Porto, Portugal

I am sad to say that this was my last trip before I head home to the U.S. and I am so glad I chose Porto. It was an even cooler experience because I got to meet up with my high school friend Michaela (mak). The hostel was really conveniently located right on the Ribiera boardwalk, on the Rio Douro. Unfortunately, I have a bit of a cold and was sniffling and sneezing most of the time. I arrived on Friday night, so Mak and I got the chance to see Porto at sunset. The river and all of the shops and restaurants on both sides looked as if they were from a fairy tale. The gleaming lights were gorgeous and it was comforting to hear the chattering of people. All over the boardwalk there were singers and people dancing alongside them.

Saturday was a very relaxed day because I felt that I was able to see a huge part of Porto, but at a relaxed pace. Thank you to Mak for putting up with my sniffling and blowing my nose every 5 seconds. Aside from being sick, we stayed out all day and were able to see many different sites. We saw the clerigos tower, the Sao bento station, palacio de bolsa, and mercado de Bolhao. When I was picking out my last trip, I prioritized a place that had good food and Porto did not disappoint. In general every thing was super cheap and delicious, I prompted myself to try new things and to attempt to not worry about spending and just enjoy the last trip. One of my favorite indulgences was the dessert that Porto had to offer. The pastel de Nata was delicious and I would definitely buy again. I also had an amazing smoothie with ice cream and a macaroon. I also have been on an avocado kick and had a great breakfast bagel with avocado spread and mimosa. I will say that the alcoholic drinks were pretty to look at but generally not amazing. They were so strong that you could barely taste anything in the drink.

We even were able to take a boat ride down the river and see the city. It was a funny boat ride because our captain realized another boats engine died and so we helped bring them to shore, but not before slamming into them on the side. Luckily Mak and I were inside and did not get sprayed by water when the boats bounced off each other. This little girl also kept trying to climb over me to sit with this other family and she practically kicked me in the spine every time,

Lastly, I went to Mcdonalds because it is known to be one of the classiest Mcdonalds in the world. The building was super cool and I enjoyed my 4 little chicken nuggets. It will be hard for me to buy mcdonalds in the U.S. because it will not even compare to the mcdonalds in Spain and Portugal.

1. (top left): cheese and meat board for our last dinner because we were so full from all the sweets

2. The amazing smoothie with strawberries and ice cream, I would 100% eat this again and again

3. Piña colada that was not bad but I mostly just munched on the pineapple

4. Best bagel sandwich I have ever had it was so good and the restaurant was super cute and all pink

5. the first dinner we had, chicken tacos that were spectacular and we sat outside at night so it was a super cool atmosphere

6. pastel de nata, SO GOOD and especially with cinnamon

Palacio de bolsa, we got an official tour with the funniest tour guide who just randomly started singing in the middle of the tour. Each room was very extravagant and it was cool to look at the history of Portugal.

We got on this boat for our boat tour! I really enjoyed walking up and down the river and looking at all the different vendors and shops.

Overall:

10/10 I loved Portugal so much and wish I would have had more time! I really only had a day and a half and even though I saw quite a bit I felt like there was so much more that I could see. I also wish I would not have been sick because it slowed me down a bit and made me more sleepy. Hopefully this week I can recover and get my body back to normal!