Porto day 1 and 2

So!

We just left Porto (am writing this on the bus to Santiago), which was just voted the best place in the EU to visit by Hostel World, and I can definitely see why. Lisbon was fantastic, but we pretty much stated in the historic district there, which has kinda become wall-to-wall tourists. Porto, on the other hand, seems like a real city. There’s actual industry there, there’s waaaay more locals than tourists, the food’s great, and things are cheap. Not to mention that it’s the only place in the world that produces port wine, which I’ve kinda acquired a taste for in Portugal.

Our tour guide, on the right

Anyway, our first two days were basically a crash course on the city. We got in fairly late in the afternoon, so our first night, we pretty much just got dinner and crashed. The next day, our hostel had a walking tour of the city from 10:30 to 1:30, that covered most of the major landmarks and the waterfront. The city is on the Duoro river, which helped it gain its place as the port that launched the age of exploration and helped cement Portugal’s shipping empire. Our guide (who had just gotten back from 6 years as a missionary in Angola) gave us a quick course on the history of Portugal. We also learned that despite being known for port (the drink is named after the city, after all), port isn’t actually made in Porto; it’s made in Gaia, which is the city on the south bank of the Duoro (Porto is only on the north bank).

Cafe Majestic

After the tour ended, Sean and I headed down the main commercial street in the city and looked in a few shops. After that, we grabbed some coffee in Café Majestic, an art deco café that’s got a gorgeous wood, gold, and mirrored interior. J.K. Rowling apparently used to sit there and write when she lived in Porto (around when she was starting the Sorceror’s Stone). Oh, and speaking of Harry Potter, Rowling was also inspired by the student uniforms in the city (all-black with a black cape over one shoulder; this was supposed to hide which students came from money and which ones didn’t) for the Hogwarts uniforms and the Lello bookstore, who’s interior inspired a lot of the shops in Diagon Alley. Sean said it looked a lot like the Weasley’s joke shop, which I can definitely see.

The Duoro at night

After that, we climbed the Torre dos Clerigos, a 75 meter tall stone tower on a church that looks over most of Porto. We were going to meet Anita (one of the Australian girls we met in Lisbon) for dinner, but she missed the last train out of Lisbon (apparently due to a too-nice lunch with too many drinks on the beach). We just decided to meet up the next day. So, Sean and I grabbed dinner by ourselves on the Duoro. The food was good, the location was nice, and the waiters were interesting. One of them made a face when I ordered my meal (more on why in another post ;D) and the other spoke very good English (he had been living in London for a few years). We talked to him about, oddly enough, cars. We told him that in the states, Mercedes was a definite luxury brand. He thought that was hysterical, since in Portugal, they’re just a work-horse car. All the taxis are Mercedes, and Mercedes trucks are pretty much what make deliveries and pick up the trash. He laughed and said the same is true for Portuguese folks; a Camaro or Dodge Charger might only run you 20-30K in the states, but in Europe, only the really rich drive them, as they’re likely to run you 100-150K.

Anyway, after that, we headed back to the hostel, I blogged and uploaded photos, and Sean talked and played games with his family on his iPhone.

End day 2!