Portugal, Part 3: Porto

Our last stop of the trip was in Porto, which was about a 2.5 hour drive from Peniche. We had heard rumors that the driving in Porto could be a bit treacherous, so we dropped our car off at the airport and got a taxi into town, which cost about 20 euros. While the weather was cold and rainy, the hotel we were staying in recommended we go to Graham's winery for a tour and a port tasting. We braved the weather and walked across one of the main bridges in town (the wind broke one of our umbrellas along the way), and then took a tram down to the quaint, old winery section of town. There are so many wineries and shops, I'm sure you can't go wrong. Grahams was a bit of a hike, but the rain let up and it ended up being really nice to see a bit of the village. I've only had port a few times before, so was interested to learn more about the process. I'm a fan. Here are the bottles we sampled:

For other book nerds (like me), we also managed to make it to Livraria Lello, which is listed as one of the 20 Most Beautiful Bookshops in the world in Flavorwire. 

For dinner, we went to another seafood restaurant, which was lovely, but not quite as first as our first night out in Lisbon. We were a bit disappointed to see that Book, a literary-themed restaurant, recommended in this article, was right around the corner from our hotel. Next time!

We did manage to try Percebes, or barnacles, which are featured on most seafood restaurant menus. If you're feeling brave, they look like this: 

Our time in Porto was limited, but we did manage to fit in a trip to the Majestic Cafe for a bica (Lebanese espresso), to see a few of the beautiful buildings, and to pick up a few things from the Bolhão Market for the plane ride back to London (though passed on the live chickens, but got a tasty loaf of very dense bread and some fresh fruit) Below are a few pictures: 

Though it was a short trip, it was neat to see a new country. Going to Peniche made me want to spend more time learning to surf, and going to Porto made me want to go to the Duomo Valley next time to see where the grapes are grown, in the countryside. Such a lovely long weekend though!