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12 May 2016

Trip to Porto, Day 2 | Travel



Ready for day 2? I know I bloody am!!

As we knew that our time in Porto was limited we wanted to make sure we didn't waste time sleeping for hours, so on Sunday we wanted to get up and get going straight away. We were really fortunate in the sense that our hotel was in a pretty good location with lots of things to do around it. As you may or may not know, I love walking and I love walking up lots of stairs to see an amazing view, so wherever I am, if there is an option so be really high up and see a city from another angle I'm literally all over it. So you know I just had to go and walk up the tower of Igreja e Torre dos Clérigos! I must admit I didn't feel like this tower was too exhausting to walk up but it definitely gave us a beautiful view though, I really loved it.

After the tower, we were actually really keen to see whether we could do a little boat tour so walked back to the river! Unfortunately there were no boats on the river at all that weren't moored up and there was a notice saying that some of the tours couldn't operate, I think this was down to the tides or current, the river was moving at quite a pace so instead we settled for a little drink by the Douro! It was so nice just to sit and relax for a moment in the sun and watch people go by, not gonna lie I love people watching. The weather was beautiful on Sunday, with barely a cloud in the sky, I wasn't actually expecting it to be as hot as it was I caught a bit of colour, though the chap I was with probably caught it just a fraction worse than me, by fraction I mean lobster red. The map was out in true tourist style, not that we cared and we were planning our next little excursion. Porto isn't actually that far from the beach, in theory you could probably walk it, but when you have the option of getting a tram there you best believe I went with that option and headed to the beach. When we turned up we actually just missed our tram so got some food at a nearby restaurant and waited for the next one.

Is there anything quite as good as walking along the seafront with the sun shining? The only thing that could have made it better was an ice cream cone, but I mean that's just a tiny thing! The beach isn't your typical sandy beach, I would say some parts have sand and others are a bit pebbley but it was beautiful nonetheless and we got to see the little lighthouse too. We even attempted a bit of crabbing amongst the rocks but had no luck so instead carried on walking until we came across a bar/restaurant actually on the beach it was just perfect!

In the evening we just had to have dinner by that beautiful river Douro and see the skyline at night, honestly it was so pretty the way the buildings were lit up casting the most stunning reflection on the river, I truly loved it! The restaurants were really full and closed a little early however we managed to get into a place called Chez Lapin, though the waiter advised it would be a little wait for mains but we didn't mind too much! For starters we went with bread and a barbecue sausage tapas dish! When I read barbecue sausage I just thought they would turn up with a little dish of sausage that had like barbecue flavouring or cooked in a certain way, no no, they turn up with a sausage on a skewer and a dish of something flammable and light it at your table leaving you to turn the skewer, so random but such a nice touch! The waiter was so charming as well and really gave good advice when it came to the food choices, I went for the beef in a red wine sauce! The sauce was amazing, the meat was also really well cooked with just a hint of pink in the middle which made me happy! Half way through dinner all of a sudden there was fireworks on the river, which I'm gonna totally pretend were just for me, after the fireworks we asked the waiter for some port but he refused to serve us port until after the main because he suggested it should never be served with a main course but with dessert or after the meal instead. I actually really like that the waiter was so informed and clearly passionate about what he was serving. After the meal he came over with a 20 year old bottle of Tawny port and poured a very generous glass for each of us and told us it was for free! The waiter was totally right and it was perfect to have after the meal.

On the way home we noticed that just around the corner from the hotel there was a massive concert playing in support of a Portuguese protest, I will be honest I don't know really what the protest was about but the red carnation was symbolic of the whole event. So we just stood in blissful ignorance and enjoyed the music for a moment, a pretty great way to end the day.

The final Porto post will be live on Sunday, make sure you come check it out!

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