Porto
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone is enjoying their turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie! Portugal does not serve whole turkeys here and I have been unable to find a can of pumpkin pie mix to save my life, so while I'm still able to watch the Macy's Day Parade online, Alex and I are going out for Indian food. If I can't have turkey, might as well enjoy a little chicken tiki masala and garlic naan!! #AmIright?!?
We are officially nearing the end of our Portugal trip and only have a few short weeks left before heading back to the States! I cannot believe how quickly our time here is going. We arrived in Porto on Monday and have been enjoying the city so far. The city itself is beautiful with colorful buildings, steep hills, and lots of narrow streets. It is super walkable and easy to just get lost roaming around.
Palácio da Bolsa
Dom Luís I Bridge
We spent the first couple of days hitting up the most popular tour destinations and they did not disappoint! We started at São Bento Train Station to see the main hall with its 20,000 tiles depicting historic battles and the history of transport.
One of my favorite things to do in each city if available is to climb whatever attraction will offer me a birds-eye view of the city. It is a nice way to get my bearings and see where everything is located. Plus, the views have always been great! The Clerigos Tower in Portugal was built in 1754 and is connected to the Clerigos Church. We were able to walk the 200+ steps to the top see a 360-degree view of Porto.
Clerigos Church
Clerigos Tower
The Igreja do Carmo and the Igreja das Carmelitas are next to each other; however, due to a rule in which two churches cannot share a wall, they are separated by a 3-foot house (you can tell by the slim white windows) which divides them. If I did not know the story behind it, I would have thought this was just one, giant single church.
Igreja do Carmo on the right & Igreja das Carmelitas on the left
The Sé do Porto (Porto Cathedral) was built between the 12th and the 13th century; however, it did suffer from damage and had to be updated in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is where Prince Henry the Navigator was baptized in 1394.
The Livraria Lello is a famous bookshop in Porto. It is here where JK Rowling wrote when she was teaching English in Porto and took inspiration from the bookshop for her Harry Potter books! I've only read a couple of the books and seen the first two movies, but I can definitely see where the bookstore may have been influential in the Harry Potter books. It was pretty crowded (you have to purchase tickets in advance to enter the bookstore) and everyone there was trying to take pictures!
In the midst of all the walking, Alex and I did stop for a pastry and cappuccino at Confeitaria Serrana. This family-run bakery has been around for over 40 years and is said to serve the best bola de Berlim in the city. This pastry is similar to a donut with a large helping of custard in the middle. Yum. We ended up sharing one as they were huge!
