Welcome back people, hope you had a great week. So let’s finish the story I was telling you.
Well, as you can imagine after such a long first day and first night, I woke up the next morning a little hangover. Went down stairs got my breakfast and then went back to bed.
By the time I woke up, again, the weather had changed and it was going to continue like that until my departure. It started getting colder and windy and that made me a little bit lazy to be honest.
I spent more time with Ornella, tried some more octopus, some clams and even more cod, one of the specialities. I tried some Port wine, I did it because it was one of the things that I HAD to try. I’m not a big fan of wine but for my surprise, I liked it. It has a very sweet taste, is perfect to have it while eating dessert or something like that.
Then we spent more time with the guys and I got to meet Susan, a lovely Taiwanese girl with whom we enjoyed a lovely evening telling jokes and stories.
It kept raining and my clothes never got dry. I didn’t have a rain jacket or proper shoes, not even an umbrella (I really don’t like umbrellas). So I spent most of the time chatting with fellow travellers in the hostel and trying new food.
I’m recommending every single one of you guys to go visit the Leitaria da Quinta do Paço (Check it out). Daniela, the tour guide, told us about it, it’s supposed to have the best éclairs, a long pastry with a dough like the one they use in profiterole filled with Chantilly cream and with topped with icing. This bakery was inaugurated on 1920 and until now, it uses the same recipes. Everything that they use it’s homemade, the butter, the cream, custard and that makes it a million times more delicious.
The first time, I had a mini berry éclair with Port wine and it was fantastic. Then I went back and had some lunch because they also offer a lunch/dinner menu. For dessert I chose Pastel de Natas, traditional in Portugal. It’s an egg tart pastry and because it was homemade, it had a smooth taste that was just indescribable.
By Tuesday morning everybody was gone and I was by myself again. The rain stopped for a bit so I went for walk through the little streets and along the riverside. Such a beautiful city, I would have loved to do the boat cruise across the 6 bridges but it was foggy so you couldn’t appreciate the view. But I’ll leave it for the next time.
Yet again, the rain surprised me so I went back to the hostel. There I met the wonderful Dali, a Mexican girl that lives in Denmark that came to Portugal looking to do some kite surfing. Oh and she also travels with her surfboard.
I took her around the city like when I went on the tour. Once again, we finished in the Éclair bakery. Dali enjoyed a mini éclair and a glass of Port wine while I tried the Bola de Berlim, a pastry similar to a doughnut filled, in this case, with an awesome Chantilly cream with an espresso.
Then we went to the Porto Cathedral, its architecture is a mix of Baroque and Gothic, another MUST for your visit here. There is a small part that you can go and see the tiles for a fee.
All around the city you are going to be able to see this blue tiles on the walls with some incredible designs. Only important buildings, wealthy families houses and churches use to have them because they were hand painted. This wall tell religious stories or sometimes history. Another place where you can find them is in the São Bento Railway Station.
Porto is registered World Heritage Site by UNESCO, that’s why the façade of the buildings, the height of the house are more or less all the same, is like they are stop in time. But that is what makes it such an interesting and stunning city. I love the old looking buildings for some they look “ugly” and “dirty”. For me they tell you a story, they are the proof that there was a past that needs to be told.
There is a lot more about Porto, a lot more to see and a lot more to tell. Next time I’ll try to go during the summer so I can enjoy the sun and swim in the sea. And who knows, may be I try to blend in the crowd and take some surfing lessons. But that’s going to be another story.
So I’ll keep you posted and I hope you all have an amazing week. If you like my blog, share it with your friends, you can also follow me on Facebook. See you soon =).