August 8, 2019 - August 11, 2019
A week after I came back from Paris, my second program started. My roommate Melissa and I, who I previously went to Paris with were originally planning on staying in Oviedo for the first weekend, until we randomly decided that we should go to Porto! I had been wanting to go to Portugal and wasn't sure if I was going to have enough time in Europe this time around to go. I also thought it was going to be super expensive to go, but once we realized it was a really affordable trip we went for it.
The bus ride was 9 hours long one way 👀 so I am basically invincible now with the long haul traveling. We decided to leave Thursday night at 9pm so we would arrive in Porto around 7am. There is a 1-hour time difference in Porto, it is an hour behind the time zone in Spain, fun fact. Anyways our plan was to sleep on the bus. I initially thought it would actually be really comfortable to sleep on the bus because I thought it would feel similar to that of a plane, but lol NOPE. I was wrong. It was pretty uncomfortable to say the least, but I did sleep! I just didn't sleep as much as I wanted to.
We arrived Friday morning, and our bus was actually an hour early than expected so it was 6am when we arrived in Porto. We had let our airbnb host know that we would be arriving early and she told us about a cafe to go to while we waited until 8am to check-in. The cafe was really close to the airbnb and so was the bus stop where we got off, so it was really easy to navigate. While in the cafe, a PIGEON decided to fly into the store and then was dumb as fuck and didn't know how to get out and of course it had to hide like right above my head in the rafters... also I hate the birds here don't know if you knew; I am terrified of them. SO yea it was great...
When it was finally 8am, we checked-in to the airbnb, got ready and headed out for our first day in Portugal! A few other people from our program also decided to come to Porto too so we met up with some of them and walked around before deciding to buy the double decker tour bus tickets. Oh and while we were waiting for a couple of the people in our program we were waiting near the Libreria de Lello, and there was a street performer who was there both days near it... here's a video of it!
I did not realize that Porto was such a big tourist destination. There were so many tourists everywhere! After we met up with some friends, I started getting hungry again so I caved and went to Starbucks. I wanted to try the ham and cheese croissant because it's WAY better in Portugal and Spain than at home. We then got on the tour bus and stayed on for that entire route (there were 3 different routes). The route we were on went right next to the coast line of Porto, it was SO pretty. I took a video don't worry :)
Once we got back from the bus tour, we wanted to go to a few places downtown we saw from the bus. We first went to the Porto sign to take the classic tourist pic, before going to this really crowded street that appeared to be the main shopping street.
It was pretty overcast while we were in Porto, but it wasn't too cold because of the humidity. We ended the day by having some dinner at a random restaurant, going to Pull n Bear (a clothing store), before going to the waterfront near the Luis I bridge, that is always filled with street vendors, etc.
The next day, after getting breakfast near our airbnb and having the best freshly-squeezed orange juice I have ever had, we went to the train station, which was SO pretty. We also were able to get tickets to the famous Library de Lello. J.K. Rowling was inspired by the architecture and design of the interior of the library when imagining Hogwarts and the Harry Potter series! There was a whole little room in the back of the library dedicated to all things Harry Potter. The library was two stories and the staircases, decor, everything was amazing. I don't have any pictures of the train station and the library because there were just so many people, that it ruined the vibe for picture taking for me. I also wanted to enjoy the moment! What was cool about the library, was that the cost of your ticket ($5) to enter the library could be used as a $5 voucher to take $5 off any item you choose to purchase within the library. I bought a special edition copy of Romeo and Juliet that is only sold at la Libreria de Lello and I love it!
After the library, we explored a little bit more around the city before taking the bus to the beach where we walked along the water. It took us so long, it was a longggg walk. We also made sure to get Pastels de Nata, which we saw everywhere in Porto. We think it's the dessert of Portugal. We bought ours from a store we kept passing by that only sold pastel de nata. They were SO good. It's basically a filo-type pastry with creme that reminded me a little bit of creme brûlée with cinnamon. So so good. By the end of the day we were so exhausted and it was only like 7pm. We ended up just relaxing in our airbnb. I ended up getting Japanese food delivered for myself for dinner before calling it a night. We had an early bus to catch in the morning so we needed the sleep!
Overall, I really enjoyed Porto. It was such a beautiful and unique city. I'm so grateful for the opportunities I have been given. Being able to travel around the world is truly a gift!
P.S. Next blog: London!
Embedded Media Details:
1. Near the Luis I Bridge
2. A photo taken from the tour bus!
3. View from right outside of the train station
4. The beach! insane
5. Video of my favorite street performer
6. Video of the ocean
7. A tourist picture if I ever saw one
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