A Portugal postcard! We have run away to Porto Portugal and might never come back! This place is absolutely delightful. For me, Porto is all that was promised about Lisbon, only more so. We like Porto more than Lisbon for sure. It is smaller, but has more personality and did l mention the fact that it’s home to port wine?.
[the_ad id=”13767″]
Portugal Postcard:
I have already spied with my little eye plenty of port factories across the Douro River from the vantage point of the Ribeira neighbourhood that you see in this postcard. Isn’t it picturesque? We explored it a bit, but plan on doing a bit more in the next few days. Port wine tasting, eating loads of traditional Portuguese food and checking out the lovely sights are all on our Porto itinerary.
What l can definitely tell you is that if you get a chance to visit Porto, do not hesitate. Just do it! The people are so friendly and helpful, the sights are really impressive and the prices are fair, even in the “touristy” areas.
I might even go as far as to say that Porto is cheaper than the Algarve area of Lagos that we visited. In that way, it reminds me of Valencia. We are staying at an awesome AirBnB lodging that rocks and has a great terrace and is smack dab in the middle of a hip and happening neighborhood. This constitutes our budget Porto stay, after that, we are moving on to a small boutique hotel for the luxury part of our stay.
[the_ad id=”13784″]
This Airbnb is a little noisy at night, thanks to its very central location, but what a fantastic find. The next couple of days will be filled with a lot of port wine tasting. I am salivating, I am a big fan of tawny port wine. I geeked out at seeing the Sandeman factory sign. Did l mention that we might never return? 🙂 Ate logo (means see you later).
So far, we are giving Porto a two thumbs up. We’ve hardly begun, but we are already plotting a comeback. I just hope we get to squeeze in a visit to the FC Porto club. They have so many championship cups that we would like to see.
For the full writeup on Porto, see our ultimate Porto Guide post.
Enjoyed reading your teaser post on Porto and can’t wait for more, Kemkem. Steven and I leave for our annual ‘Big Trip’ in mid August and return to the US a few days before Christmas. Visiting more of the former Soviet Union – Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and several of the ‘Stans’ before heading to your adopted country of Spain for about five weeks and finishing up in Portugal and a few days in Amsterdam en route home. So glad, after reading your snapshot, we’ve already booked a place in Porto for three nights!
Keep your posts coming WHEN you can as so many of us love reading them, Kemkem. I am still posting about our long trip/adventure to South America last fall!
Annie
We are having a lovely time indeed. The weather was supposed to be horrid the first 2 days, but we got lucky and it was sunny skies all the way. I can’t wait to read about your new adventures. If your travels bring you to Valencia, please let me know so we can meet you in person :-). I’m curious to read your views on the former Soviet Union countries. For sure you won’t be disappointed with Porto. It’s very nice and since you guys love to walk, the hills will be right up your alley..haha! Thanks for the kind words too.
Great photo! Love the colours!
Thanks Frank! Mighty pretty place.
Hi Kem, we were in port at Lisbon just a few days ago. Took a small group, 6 hour tour of the city and loved it. Last year we did a walking tour on our own there. We are working up to a longer stay. Happy to hear your thoughts on Porto, as that would be my desired “base” for touring the area. Hanging out in Brussels for a few rainy days and doing the best we can to carry on…..
Hi Suzanne, Hope you’re having fun on your travels. I think you would really like Porto as a base. While l really liked Lisbon, I definitely have to say l much prefer Porto. We didn’t get to see half of what we intended. Luckily for us, we got more sunny days and only 1 rainy day when it was supposed to be the other way around. Hope the weather clears up in Brussels for you, and sunny skies the rest of the way.
Love the photos -A great teaser post! It’s hard to believe that you stayed put in Valencia for four months but I get the life happens part. For some reason, I pictured ‘Life after work’ as being very quiet and had a fantasy of myself lazing around and working my way through stacks of novels. Seems the days are going by even faster now that I’m not clock watching. And it sounds like you’re having no difficulty filling up all your ‘spare time’ either! Anita
I was shocked that we were able to stay put for 4 whole months too! The indecision of whether to move apartments or sign for another year in the same place really made me indecisive for so long…which then of course resulted in a longer scouting vacation here. My Spanish classes have spurred me on to read little kiddie stories in an effort to learn..haha! As for regular novels, l can’t seem to read as much as l want. Life really does happen, and it is definitely going really fast.