Since June last year, this trip lived only in our group’s imagination and conversations. It has now become a reality. Riel and I, together with our friends Mon and Jojie, tagged along Fred and Yvelle’s annual winter escape, trading the harsh Montreal freeze for the milder winter of Portugal and Spain.
During our layover in Toronto en route to Lisbon, my phone buzzed with several updates from Raf. He shared that he got a special project from University de Montreal that paid him $$$ for a 24-hour coding marathon, which he finished in just six! Another bit of positive news was he helped Marco land a job in the same institution. Proud mom here
However, the mom in me was tested when I learned that he hit a pothole and busted a tire! He actually kept that part from me during our call, bypassing me and choosing to tell his dad instead, and ask for advice. I admit I felt a sting of betrayal at that point, but listening to why he did it was very sweet. He explained that he didn’t want me to worry or have my trip spoiled before it even began. I have to admire his maturity in handling it all, although he did celebrate our departure by immediately ordering a new bed and a stand-up desk! That’s my sneaky Raf. Annoyed mom here
One of my discoveries during the layover though was a “read and return” program in all Relay stores, a chain of convenience stores in major international airports specializing in books, magazines, snacks and travel essentials. The Read and Return program allows travellers to buy a book at their departing location and return it to any Relay Canadian branch upon arrival and receive 50% of the purchase price back. I picked one, but with our hectic schedule, I didn’t get to finish the book. Still, getting half of my money back on our return was a small win.
Group selfie at the bus terminal to Porto. Notice our luggage? No checked-in baggage, just all carry-ons and personal bags. I don’t know how I agreed and managed to do this on a 12-day trip, packing winter clothes, extra coat, Chelsea boots, knits on limited luggage space.
First activity in Porto… dinner at Time Out! Time Out Market is a curated upscale food hall concept that brings top local chefs and restauranteurs under one roof. It often features more than fifteen eateries and bars, aiming to democratize fine dining in casual, communal setting. We have one here in Montreal, which we visited last June, and that was when this travel idea was born.
Back in our hotel, we had a video call with the boys.
Raf shared about his 24-hr coding project and Marco about the job offer from the University. Gabby happy with the desk which used to be in Raf’s room.
Porto is the second largest city of Portugal. It’s a historic, hilly, coastal city famous for its namesake Port Wine. The city is a blend of old-world charm. We enjoyed our short three-day stay here. We did two walking tours, a wine cellar tour, watched an authentic Fado music show, and visited the world’s most beautiful bookstore, the Livraria Lello, which was said to have influenced Harry Potter’s Hogwart design (though Ms. Rowling denied the direct inspiration)
Some photos from the walking tour.
Wooden boats called rabelos along the Gaia pier, with Dom Luis I bridge in the backdrop. In the olden times, these rabelo boats were used to transport grapes down from Douro vineyards to Gaia. Today, the boats are there to preserve the historical, cultural, and aesthetic heritage of the Port wine trade, serving as a living museum of the Douro’s history rather than active cargo transporters.
Colourful shops line the street. Sardines, anyone? We were told sardines at this time of the year weren’t the best, so we were actually being served frozen sardines that were thawed.
At night, we had the Wine Cellar Tour with wine tasting and Fado show after.
Live Fado show during the tasting. Fado is an intimate, soulful performance of traditional Portuguese music characterized by mournful, passionate ballads about losing, love, and fate. The lyrics were in Portuguese so we couldn’t understand any word, but felt what it is all about because of the emotion and the melody.
Squid and Shrimp Bean Stew with Rice on the side
On our last day in Porto, we visited the World’s Most Beautiful Bookstore, the Livraria Lello.
Livraria Lello attracts up to 4,000 visitors per day, creating long queues and requiring strict, timed-entry ticketing to manage high volume. We got the 9:30am pass and lines were starting to form.
The price of our tickets acted as vouchers deducted from any book purchase at the store. One voucher for each book.
We still had time to roam the city before our late check-out of 1:00pm.
Waiting inside the store for their famous Cachorrinho, a bite-sized spicy hotdog sandwich which features thin, crunchy bread filled with fresh sausage, melted cheese and piri-piri butter sauce. The store was visited by the late Anthony Bourdain.
