Oporto

Porto
Porto is a quaint little city carved into a hill above the Douro River. Maybe its the age of the city or just a lack of an engineer, but The streets are a cobbled maze of twists and turns. At times I felt like I was in Groundhog Day and was perpetually lost. Most people spoke enough English to get by, except the cab drivers. While cheap to take, there was a lot of sign language and long routes. 

I spent a lot of time on the message boards of the company owned site, Chowhound.com in search of both trendy and traditional restaurants. The 2 nice dinners I treated myself to were truly fabulous. I had tasting menus at both and was blown away by the culinary expertise. Hope I still get into heaven after eating baby goat...

My observations so far:

*There are a lot more old people here. 
*Portuguese STARE at anything and everything. They are curious kindred spirits. 
*Everyone wears pantyhose. Mo matter the outfit. 
*The 80's are in. Neon sneakers, whitewashed denim and fanny packs abound. 
*Everything is smaller. From my hotel room (just a tad larger than my wing span) to beer (a mini bottle? Come again?) No percebo Portuguese. 

Portugal On My Mind

Makin it rain

Stay tuned for the next post from Portugal!