Despite what the title suggests, my time in Porto didn’t start too well. After the unfortunate incident in Lisbon regarding milk (you’ll have to go back to my last blog to find out 😉), facing a coach journey with basically no access to the toilet wasn’t ideal. After successfully managing to not shit myself on the way to Porto I was starting to feel slightly more optimistic. But that optimism was very short-lived after stepping out of the taxi outside our hostel and a bird immediately pooing on my bag, arm and face. Sometimes it’s like the world knows you’re having a pretty rough time so just decides to make it worse for you. Or in this case, more shit.
I swerved a coffee on the first morning (one of the hardest things for me to do!) as I wasn’t sure if it would go down to well. But after a walk in the fresh air and sun, I was feeling much better. We ventured over to a food market (an essential) called Mercado de Bolhao. This was by far the most aesthetically pleasing and well organised markets I’ve ever visited, with fresh seafood stalls taking up the far left side, deli meats and cheeses with some fresh sandwich vendors taking up the far right side, and the middle two aisles full of wonderful and colourful arrays of fruit and juices as well as oils and tinned fish stalls (my love for tinned fish is still strong!). If my stomach was at full strength, I probably would have eaten the entire market. But a fresh fruit cup filled with sweet melon, kiwi and strawberries did help to revive me slightly of the nutrients I had missed over the past day and a mini focaccia sandwich with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and peppery rocket went down a treat.
I then dragged my friends to continue my ever-growing and bank-draining tradition of buying a new football shirt in each city. Not being able to eat as much made me sad but my other passion, football, pulled through on this occasion and I was very happy with my new purchase of the Porto away kit.
That evening we did an essential activity when visiting Porto- a port tasting! I went into it having never tried port and came out of it with a bit more knowledge of how it’s made and enjoying some of the younger ones (as they were sweeter). I tried quite a few varieties and my stomach survived, which I took as a sign that I had fully recovered from the milk incident and meant I could dive right back into eating properly again- thank god! I picked a good time to do this as we had a great place booked for dinner on the other side of the river. You could probably tell from my Seville blog that I hate being late and there was a risk of this after a hefty amount of time waiting for, and then trying to find, the uber. When it did arrive, we chatted away with the driver about various things, including if Portuguese people actually ate the famous Bifana sandwiches or whether they were more of a tourist trap. He took that as meaning we were asking for recommendations and actually pulled over to write places down that we should go. What was a very sweet thing to do was also stressing us out even more as it was making us run more late, so I awkwardly had to ask him whether we could get driving again as he turned over the page of his notebook to write more. He apologised and obliged, winding round the rounds of Porto as if it was a race but getting us there on time!
We got there in the end- to a place called Genuino, which is a contender for the best meal of the whole trip. It was a trendy, laid back place serving a range of small plates varying from focaccia and smoky beetroot houmous to crispy empanadas with sweet caramelised onions and taleggio. My two favourites, however, were the tomato and basil salad with jalapeño granita and the crispy thousand layer potato with pork parfait and pickled onions. I was unsure when I first read about the jalapeño granita but I was proved wrong- it super fresh and not an overwhelming heat so you could still taste the tomatoes. The potato was probably the best I’ve ever eaten- soft in the middle with the perfect crunch on the outside and it paired perfectly with the rich, savoury parfait. I could have eaten 100 of them!
So there we have it- the Iberian tour unfortunately came to an end after three weeks of eating incredible food, drinking tasty coffee and exploring the history and culture the cities had to offer. I was both happy and sad to be heading back home. After staying mainly in hostels the thought of being able to starfish in my own bed and have my own toilet again did really excite me I can’t lie. But I was really going to miss exploring amazing cities with my best friends. Our shared love of food meant we really did experience the culinary delights across these cities and created some funny and wholesome memories along the way.
As with my previous blogs, my recommendations are listed below. See you next time for a new food adventure!
Restaurants/Bars:
· Genuino
· Trasca
· Time Out Market
· Mercado Beira-Rio
· Mercado de Bolhao
· Santini Porto (ice cream/gelato)
Coffee shops/Cafes:
· 7g Roasters
· Nola Kitchen
Attractions/ Places to visit:
· Porto Augusto’s (Port tastings)
· Walk along the Douro River
· Porto Sao Bento
· Porto Cathedral
· Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar (great views of Porto)
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