Porto: A Two-faced City

There are so many words I could use to describe last weekend, spent in Portugal’s second city, Porto. Breathtaking. Idyllic. Also: Inundated. Unimpressed. Porto presented two sides to me this weekend. Its Jekyll: A Utopian town of red roofs stacked in tiers on the steep hillsides above the peaceful Douro River, where its residents sip Port wine and eat Francesinhas on the shores while enjoying the cool autumn breeze brought in from the Atlantic 5 kilometers away. Its Hyde: Pouring rain that drenches everything in sight, creating rushing rivers on those same hills, and swamping everyone’s shoes and clothes in the process, while forcing everyone inside to tourist traps that aren’t worth it. I must admit there was more of the former rather than the later. But, its hard for me not to define the trip based on the torrential downpour we experienced. But, I mustn’t. I digress. This post will be a little longer, as so much happened in these three days. I will paint a picture of this intriguing two-faced city…

Rollin’ on the River

At its best, Porto is a riverside paradise, bringing to mind the rivieras of other countries. Every vista is breathtaking. From Ponte Luis I, one enjoys a sweeping view of both Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, the city on the southern banks of the Douro. As one contends with the plethora of tourists also attempting to enjoy the views, a small Ferris wheel, bedazzled with bright colored lights, revolves at a similar pace to the plodding Douro. Boats with triangular shaped bows and sails cut smoothly through the water carrying the typical load, barrels of wine. The red roofs of both cities appear in tiers on the steep cliffs of the Douro, differently painted exteriors giving each its own sense of individuality. And these are people’s homes! The city itself is nothing to sniff at. The narrow streets are filled with vibrant buildings. Strings of ivy tickle every wall, and murals beautify any blank space that might have existed. One can almost feel claustrophobic walking through the streets of Porto, as there is so much to look at in so little space. Beautiful 500 year old buildings are everywhere, with the 50 cathedrals and churches special points of interest. The tallest point of the city is Igreja dos Clérigos, at the top of a steep hill lined with both bakeries and designer stores. Scaling its tower requires climbing a spiral staircase all the way up its 76 meter height. But, one is rewarded with the best view of the city at the top (when the weather is good, which was not the case on this trip). Quite simply, this city is too beautiful for its own good. Porto felt much more “European” (whatever that means) than Lisbon ever will. Maybe its the true mix of old and new. Most of Lisbon’s buildings are less than 300 years old due to the massive earthquake in the 18th century, while Porto still has buildings dating to the 13th century. Nevertheless, I was duly impressed by Porto. If only everything had been so sunny…

Enthusiasm Dampened

Saturday was going to be an amazing day. Key word: was. Yes, it was supposed to rain, but we were going to get a walking tour of the city; a chance to view every part of the city, and also learn its history. I think every one of us assumed that the rain would just be a drizzle, or at worst light showers, nothing a good rain jacket and a cheap umbrella couldn’t handle. Well, that was the farthest thing from the truth. 1.7 inches. That’s how much rain fell in approximately a 5 hour period. 1.7 inches. I’m just going to let that sink in, just as the rain soaked every part of my being during the walking tour. As I enjoyed a delicious breakfast at our hotel, it was only lightly raining. So, I was optimistic. But, as we stepped outside to meet our guide, it started to rain harder. A quick stop at a store allowed me to a procure a 3 euro umbrella to protect myself further. But, honestly, the umbrella didn’t help in the slightest. It POURED. As we tromped through the city, the rain became a part of us. The hilly nature of the city did little to help, as thunderous streams of water cascaded down every hill with the Douro as their final destination. But even then, we hadn’t experienced the worst of it. As we struggled through the tour, in which I couldn’t hear a word the guide was saying, we eventually made it to Sé de Porto, the largest cathedral in Porto, a beautiful stone building covered in ivy, normally having stunning views from the plaza in front of it. Nope, not today. It was raining so hard, it sounded like bullets on our umbrellas. We had to take cover as rain thundered down and swiftly made my shoes a pair of 10 1/2 sized lakes and my pants a reservoir that could help California during their yearly droughts. It wasn’t fun. Making matters worse? The tourists. So many of them, crowding everywhere, and resulting in impromptu umbrella mosh pits. Let’s just say by the time I returned to the hotel, I was done with the weather. Porto decided it had nothing to Hyde today, and showed us its gloomier (and extremely damper) side.

