Portugal, Part 1

I started this a long time ago... and just got around to finishing it.

This weekend I got stuck in what can only be classified as a Portuguese hurricane. The wind of the storms we were walking around in was so strong, it snapped three of our umbrellas in half, and ripped three of them to shreds. But I´m getting ahead of myself.

We left for Porto, a town in Northern Portugal, on Thursday evening. When we arrived, it was already raining (more of the rule than the exception on this trip). I´m fine with traveling in good weather; last summer we only had a few days of rain in Prague, Paris, and Ireland. When there are torrential downpours, however, it´s a different story.

Our hostel was amazing. Brand-new and decked out in IKEA furniture (the good kind), it beat any other hostel I´ve ever stayed in. The front desk staff recommended a local dish called a Francesinha, which is a sandwich of beef, sausage and ham, covered in melted cheese, then doused in a tomato and beer sauce, then served with fries. Heart attack on a plate. But it was amazing... I ended up having three of them before the weekend was over. Having worked all day, we went to sleep with the intention of sightseeing the next day.

Let me say one thing: sightseeing is great when you (1) know where you´re going and what you want to see and (2) there are things to DO, and not just to see. Porto doesn´t offer much in that particular category. What it offers: hills that punish your calves, and multiple churches. To break up the monotony of church-seeing, there´s always Porto´s chief export: port wine.

The port wineries of Porto are situated along the Douro River, and there are a lot of them... and they all offer free (or pretty cheap) tours and wine tastings. Done and done. We only went on one tour (of the Sandeman´s winery), but if I ever return, I´ll be going to many more. We saw the casks that they use to age the wine (that can hold some ridiculous amount like 500,000 liters at once), and tasted a white port wine and a red. Port wine is sweeter and stronger than regular wine; it can accompany dessert pretty well.

That evening, we indulged in another francesinha, at a restaurant that declared it the "best in Porto." It was awesome. It was spicier than the first one, and seemed a little more authentic. Later, we went on our hostel's pub crawl, which was basically a string of drinking competitions at different bars. It was COLD. I ended the night with... another francesinha.


Check out the pictures from Portugal, and I'll try to finish the entry eventually: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2969313&id=12424897&l=e5ad658be4