Portugal!

This weekend, Michelle, Lauren and I went to Porto, Portugal. It was also Lauren's 20th birthday this weekend, so it was nice getting to spend it with her in a different country. Friday morning, I met Lauren at the Clot metro station then met up with Michelle and headed to the airport. The plane ride was only 1 hr and ½ so we arrived in Porto at around 10 a.m. From the airport, we took a train to the Trindade stop, the closest stop to the hostel. We got to the hostel, left our bags there while we went out for lunch, came back and checked-in. The girls and I went to this spot recommended by the receptionist called “Santiagos” to try a traditional dish called the “francesinha.” Besides it being like 1,000 calories and clogging up our arteries, it was delicious! The “francesinha” is like a four different type of meat sandwich, topped with extra cheese served with a special sauce and french fries on the side, amazing. Since it was pouring out, after lunch, we just decided to go back to the hostel and sleep until it was time for dinner. For dinner, we went to a pizza spot up the street, which was also very good and at about 9 p.m., we went back to the hostel and called it a day. 

Monumental heart of the city

Lello Book Store

The next day, the weather cleared up just a bit. Although it stopped raining, it was still cloudy, even then, we were able to go on two walking tours around the city. During the tours, we got to see a lot of attractions. We started at the monumental heart of the city, made our way to the Lello Book Store, which inspired J. K. Rowling for her Harry Potter books. We also got to see the gigantic tile murals in the train station, walked down the art gallery streets and went to the gardens overlooking the city. After both tours, we went to dinner at an Italian spot and then grabbed some coffee at the Majestic Cafe, 

Majestic Cafe

another site where Rowling was often spotted in while she lived in Porto. After the cafe, we headed home to get ready for a pub crawl the hostel hosted. We were picked up at 11:30 p.m. and were taken to Porto’s night spot to experience the nightlight. Throughout the night, we met new people, danced with them and our tour guides and enjoyed the night. It was just amazing, I'm glad I got to experience something new. 

Dom Luis Bridge 

Clerigos Tower

Sunday was our last day in Porto and luckily, the most beautiful day out of the three. After sleeping in a little, we got ready and headed out to continue our see sighting. We went over and under the Dom Luis bridge, did some wine tasting and climbed the Clerigos Tower to see an overview of Porto. We also had lunch at “Arroz de Forno”, where we ate codfish and we had dinner at “Munchies” and ate burgers, both recommended spots. After dinner, we went home, packed our bags and went straight to bed because we had a 6:30 a.m. flight back home. We arrived back in Barcelona at about 9:30 a.m. This weekend was amazing, I loved it. It has to be one of the best weekends I’ve had abroad. On a sad and disappointing note, running to catch the metro from the airport to the Sants metro station, I dropped my credit card. I had to call and cancel it and now I’m waiting for both my phone and an emergency card, they’re suppose to come tomorrow, so hopefully they do.