:30pm so in the meantime, we went and had a look at the Clérigos Tower. As we made our way back to the restaurant, it started down pouring rain so we had to seek some shelter before ending up at the restaurant.
There was one dish that we all NEEDED to have that we had heard Northern Portugal was known for: the Francesinha. It is steak, sausage, and ham all wrapped in pizza dough, covered in cheese with a tomato gravy poured on top. It was like a calzone. But in essence it was a heart attack.
It was amazing.
The next day, we headed out on a free walking tour that was pretty lengthy but very informative and the guy was funny. When we were done, we thought it would be a good idea to try the Croft house again. We remembered the way there luckily but of course, the next tour wasn't for another 1h 15min. It wasn't meant to be but I think we're glad it didn't work out because just down the road was Offley which was doing a tour and 3 tastings for 1€ cheaper. It was about a half hour tour inside their cellars and the tastings we had after were delicious. Tawny, Ruby, and White were the three we tasted.
We had time a quick coffee afterwards at the cafe we discovered and I, of course, had to get a pastel de nata one more time. We got it right this time by sitting in instead of doing to go and the old man that probably owns the place gave us a little wave, recognizing us.
The three of us went to the airport together as Kalina and Jeff were flying to Madrid around the same time. It was really sad to part ways as we had just spent an amazing 6 days together.
I am so glad I got the chance to meet up with those two and experience Portugal together. If I had been by myself up until this point, I think I would have driven myself mad. Solo traveling might have some advantages but you can't beat sharing experiences with friends or family. Who knows if I would have done the port tastings, ate francesinha, or even gone out in Lisbon if I wasn't with Kalina and Jeff. It's also great to put ideas together when you're with other people. I'm not even sure if I would have known about the francesinha if it weren't for Jeff and Kalina.
I will miss these two!
P.S. I love Port and I love Porto. Awesome city I would love to go back to.
Next:
Marseille
Nice
Turkey
Rhodes
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