Oporto is truly one of the few destinations I have been to that has not been ruined by tourism. The streets are clean and the locals are friendly and the spirit is light, everyone is up for a chat and willing to help where help is needed, to me this felt foreign. I think I have been ruined by my upbringing in a society where price could be put on the air you breath and the carbon you exhale, where a helping hand is no longer a favour but a service that is paid for and driven by an ulterior motive.
On our first night in Porto I was a little frightened, only because I wasn't use to having people wondering and lounging on path ways of the ambient lit streets. In the shadows of the dimly lit church silently stood students from an all girls college dressed up in what appears to be Quidditch uniform from Harry Potter’s Hogwarts School of Magic and holding paddles… unusual and frightening to the foreigner... I was quite intrigued but I thought I would be best to not ask and move along.
Porto’s city centre is filled with grand architecture stemming from the medieval ages, Roman and Renaissance era and so forth… It is breathtakingly beautiful especially when you are standing atop the Dom Luís Bridge at sunset and seeing the cascade of rays over the terracotta roofs of the town – Also a great place to make friends, who ever said the French were an angry bunch didn’t meet the same people I did. The city is tiled with murals and decorative porcelain tiles ranging from cobalt blue ink paintings on tiles that decorate the churches and monasteries of the town to Goyard like prints that cover the residential buildings
If the key to your heart is food and wine then be prepared to surrender your heart. There are two things Oporto is famous for and that is port wine and the francesinha!
Francesinha, otherwise interpreted as little Frenchie or Frenchie. She is meaty (steak, ham, sausage similiar to chipolata, chorizo, eggs), saucy (tomato, beer, port, bacon and peri-peri) and will make you melt like cheese under the grill (loads of cheese). Served with a side of fries, for those who have had or will have the pleasure of meeting her you would either love her or hate her. Personally for me I couldn’t get enough of her, over my 2 nights stay in Oporto we were to meet again 4 times!
I will try not let my obsession with Francesinha overshadow the amazing port wine that comes from this region! I am no wine connoisseur but the subtle, sweet, fruity and full bodied taste of the local port could be enjoyed at room temperature, chilled or my favorite over a fresh slice of pineapple!
All in all there isn’t enough that I can say about Porto that will do it justice, if you don’t believe me you will just have to go see it yourself.
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