The first 10 days of May were great for us. We were able to escape from an unfortunately cool and rainy Konstanz spring and head to Portugal for 10 (okay, 9 -- it rained on our last day) days in the sun. Our trip consisted of three stops: Porto in the north, the small beach town of Porto Covo in the south, and finally Lisbon, about halfway up the coast. First stop was Porto.
We arrived in Porto early afternoon on May 1, which unfortunately for tourists like us was a holiday, meaning a lot of shops were closed. That didn't matter too much though, as there was still a lot to see.
Porto is Portugal's second largest city, and lies on the banks of the Douro river. It's old downtown is considered a world heritage site, but it is probably best known as the area where Port Wine comes from. I don't think we had been big Port drinkers before this trip, but by the time it was over, we'd had a lot, and even bought some bottles to be shipped home for us.
On Friday, we explored the old town for a little while, found a nice restaurant for lunch, and then crossed the Dom Luís Bridge to Villa Nova de Gaia to check out some of the Port Wine makers. We got there too late for tours, but managed to sample a couple of Ports at a company called Taylor, and liked it enough to buy a couple of bottles. For dinner, we chose a nice restaurant recommended by our Lonely Planet book, and had a nice Portugese meal (a giant baked cod for Erin, a steak for Tim).
On Saturday, we explored the town some more. We visited a large farmers' market, did some window shopping, and went back to Villa Nova de Gaia for more port wine, and this time a tour of the wine cellars. We toured the cellars of a company called Offley Forrester, and while it seemed they kind of rushed us through a little bit, it was still cool to see the cellars and all the barrels filled with aging Port, and also learn some about how port is made. We finished off with a fun tasting, where we were able to sample 5 different types of Port. Maybe drinking a bunch of Port in the mid-afternoon isn't the best idea, but we had a good time. The Port tasting was followed up with a really nice dinner at a restaurant right over the river.
On Sunday, since most things in town were again closed, we decided to head out to a nearby beach for some sun. Swimming didn't happen, as the water was still too cold to swim in, despite air temperatures of about 30 degrees. We relaxed in the sun for a few hours, and when we got back to town, went for dinner at a tiny little hole in the wall restaurant we found on one of our previous wanders around town. The restaurant was about the size of a living room, and had some good food, and great chocolate cake for dessert. Be sure to ask Erin how much she enjoyed her tripe stew!
Late Monday morning we left Porto for a train to Lisbon, and then a bus to Porto Covo. Check back soon for our posts about those stops!
We arrived in Porto early afternoon on May 1, which unfortunately for tourists like us was a holiday, meaning a lot of shops were closed. That didn't matter too much though, as there was still a lot to see.
Porto is Portugal's second largest city, and lies on the banks of the Douro river. It's old downtown is considered a world heritage site, but it is probably best known as the area where Port Wine comes from. I don't think we had been big Port drinkers before this trip, but by the time it was over, we'd had a lot, and even bought some bottles to be shipped home for us.
On Friday, we explored the old town for a little while, found a nice restaurant for lunch, and then crossed the Dom Luís Bridge to Villa Nova de Gaia to check out some of the Port Wine makers. We got there too late for tours, but managed to sample a couple of Ports at a company called Taylor, and liked it enough to buy a couple of bottles. For dinner, we chose a nice restaurant recommended by our Lonely Planet book, and had a nice Portugese meal (a giant baked cod for Erin, a steak for Tim).
On Saturday, we explored the town some more. We visited a large farmers' market, did some window shopping, and went back to Villa Nova de Gaia for more port wine, and this time a tour of the wine cellars. We toured the cellars of a company called Offley Forrester, and while it seemed they kind of rushed us through a little bit, it was still cool to see the cellars and all the barrels filled with aging Port, and also learn some about how port is made. We finished off with a fun tasting, where we were able to sample 5 different types of Port. Maybe drinking a bunch of Port in the mid-afternoon isn't the best idea, but we had a good time. The Port tasting was followed up with a really nice dinner at a restaurant right over the river.
On Sunday, since most things in town were again closed, we decided to head out to a nearby beach for some sun. Swimming didn't happen, as the water was still too cold to swim in, despite air temperatures of about 30 degrees. We relaxed in the sun for a few hours, and when we got back to town, went for dinner at a tiny little hole in the wall restaurant we found on one of our previous wanders around town. The restaurant was about the size of a living room, and had some good food, and great chocolate cake for dessert. Be sure to ask Erin how much she enjoyed her tripe stew!
Late Monday morning we left Porto for a train to Lisbon, and then a bus to Porto Covo. Check back soon for our posts about those stops!
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