Porto, Portugal

We took a train from Lisbon to Porto and arrived in Porto around noon on Sunday. Our airbnb was being cleaned when we arrived so we dropped our bags and headed out to grab some lunch. Our airbnb host recommended that we try Porto's local sandwich, the francesinha. The francesinha is essentially meat, typically steak and ham, in-between bread or in a bread roll, covered in cheese and a spicy sauce. Shane enjoyed it, I was not as much of a fan - the sauce was too odd for me.

After getting our fill of the sandwich we headed across the Douro River to Vila Nova de Gaia to sample some port wine. We crossed on foot via the famous Ponte Luis I Bridge - at the time of construction, the Ponte Luis I's span of 172 meters made it the longest arch span bridge in the world.

Even though storms were moving in, we found a place on the river, under an umbrella, to sample some port wine and take in the view of Porto. We had tried some port wine in Lisbon but had to try it again from the area of which it is known. As I wasn't the biggest fan of the port we tasted in Lisbon, I opted for a cocktail with a port wine base. Shane was the true port taster, opting for the port wine in its true form.

 After our tasting, we headed back to Porto to tour the Church of Sao Francisco before dinner. The church is known for its Baroque interior. Pictures were not allowed inside the church but it's entire wood interior had been painted gold - it was beautiful.

When we were done with the church, we headed to dinner at a small restaurant on the river. The restaurant was quaint and cozy; perfect for a rainy evening. The food was fantastic with the exception of the cod chips which was fried cod skin, not the fish finger type appetizer Shane was expecting.

The next morning, we grabbed breakfast and then met up with a Porto walking tour. Our tour guide was a native to the region, who grew-up 20 miles south of Porto, so had lots of knowledge to share. Our favorite part of the tour was walking through the old town near the river. The people that live in the old town have lived their for generations, some of which still don't have modern amenities such as indoor plumbing! To renovate is quite expensive because the builders would be hard-pressed or unable to get to the location as the streets are extremely narrow.

After our tour, we had a lunch at the Majestic Cafe which is rumored to be where J.K. Rowling may

have done some of her Harry Potter writing. She did live in Porto, and the Majestic Cafe was known to be a place that she quite fancied, so the locals of Porto have claimed the Majestic Cafe as a contributing factor to the birth of Harry Potter.

We shopped around for a bit and left Porto that evening. Despite the weather not being the best, we learned whilst there that it does rain frequently, we thoroughly enjoyed getting to explore the city.