Harry Potter and the Tourist Trap

If you are a Harry Potter nerd, you probably know that JK Rowling, the author, used to teach English in Porto. (If you aren’t, well now you know) Thus, it seemed to me everywhere she may have went immediately became a tourist trap in this city. Heck, the city itself claims that the Porto architecture inspired her construction of the world that would be read by billions. And I see it, slightly. The narrow streets full of stone buildings brought to mind Diagon Alley. I can get the city wanting to advertise that. What I did not appreciate was how the city has capitalized on pointless things to make millions. The main place guilty in this scheme is Livaria Lello, a bookstore that JK Rowling used to frequent quite regularly during her time in Porto. The result of that? A 20 minute wait to get in, and a 5 euro admission fee. Yes, that 5 euros is applicable to a discount on a book, but all the books are grossly overpriced in the first place, if you can even get to one. Especially on this rainy weekend, there was not room to breathe in this tiny bookstore. Everyone jostled to attempt to capture the photogenic staircase in the middle of the store. I don’t think it was possible for any of those photos to be photo-bomb free without extreme editing. Anyway, to me, the whole concept of this place was ridiculous as it is. As I have already told several people, it would be like a Kentucky farmer saying, “Look y’all here! Colonel Sanders used to walk by this field full of them chickens! It definitely inspired him to open KFC! Now pay 5 dollars ’cause you saw it!” No person alive is famous enough to warrant such gross capitalism. But, that is the root of the problem. Capitalism. People will come, wait in line in the rain, and not even be happy in the end. But they’ll do it. As long as people do it, the store can profit. Thus, this pointless, almost false, advertising continues on. So, if you are in Porto, do not go to the Livaria Lello unless there is not a soul in the store. It’s not worth it otherwise.

A Culinary Delight

To finish on a more positive note, there is both a food and drink that define Porto. I had a chance to try both of them for the first time, and enjoyed both immensely. On Friday night, we had an API dinner at Brasão. Our menu was predetermined. We would all be having variations of the Francesinha, Porto’s food specialty. What is it exactly? One of the most flavor-filled sandwiches you could possibly have. The concept? A sandwich with 4 different meats, usually ham, sausage, linguiça, and steak. It is also covered in a heavenly amount of cheese, and a beer sauce that was one of the best “condiments” I have ever had. Oh, and a fried egg is the cherry on top. It is served with fries, with the purpose of those to sop up extra beer sauce. Although the picture above may not look the prettiest, it was an amazing culinary journey. I may never have it again, but I savored every moment while eating it. But, the Francesinha isn’t all Porto is known for. If you remove the second “o” from Porto, you are left with Port. As in Port wine. This wine is made with grapes found exclusively in the Douro river valley. We toured Cálem wine cellar, and learned the history of the wine, and how it is made. We were then able to enjoy a white wine, as well as a tawny wine. Port wine is very sweet and strong, with most containing 19-22% alcohol as well as around 100 milligrams of sugar per liter (about 10%). We enjoyed the white first, as it is considered an “appetizer.” It was delicious. But, I think I enjoyed the tawny (a red wine), more. Tawny is supposed to be a dessert wine. I am no wine expert, so I will not attempt to explain the taste, but something about it was inherently better than the white. All in all, my culinary experiences in Porto were sublime. Now, I just have to have a glass of the white Port before eating a Francesinha, and a glass of the tawny afterwards. Porto may have had its downs, but the gastronomy was not one of them.

 

Well, that’s the end. Porto was a journey, one I hope you enjoyed while reading this post. Thanks to everyone who still bothers to read this! I’ve had a good time writing this. Next up? Not sure. Next week marks the halfway point of my time here, so there will be a post to look back on everything I have learned or experienced here along with a blog listing my favorite moments. I also travel to Spain in 2 weeks. (!!!) I’m beyond excited for that (it is also my first time leaving Portugal since getting here). So, yeah. Stay tuned for that. Until next time,

Jeremy Caldeira