City Post: Porto

Porto was a city recommended to us by friends and some Aussies Jack met in Pamplona last year. It was more reminiscent of a historical city than Barcelona was, which we both enjoyed. There were a whole lot of ups and downs during our four days in Porto. Literally. That city is just one big hill!

We found some great bakeries for breakfast in the mornings. We enjoyed our coffees and pastries (or pizzas for breakfast in some cases) in the shadow of cathedrals and construction sites (just because there were so many). Like Spain, Porto had the prado do dia where we got a main dish, drink, and usually either bread, coffee, soup, or dessert, or a combination thereof, for 7 or 8 Euros, so that helped us get some pretty good food at a budget friendly price. Jo talked Jack into going to the Mexican place across from our hostel one night for dinner. And by "talked him into" we mean she mentioned it and he readily agreed. It was the most expensive dinner so far, but it tasted like it was straight out of Mexico, so no complaints here!

We bought the Porto Card for some free public transport and entry to museums. We ended up not using the public transport much, and some of the museums were only so-so, so if you're ever in Porto keep that in mind. Some things we both enjoyed, though, were the military history museum and the Real Companhia Velha premium winery tour. Both well worth a visit. We split up at one point, too! Jo got a tattoo, so Jack took off to see the main cathedral. Proof we can survive on our own!

One thing we both enjoyed were the ample places to sit down and have a cheap beer, wine, and/or tapas at the end of the day when it cooled off. It has been really nice on this trip to start and end each day with a relaxing meal outside without feeling like we need to hurry up and be somewhere. One thing we will both miss when we return home is the cheap house drinks on a cobblestone street as the nightlife is kicking off.

Where We Stayed: Oporto Invictus Hostel

Jo's Favourite: Real Companhia Velha wine tour

Jack's Favourite: Museu Militar do Porto

Top Lesson Learned: If you don't like going up to go down or down to go up, Porto is not the city for you!

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