Today we tried out another AirBnB experience and did a walking tour with Sergio. After Rui dropped us off at Praça da Ribeira, we met up with our small group of two folks from England and two from Spain.
Remember when I said that Porto was hilly? Well today we walked from the lowest point at the River (Rio) to the highest point at the Cathedral (Se)…and have I mentioned they are having unseasonably high temperatures with very intense sun? Our man Sergio was awesome as he took us up shaded narrow streets with slow inclines and many pauses to point out little things along the way. Personally I think he knew that none of us were accustomed to the hills so he was taking it easy on us…thank God he did!
Porto is a very interesting city and the second largest in Portugal. There is a saying in Portugal that Lisbon parties, Coimbra studies, Braga prays and Porto works. The Douro River in Portugal delineates the Tripeiros (people from Porto) and the Moorish or Alface (people from Lisbon and the south). The southern part of Portugal has a heavy Arab influence from the days when the Moors invaded and they are also know for being a little lazy, hence the term Moorish. People in the south are also considered to be a little more delicate hence the term Alface (little lettuce).
The nickname Tripeiros comes from the 15th century when Henry the Navigator asked the people of Porto to provide provisions for Portugal’s exploration of the world. To ensure the sailors had plenty of meat, the people of Porto gave every piece of the cow except the guts. As food was scarce during this time, the people of Porto made a stew that is still popular today using the tripe along with beans, carrots, celery and pasta.
There is a section of Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) and these markers can be seen throughout Porto to ensure pilgrims are on the correct path. The second picture below are Camino de Santiago pilgrims. For those pilgrims brave enough to walk the full way, it will take them between 30-35 days to walk 500 miles. Along the way, there are stop off points for them to rest and get their passport stamped.
After our tour, we had lunch at Adega São Nicolau a little off the Riberia. We asked Sergio for his recommendation and he was spot on. The food was delicious! I had the grilled salmon and Julie had the grilled sea bream. As in most places in Europe, the fish comes out whole but if you ask your server, they will filet it for you table side. Not being a fan of working for my food, I do ask my server to do all the hard work!
We spent the afternoon on the hop-on/hop-off bus taking the line that goes out the beach area, Foz (fosh). As I mentioned previously, this is a tradition we have of taking this bus to get an overview of the city. The agent at the TI office told us the Yellow Bus tour was his favorite so we went with that company versus the red bus or Grayline we normally take. Lesson learned as we are not a fan of Yellow Bus. Their buses just didn’t seem as nice and there was not as much narration as the other companies. C’est la vie!
The bus arrived at the final stop in town around 6:00pm and as we had dinner reservations at Graham’s Port Lodge restaurant, Vivum, at 7:00pm we hopped a taxi and got back to freshen up. Our apartment overlooks Graham’s so we had a short walk to dinner but man did it seem like a long walk back after our five course dinner with wine pairings.
We began with a port cocktail (one of our new fav drinks) and had an amuse bouche (one of my favorite words) of fig, honey and spicy mustard. Just to make your mouth water, here is the menu from the night along with the wines paired with each course.
The food and service at Vinum was unbelievable. Would highly recommend a dinner here to anyone coming to Gaia. Reservations are definitely required as the restaurant is small and has amazing views of Porto and the river. It is also a little off the beaten path so you wouldn’t want to come out from Porto without a reservation. Though personally, I would recommend staying in Gaia as it is just a quick roughly $8 taxi ride to Porto and much quieter. Porto does not quiet down until around 2:00am and gets going again at 6:00am so not so much on the relaxing side for when on holiday.
After all of the walking and wine today, it is time for us to go to bed. Tomorrow will be a lazy morning and a little more wandering around before dinner with my friend, Marcella.
Boa noite!
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