Porto, Portugal

I'm so glad I came here...

For many different reasons...but the biggest one being that so far visiting this city in Portugal was different than any other city I have visited in Europe this far.

And I like that.

Variety's the spice of life, ya know?

And also because it was planned on such a whim.

And I like whims. 

And even though I love a good itinerary, I'm also a girl that likes to fly by the seat of her own pants sometimes.

One day in class a of couple weeks ago, during a break in lecture, the topic of Portugal got brought up. A couple of people had already been there and were talking about their great experiences, and a couple more were talking about how they had always wanted to go there.

The wheels in my head started turning...

Portugal, eh?

The thought of visiting Portugal while I studied abroad this semester had never really crossed my mind until that moment. 

And all of a sudden it was all I could think about. 

I had to get there. 

I don't know what it was, I just totally felt this extremely strong pull to go. So obviously I couldn't not look into it.

So I immediately turn to my computer and scramble to look up cheap flights to Portugal. Within seconds I'm brought to this airline that could get me from Paris to Porto for 45 Euro Round-Trip.

You heard me right...45 Euro. 

The only catch was that there were only 2 tickets left on that flight.

So I look at Samantha, and go "you wanna go to Portugal in a few weekends?"

And she said "Sure!" 

And there ya have it. We had booked our flight before our professor had even finished his 20 minute coffee break. 

Going into that class I never would have guessed I would have come out of it with a ticket to Portugal...

Yet there I was...

Anywho, like I mentioned, I went with one other girl, Samantha, who is also in my program in Dijon and also goes to UNH. It was so great just to get away for the weekend, just us two. Traveling with only 1 or 2 people really simplifies things so much and it's a lot of fun. Also, when you have 2 people instead of one, your options open up a little more because you have a buddy -- a partner in crime, if you will -- and it just takes a lot of pressure off your shoulders opposed to if you were only traveling alone. 

The closest place that I have ever been too that was similar to Porto was when I went to St. John/St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands in February 2010. The landscape was so mountainous and lush with vegetation, it was awesome, and such a great change of pace than what I've been seeing for the past 3 months. Take a look!

The majority of these pictures I took while Samantha and I were crossing one of the bridges that crosses the river that runs through the city of Porto. 

There's just something about being really high up in the air that absolutely thrills me and terrifies me all at the same time.

Probably one of the reasons I love roller coasters so much...

I was shocked to see how poverty stricken some areas of the city were. I knew Portugal's economy was one of the one's struggling the most under the Euro, but seeing the physical effects of that was definitely not something I was expecting to see...or at least not see often as I did.

Samantha and I had a great first day in Porto just walking around and enjoying the sights. As you can see from these photos, it was a bit overcast most of the day, which was a bit disappointing, but we were both just so excited to explore a new place we really didn't notice all that much.

We stopped into this one restaurant after the owner spotted us looking at his menu on the outside terrace and he quickly won us over with a great sale's pitch on why we should eat at his restaurant:

"We have great food, and the inside is really nice."

SOLD. To the two starving girls in the front. 

I'm not even kidding. 

That's all he said to us and Samantha and I looked at each other, shrugged, and said, "Ok!" and he led us in.

Luckily this place ended up being really good and we were seated at a great table with a nice view of the water

And I was SO excited because they were serving Butter Soup as the Soup of the Day that day!!!!!

Only kidding.

Except not really because that actually is a lake of butter that is surrounding the Prawns and Shrimp that I ordered.

Who knew that "over a bed of vegetables" actually meant "over a buttery grave of vegetables"...

Anywho, it was pretty damn good and totally hit the spot.

And only clogged a few of my arteries on it's way down...

After lunch Samantha and I were both in need of a walk, so we decided to keep exploring.

I was loving all the red roofs.

By the way, can someone tell me why the plural of roof isn't rooves? 

And we had to try some Port wine!

It was no Burgundy wine, I'll tell ya that much...but the Tawny is a classic and definitely worth trying. 

These flowers were just about everywhere and were SO pretty. 

Samantha and I just continued our little walking tour of the city until it got dark, and then we decided we might as well treat ourselves from our hard days work to a drink our two, and see what Porto's nightlife was all about.

For scientific purposes only of course. 

The next morning we woke up to a brilliant blue sky and warm sunshine and did one of my favorite things to do in a new city:

A guided bus tour.

I know.

It's so touristy.

But I just love them!

It's my one and only vice, okay?! Throw me a bone here...

Anyway, we picked the perfect day to do it because the weather was seriously sublime.

And we got to see a lot of the city in a couple of hours!

And the ocean. Oh the ocean.

How I've missed you so much...

You don't wanna keep this girl land-locked for too long...I go a little stir crazy....

And if Palm Trees don't make you smile then you're doing something wrong. 

Hey look! It's me! In front of a boat!

This trip was so cool, and one I'll always remember. It was so serendipitous, and easy, and beautiful. The colors were so vibrant, and the sun just felt so great on my skin. And the sight of the Atlantic Ocean just does wonders for the soul I tell ya. Samantha and I also met some great people while we were there too, and there's just something about good conversations with good people that makes trips like these all worth while.

That, and delicious seafood slathered in butter.