It was time to leave Coimbra and set off for Porto for the next leg of our journey. I had mixed feelings about the day ahead. I was a little bummed to leave Coimbra, really wanting to explore more, but I was also excited to see Porto. I’d read that Porto was the second biggest city (after Lisbon) in Portugal and I knew there were things I wanted to see and do there. My head was spinning a bit, though. We were seeing so much, so quickly. It was a little difficult to take it all in. Taking my mixed feelings with us, off we went.
My first impression of Porto was also a little mixed, but I think that was mostly due to me needing to find a lady’s room. 😉 We arrived well before the VRBO check-in time of 4:00, so we went for a quick lunch and some scouting for a bank and shopping opportunities. (Can you guess who was scouting for what?) Successful on all counts, we walked back to the car, only to find a parking ticket. Oopsie doopsie! It was still about an hour before check-in, so we took some time to drive in circles until we made our way back to our street and the appropriate parking structure. I still found all the rotundas and one way streets a little unnerving, but David seemed to be really getting the hang of things. So we parked and waited for a response from the VRBO host. I was getting just a teensie bit annoyed, because David had called and messaged about checking in, but we’d received no response at all. Eventually, he got a call, only to find out that they were running late. Ugh. I’m usually a pretty go with the flow kind of person, but I wasn’t really managing to hide my annoyance, at this point. (See pic to the left, which may or may not have an offensive hand gesture cropped out.) Poor David.
In not too long, the property manager arrived and we made our way into our home for the next couple days. This was the first time that we were a little disappointed with our accommodations. The apartment was okay, but the pictures on VRBO looked quite different from what we found. Everything in the pictures was there, but looked quite different in real life. It was also really cold and some of the lights wouldn’t work. The thing is, though, that it could be a really cool place with some maintenance and updates. We decided to make the best of it and while I got us settled, David ran to the store for some provisions, in the form of soup and persimmons and maybe even some chocolate. A dinner in and early evening were just what we needed.
The next day, the sun was shining from behind scattered clouds, and we were excited to do some exploring. The property manager had given us a map of the area and assured us that it was a small city, great for walking, so we laced up our sneakers and off we went. I’d mentioned to David that I wanted to see Livraria Lelle, the bookshop that had been the inspiration for the library at Hogwarts and we headed in that direction. Along the way, we saw some truly beautiful buildings covered in tiles. I’d read, of course, about these tile covered buildings and seen a few in Lisbon, but I was still taken in by them. The colors are eye catching and the details are truly astounding.
After gawking at the blue tile-covered church, we walked across the plaza to Livraria Lelle. I have to admit that it was a little off-putting to see the line to get in, but I figured this might be my only chance, and the pictures I’d seen online had really piqued my interest. David and I stood in line together, but he was not all that interested in this little venture, so when we found out that there was a fee to enter, he went in search of a cappuccino, while I waited and then finally shopped. The staircase in the shop was truly enchanting and I imagined what the shop might’ve been like before the Harry Potter hoopla. It is a small book shop and I think that it might have been a lovely place to pass the time before it unwittingly became part of the Harry Potter industry. Despite the crowds, I still enjoyed climbing the stairs and finding some literary gifts on the top floor. While wandering, I may have forgotten for a second that David was patiently waiting for me to get my fill of the place. There’s just something about bookstores and libraries, though, don’t you think? I mean, I do understand why so many readers have switched to e-books, but I just hate to think of all the things that we lose in the switch. To me, there’s something about wandering around a bookstore or library that can’t be replaced, and I don’t just mean that wonderful, enticing scent of all those books!
After retrieving David from the nearby coffee shop, we were off in search of the waterfront. David took the lead, thank goodness, because even on foot, the streets were confusing to me. I was content to traipse along behind him, offering lots of helpful comments like, “Are you sure this is the way?”, “This seems like a wrong turn”, “Seriously. Are you sure?” At some point, I gave up worrying and enjoyed the maze of tiny streets, taking each turn, veer, and hippity-hop in stride.
Not surprisingly, our short jaunt did indeed deliver us to the waterfront, which provided an enchanting welcome. People meandered along the sidewalk or dined in one of the many outdoor restaurants, enjoying the fabulous weather and atmosphere of this lovely place. A musician played the guitar and sang, adding yet another delight for the senses. We strolled along, stopping to look at the boats and fish in the water, and the bridge just slightly off in the distance. Across the river we could see a couple of the wineries that we’d heard about and I was excited that we planned to visit one of them later in the day.
Wandering and sightseeing is hungry work and we decided it was a good time to find a Francesinha, one of the “foods to try” I’d discovered in my pre-travel research. The Francesinha is a sandwich that originated in Porto and it’s not just any ol’ sandwich! It has ham, sausage, steak, and who knows what other kinds of meat, all covered in cheese and a tasty sauce, with (as if that wasn’t enough) a fried egg on top. Given the description, we decided to share this tasty treat and my gosh, it was yummy.
We lingered over lunch for a bit, then decided to make our way across the bridge to the wineries. Now, you may or may not know, that I have a perfectly irrational fear of bridges, so David offered to take one of the ferries across, but I generally do alright with walking on bridges, so we decided to walk across. It wasn’t bad, at all. And now, wine!
We found a winery that appealed to us and headed in for a tasting. As it turned out, I had tried a glass of port from the very same winery at a restaurant in Lisbon a few nights before. I don’t remember his name, but a friendly young man was to guide us through our tasting. I remarked on his excellent English, and he told us that he’d started learning English in 4th grade and he loved it so much that he took to watching The Simpsons and Family Guy when he spent time at his Grandma’s so he could learn more. David laughed about this American contribution to culture. Sheesh. Anyway, in addition to being knowledgeable about the wines I was trying, the young man was curious about America and it all led to a fun conversation and maybe some learning on both sides of the table.
I’d been surprised at the Lisbon dinner when I was offered a white port. I have almost no experience with port, but what little I had was always with red. I was surprised again when I learned that they also offered a pink port, which turned out to be my favorite. We wanted to take some home, alas they could ship to everywhere in the U.S. except California, and they only had regular wine-sized bottles of the pink. They did offer some small bottles of the other kinds and I chose 2 for us to take back home in our suitcases. Since David doesn’t drink, I was forced to do all of the tasting and deciding and I enjoyed every minute of it, though I found out later that David was a little concerned about me walking all the way back to our apartment after all the fun!
The walk back did include about a million and a half stairs, but I managed and even found time to photograph some artwork along the way! Isn’t he cute?
The rest of the day is a little fuzzy in my memory, but I do remember a fun trip to the local grocery store, Continente. If you’ve ever travelled with David before, you know that he loves (really loves) going to local grocery stores to get a feel for how people really eat and to have fun buying and cooking local offerings. The significant thing about this evening’s trip for me was that this was the first time I felt the same kind of excitement about grocery shopping. It really was fun to see all the different (and similar) types of foods that we find at home. Plus, since we are considering Portugal as a retirement location, I had some fun imagining myself shopping at the Continente for my regular grocery days. All in all, it was a fun way to end our day in Porto.
The next day, I subjected David to a little shopping of my own at a cork store I’d scouted out earlier. True to form, David grabbed a cappuccino while I shopped and when all was said and done, we headed out to find our next stop, Fragoselas. Hidden in the mountains, we knew it might be a bit of an endeavor to find, so we did our best to get an early start. Once again, I was excited for the next part of our journey, but a little sad to say goodbye to where we were. I so very much want to go back to Porto someday and do some more exploring. I love her personality!
The Wandering Suz 