Today was by far the most fun day I have had in Portugal! This was mainly due to the fact that I met up with an old friend from high school, Sam Shteinberg, who I had not seen in 5 years and it was a sweet reunion! I was supposed to see him in Edinburgh but he had covid at the time but I finally saw him here in Porto! What is even better is that he had spent the month here in Porto so he was my local guide for the day and was able to show me all the spots to see.
I had shipped my suitcase to him so in the morning I picked it up and then set out by foot with him. We started in the town center walking the streets of Porto. He took me to a little cafe that sat overlooking the river and boy did it have fantastic views!
The first thing I wanted to do was see the Bolsa Palace. The Palace, although it has the word palace in it, is not a royal residence. It is actually a chamber of commerce and former government building. Now, they do short guided tours for visitors. Our tour started in the chamber of nations. This courtyard had a glass ceiling and below the ceiling were the crests of several different countries. Sam and I tried to identify each country but only succeeded in the more obvious ones like America.
The most noteworthy room in the palace is the Porto room or Arab room as it is referred to on their website. This was the most ornate room built in the Moorish style with heavily decorated and ornate carvings covering the pillars and arches. It was a beautiful room indeed and I wish I could have that level of fancy in my house someday!
Continuing our tour of Porto, we walked down to the river where we got boba and were able to see the beautiful Luis I Bridge. The bridge was built by the same architect who built the Eiffel tower and there is definitely some resemblance of the material used. Sam has been in Porto doing a postdoc for the last month so we met up with some colleagues who were having a drink on the riverfront. Apparently the Porto tonic was the drink to get here but I took one sip of Sam’s to make sure I liked it and I didn’t so I never ordered one. It was too bitter for me.
We had yet to get food and I was nearing the brink of hanger. Sam really wanted to take me for Portuguese Francesinhas. The sandwich is known to Porto so I can now say I have had the local cuisine. Although traditional Francesinhas are made with three types of meat I ordered a vegan one with tofu inside instead. Francesinhas are a type of sandwich that typically has three different types of meat with melted cheese on top and served in a tomato based beer sauce. Since mine was vegan, it had tofu in the middle with mushrooms and tomatoes. I asked for the cheese and sauce to be normal though. The Francesinhas were very heavy and honestly I was set for the day after eating one. The only other thing we had for the rest of the day was gelato. I even found Pastel de nata gelato!
I knew Porto was famous for its blue tile church and I really wanted to visit one. Sam took me to one nearby that was covered in the famous azulejos and we took some photos. He had brought his camera along and was snapping funny photos all day long. In addition to the blue tile church, I also really wanted to see a good viewpoint of the city of Porto. I had a reference photo on Instagram but we never managed to find the exact spot. So instead, we just chilled at a park until it was near enough sunset where we could walk to what they call a “miradouro” in Portuguese or viewpoint.
I really wanted to walk across the San Luis I bridge so we did that which took us to the town of Gaia. The bridge has two levels. The lower one with cars and pedestrians is close to the water and people are able to jump off into the water. Apparently they ask for tips and then jump off as a dare. The upper part of the bridge is just for pedestrians and the tram. Walking across the bridge at sunset was gorgeous! The city at golden hour looked so beautiful. When we reached the Gaia side we realized there was a point you could climb up even further to catch the sunset.
The sunset was one of my very best in Europe so far! The sun sets so late here at 9:11 pm which I usually miss since I am either eating or at home. It was absolutely gorgeous to watch the orange ball sink below the city! The weather was perfect too as every city the clouds have rolled in at night.
I loved seeing all of Porto today with Sam! It was so fun to catch up after so long and he was a very good tour guide! We hit all the spots I wanted to and more! I also enjoyed being able to spend time with friends after being with my family the last few days.
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