A weekend in Porto

When Mr E asked if I fancied going to Porto for the weekend to watch football, I jumped at it. Ummmm hell yea!!! We had never been to Portugal and it was such a spontaneous trip so there were new territories we’d never experienced and I, the no 1 organiser in the world was quite surprised at the spontaneity of it all.

Day 1 – We flew into Porto’s Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport from London Gatwick and arrived at about 2pm; took a taxi to the hotel and checked in. We walked to Baixa (the city centre) and soon realised that Portugal’s 2^nd largest city; Porto has an unforgettable medieval feel to it. Porto is very pretty. It is highly underrated and really really cheap! We walked by so many beautifully painted murals and were met by Mr E’s portuguese colleague who had the tickets to the biggest derby the town was about to see.

Porto vs Benfica

I’ve been to a number of football games in England but nothing prepared me for the madness that was about to happen at the home of Porto FC, Estádio Do Dragão. We got to the stadium early and went into the nearby Alameda Shopping Centre to get some food. It is so huge and the architecture is simply stunning. 30 minutes later and well fed, we found our way into the stadium and to our seats.

Estádio Do Dragão is intimidating. It is big and not like any of the stadiums in England. The chants were loud. The atmosphere vibrated. The red and blue flares were constantly burning. The game was LIT!!! From being in the presence of the ultras to the excitement of fans all around us screaming for all of the 90 minutes of the game, it was an epic night!

Day 2 – Sightseeing day! We woke up really early, had breakfast and headed out to see the sights. We walked to the Dom Luis I Bridge, which sits on the Douro River. Honestly, the view from up there is one of the most spectacular, breath taking views I’ve witnessed. I just felt blown away! You get mesmerised by the quiet and multi-coloured rooftops of houses from ages ago. We found a little spot to sit and spent over 45mins in silence on the bridge just taking it all in.

From there, we walked down to the other side and stumbled upon the Palacio da Bolsa, which used to be the stock exchange.

Then we continued wandering and got lost in the little streets. We just held hands and walked and chatted and when we got tired, we would sit and reminisce. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were too tired to go out to eat so we went to the hotel’s rooftop panoramic restaurant for dinner. The nighttime view of Porto’s skyline from the 17^th floor was stunning!

Day 3 – We had a major lay-in after breakfast. I guess all the walking around from the day before really drained us. As we had a few hours to burn before our flight, we decided to go to the North side of the Douro river for our favourite past time – People-Watching lol!

We walked past the Clérigos Tower and watched some street performers – dancers, singers, magicians and artists. We eventually settled on the terrace of Café de Cais, ordered the delicious seafood platter and had some drinks too.