Hello Porto!!

Nothing better than a good night sleep and a hot shower to get the day started. Headed out today in a new direction looking for the Tore dos Clerigos. I really didn’t know anything about this church, but I read it was beautiful inside and the views from the tower were phenomenal...and it did not disappoint. When I arrived I entered the church to the sound of incredible organ music. It was pretty spectacular and even more so when I realized someone was playing the pipe organ live from above.

Next stop was the church tower. Now I know a tower means it is up high, but it completely slipped my mind about all the stairs I would need to climb and how common it is for those stairwells to be narrow and winding...this was no exception.

I was lucky to not have too many people coming down when I was going up because you were getting pretty up close and personal on this journey. It was even more congested when you made it to the top.  

The view were beautiful, but I am not a fan of being in such close quarters with so many people, so I took my photos and headed back down after a few minutes. Either way, I was happy to take in this beautiful piece of architecture and the 360 views it offers of the city.

From here, I made my way to the outside of the Livraria Lello. This is one of the most beautiful bookstores in Portugal and where JK Rawling got her inspiration for Harry Potter. Due to this claim to fame its popularity has skyrocketed and the line ups are huge. I knew this before arriving, so I was not surprised... at least I got a glimpse of the location either way.

The day was getting hot and my next stop was to find the meeting point for my tour to the Douro Valley tomorrow. I tapped into some free wifi and it lead me in the right direction taking in some beautiful sights along the way. 

It took me 15 minutes to realize I was right in front of the building I was looking for the entire time...this was after crossing the streets multiple times and going back in forth aimlessly...I’m sure the person in the ticket booth was wondering when was wrong with me. Good thing I’m not leading a group around Porto, or we’d be in trouble!

From here I went on the hunt for Manteigaria...a pastry shop that has demos of how they make pastel de nata.  Along the way I came across the Mercado do Bolhao market. This was the cleanest market I have ever seen and you name it they had it...flowers, pottery, linens, meat, fish, shellfish, lots of sardines, oils, wine, fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, coffee, chocolate and on and on. Everything looks amazing! I thought it was so funny to see people walking around with wine in glasses at the market...felt more like a wine show than a farmers market. Before leaving, I picked up some fresh apricots as a treat and headed on my way.

To my surprise, the pastry shop was right next door, so I went in, got myself a fresh pastel de nata...delicious...and then watched as the baker started to make the shells for the pastry.  This is an egg custard pastry that is everywhere in Portugal and very yummy.

After getting a little treat, I decided to head over to Vila Nova de Gaia…just across the river where all the port houses are located. Along the way I was getting pretty hot from the sun so I decided to get some chocolate hazelnut gelato…perfect treat to cool me down. 

I walked along the waterfront looking at the stalls with all kinds of souvenirs and then decided to book a tour and wine tasting at one of the older port houses - Calem - established in 1859. Port wine can only be made in Porto and has a natural sweetness to it from the grapes. Its alcohol content also comes from brandy that is added to it.  It can  only be fermented for 3 days - otherwise it will turn into wine - so it’s a delicate process to create the different varieties of red, white, ruby and rose port wines. 

While waiting for my tour to start, I took a stroll and came across the most bizarre store.  The “can” store....full of every kind of canned sardines and unique cans you can imagine. It was circus themed and quite the show from the moment you walked in.  Reminded me of Las Vegas at one point!

My tour included 3 wine tastings and I can say my favourite so far is the Tawny variety...deep red, with not over powering sweetness and a nice smooth finish.  I was feeling a bit tipsy after my tasting and decided to head back to the Porto side of the river to have some dinner.

I asked for some recommendations from my host and ended up finding a place along the Ribeira...the waterfront area that is full of restaurants and cafes.  Cod is a popular dish in Portugal so I decided to try some for myself and I was not disappointed.  

It was almost 8:30pm when I finished my meal and I was loosing steam, so I headed back to my apartment to chill for the rest of the evening.  Porto is one hoppin’ city...I can not believe how many tourists are here already in May...and I’m sure you could party on and enjoy some sociables for many hours to come.

Looking forward to what tomorrow brings as I’ve heard the Douro Valley is quite beautiful...what else would you expect of a wine region!

Until tomorrow...

Lisa