Olá do Porto!

Welcome to Portugal’s second largest city! This is one of the most authentic Portuguese cities, where port wine mixes beautifully with strolls past historic architecture. Situated along the Douro River, the prosperous fate of Porto was sealed when the barcos rabelos delivered the first wine shipments from vineyards upriver.

Initially, I was just hitching a ride into Porto and had intended to wander around for a lazy Sunday stroll. But, to my great fortune Ms. Inês Monteiro de Aguiar was accompanying the bus into Porto. She graciously agreed to give a private tour of her hometown. From the sea port into Porto, Inês shared her love of soccer.

In fact, Porto is the home to one of the three biggest football teams in Portugal, Futebol Clube do Porto (FCP). The blue and white striped uniforms are the pride of most of the locals (and Inês), who take football very seriously. The teams mascot is a mystical dragon. Internationally, they have won 7 trophies, including: UEFA Champions League twice, and the UEFA Europa League twice.

Back to this is a very walk-able town (there are some steep inclines, so not for the faint of heart)… In the course of a few short hours our young Tripeiro (tripe-eaters) highlighted the architecture, culture, people, and food that make Porto a beautiful town.

Our first stop was the Igreja e Torre dos Clérigos. This national monument is part of a baroque-inspired building from the 18th-century, which marked the city's urban transformation. It is located on an uneven street, but brilliantly used by Nicolau Nasoni, who managed to create an iconic building. The Church and the Tower are adjoined to the House of the Brotherhood, which is a museum open to the public.

Along the way to the Estação de São Bento (São Bento Railway Station) we passed the official offices of the Mayor of Porto. Unfortunately, the Paço do Concelho is no longer the home of the mayor.

At São Bento you can walk between two separate towns in the matter of a few seconds. Additionally, nearly 20,000 polychromatic azulejo tiles, dating from 1905-1916, illustrate the history of Portugal. Some scenes depicted include: Battle of Arcos de Valdevez and Egas Moniz before Alfonso VII of Castile; and D. João I in Oporto, with his fiancé and the Conquest of Ceuta. The border wall panels depict the countryside.

From here we continued on to the Igreja de São Francisco (Church of St. Francis). Unfortunately, the new Bishop for Porto had chosen the day of our visit for his introduction to the community and the church was closed to visitors. That said, the origins of the church date from the late 1200s and building continued through the 1500s. This is a beautiful example of Gothic architecture.

It was then on to one of the oldest parts of Porto called Ribeira. This quaint section of town is pulled straight from a movie set and provides all the charm travelers look for when coming to Europe.

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By this time, I am thinking… when am I ever going to drink Port wine in Porto?!

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Well, it was off to Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau. Here it is folks! This is the taste of Portugal… trust me when I say you will not be disappointed. The Pastel de Bacalhau unites two other gastronomic traditions: the codfish cake and the Serra da Estrela cheese. A glass of chilled white port wine makes your taste buds dance in delight. Wait! You are saying… white port. Yes! White Port is a blend of wines produced from white grapes grown mainly on the Upper slopes of the Douro Valley.

Make sure to toast your hosts the Tripeiros for their hospitality and gastronomy!

Until the next city, I remain…

Your Polite Adventuress,

Kari