Every quarantine weekend, I try to post a travel blog. I miss going places on the weekend even just for the day. I miss making those memories. So this weekend I am taking you guys to Porto! I went to Porto with my family about a year ago and loved every second of it.
Only a 20 minute plane ride away from Madrid, Porto lies on the sunny western coast of Portugal. It's amazing how you can literally visit another country in a day and back now with such cheap flights. Porto's blue streets and gorgeous coastline views as well as hilly landscapes make it a popular day trip for thousands of tourists visiting Spain or other parts of Portugal. Porto is also one of Portugal's cheapest cities. You can get a whole meal for a 4 person family for about $60.
My family and I ventured to Porto for the day after going to Madrid to visit my brother. I was actually really sick with a nasty cough. My dad asked me twice if I could manage being on a plane and manage being in the city. Determined to have a good time despite coughing my brains out, I said yes. Our flight was at 4 am. So as you could imagine we were so tired and already being jet-lagged didn't help. But thats what plane rides are for right?!!
After a serious nap on the plane, I was ready to go. We spent the whole day in Porto visiting the Livraria Lello Porto- the world's oldest book store, taking in views from the Luis I Bridge, and going to the Igregia dos clerigios, we decided to kick back do the one thing Porto is known for. Wine tasting!
Porto is the world's leading manufacturer of port wine. If you're an avid wine enthusiast like me, then you know port wine is a dessert wine because of its sweet nature. If you haven't tried it, this will be the sweetest wine you will ever taste. Right across the Luis I bridge, you will find a ton of port wine manufacturers offering wine tours with a TON of wine tasting options. These tours, including the tasting, start from 10 euros which is a steal for the price. There are a lot of wineries to choose from, you can even choose to tour the world's best known port winery, Taylor's Port wine.
We chose to go Croft Winery. We first started out in the winery's cellar where we learned how the wine was fermented and made in these dark heavy barrels. We then had a glimpse of the actual fermentation process. After that brief "how to", we hurried back to the main room to cozy up with a nice glass of port wine. We had three types to sample. I wish I could tell you what they were but after the first one, I honestly don't remember! It was lots of fun though and I can't wait to go back to experience more of what Porto has to offer.