So this is Portugal

Hello!
Delayed as of yet, here are some quick photos from our Portugal trip in the beginning of January. Our initial intention was to stay a few days in Porto (or Oporto depending on where you're from), then head south to Lagos, to catch some better weather. What we hadn't realized, and found out at 7 am three days into our stay in Portugal, is that Porto has two train stations.... one of which manages the local trains, and one of which routes the long distance journeys. We waiting on a very cold morning, before the sun came up, for an hour, until we realized that the tickets we had in our hands, which various people had assured us would get us on a train to Lagos, were intended to depart from the OTHER train station in the city. So we lost fifty euros, and decided to stick around the rainy north.

....And it was really rainy. Porto itself gave us a few hours each day of less or no rain, but that was about it. It's also a very windy city, and when we headed up to one of the bridges for a view, my poor umbrella surrendered its life. We were soaked. Fortunately, though, we found some excellent restaurants that served hearty warm stews and such to warm our souls. Here are some photos from the city over our first three days there:

I'll start with the food. Found this little local place, and ordered Feijoada, a meat and bean stew. This one came with a full pigs tongue, complete with hairs and jawbone still attached. What else? Oh yea, ears, stomach, and some good meet chunks were in it as well. Came with an entire jug of red wine for two euro, and endless baskets of bread. Amazing. (You have to imagine it's raining outside, and you can believe it tasted a lot better than it may sound.)



These are houses, I like them.


Angel statue in a park.



View from the convent on the hill we walked up to. I'm sorry, I don't remember the name.





This is the Sao Bento train station, Kaydin made a friend while I bought tickets for a train to Lagos that we would then miss at 6 am the next morning. The stations is famous for the tile work, the typical Portuguese azuelos tiles line the walls there. They're quite breathtaking, though the photos don't do them justice.




And of course, we had to try the local cafes and bakeries. This one was recommended to us, and I loved it. The burnt looking tart on the right is an egg tart that is typical, and which absolutely blew my mind.

Graffiti. yay!
This one's a little intense:

Church with Azuelos.


This is the view from the bridge that destroyed my umbrella. The metal bridge you see was designed by Gustave Eiffel, you might recognize the style as resembling a certain tower you may or may not have heard of. He built two bridges in the city. The area directly behind the bridge, completely enshrouded in fog in this photo is where all of the bodegas, or Port wine cellars are. We made our way over there for some tours and tastings at all the free places. It was delicious. Ironically, though, most of them are owned by British companies. wah wah.

A photo of the shanty town on the "other side of the river." It was striking to see that level of poverty right on the outskirts of town in western Europe. You can't really tell from the photo, but these houses are falling into themselves. The whole town kind of has a creaky, leaning feel to it actually.
Here's a closer look at the bridge:


So, here we are in the bodegas. We went tasting at Dalvo, which was small and local, and my favorite, and then hit up Offley, Taylor's, and some other company that had free tastings. Basically, there are three types of Ports-- Red, White, and Tawny-- whose quality and flavor depends on how they are aged, and when the Brandy is added. What distinguishes Port from "normal" wine is the sugar content, and the fact that in the fermenting process is disrupted in Port production, with the addition of Brandy. Something like that.

Bodega one,



Bodega two...


This is me after all the Port, loving life.

Back on the other side of town, is this bookstore. It's named the Livrario Lello, even the name is gorgeous. I cannot describe the level of intricate detail in the woodcarvings and stained glass that lined the walls and ceilings of this place. It was full of tourists and painfully expensive, but really amazing.





After missing our train to Lagos, we decided to spend a day in Braga. Which I wouldn't recommend to anyone. It didn't help that it poured so much that we found ourselves huddling in the streets clutching our umbrellas for dear life at one point, but in general, it wasn't the most beautiful city, especially in comparison to Porto. I also unfortunately have no photos, due to the rain. We did however, eat these AMAZING traditional cookies called Broas de Mel, Honey Ball cookies. Absolutely phenomenal! There was also a very cool (albeit mini) old castle tower in the middle of town that we walked around on.