Rediscovering Porto

When we arrived in Porto last June, it was less an intentional destination and more of a “this is our only option” event.  In order to apply for our D7 visa, we needed a 6 month rental agreement, which meant we had to arrange a rental several months before we planned to arrive.  

Doing this sight-unseen from across the ocean seemed, at times, almost impossible.  We looked at apartment listings online and talked with several realtors in Lisbon.  Many property owners either didn’t want to rent for a short term or wanted us to start paying rent as soon as we reached an agreement – months ahead of our move-in date.  We got close to an agreement on an apartment in Cascais, but the owner changed his mind and the deal fell through.

After a lot of searching, we gave up on Lisbon and started looking at Porto.  We found an AirBnB that we could rent for 7 months at a decent price.  I think it was the only AirBnB that was available for that length of time.

So Porto wasn’t our first choice of where to live, but it turned out to be a good place to start our new life in Portugal.  Porto is hilly, but very walkable. It’s big enough to have all the amenities you want in a city, but not so big that you can’t wrap your head around it.  It’s a pretty place, with a variety of architectural styles, lots of green spaces, and great views along the Douro River and the Atlantic coast. And we found many little things about the city that surprised and delighted us.

After six months in Porto, we moved to Parede, west of Lisbon. Our plan is to live in several places around Portugal before deciding where we might settle permanently.  Porto is definitely on the list of possibilities.  When the time came for us to go back for a conference last month, we were looking forward to revisiting some of our old haunts.  In this post we’ll share some of what we saw.

Staying in the “Touristy” part of town

We stayed in an AirBnB apartment just around the corner from Praça do Infante D. Henrique (Prince Henry Square), with its prominent statue of Prince Henry the Navigator pointing out to the sea, the Bolsa Palace, and the Monument Church of St. Francis (Igreja Monumento de São Francisco). 

This area was one of the first places we visited after we moved to Porto, back when we were still figuring out the public transportation and we thought “Infante Henrique” referred to a baby. 

The AirBnB was a long block north of the Douro River and the Ribeira, the riverfront walk lined with cafes and people hawking sightseeing tours on the river.  This is an area popular with tourists and the streets were crowded with people from late morning well into the evening.

The buildings on our block were stately and well maintained.

An Evening Walk

On our first evening in Porto, we had a dinner reservation about 1 km away.  It was a nice evening, so we decided to walk to the restaurant and take the opportunity to revisit some of the places we had seen when we lived here.  Within a few steps of the door, we we reminded that in the neighborhood where we were staying, the only way out was UP! 

Continuing on, we came to a little plaza across from the Jardim da Cordoaria, a large park with lots of trees and sculpture.  Around to the right is the Clérigos Church and Tower.  And behind us was a building with the curious sign “PIXO NOT DEAD” painted in story-high letters. 

I have always been amused by this building. It’s good to know that Pixo, whoever he or she is, is still alive.

Early morning walks along the river

The conference we were attending was being held at the Super Bock Arena, a large multi-purpose venue located behind the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal – the Crystal Palace Gardens.  

The arena is surrounded by a large park, with benches, picnic tables, a small amphitheatre, and a large flock of peacocks who wander around like they own the place. I guess they probably do.

It was a 2km walk from our AirBnB to the Arena.  We looked at bus routes, but never found one that quite worked.  Besides, we figured the walk would be good for us…and it was.

The first km was easy.  It ran parallel to the river on wide stone walkways.  I found it very relaxing to make that walk early in the morning, before the crush of tourists arrived.  I enjoyed looking across the river at Vila Nova de Gaia, with all the facades of the port wine houses. 

The second half of the walk was strenuous.  I counted 127 stairs on my way up.   

But at the top of the stairs, there was a great view up the river and across to Vila Nova de Gaia.  

The Art Along the Way

On the last morning of the conference, I took a different route and enjoyed seeing another part of the city waking up.  I passed shops where merchants were setting out bins of fruits and vegetables, getting ready for the day.  In cafes, I saw tables being set and chairs arranged. 

One spot near the Parque das Virtudes captured the early morning scene perfectly.  The lights are still on from the night before, the umbrellas are still folded, and the chairs and tables sit to the side, ready to be deployed for the day’s business.

From the park, there was a great view across the rooftops of the city, looking down the river toward the Atlantic Ocean.

A few steps further, I found several large pieces of wall art, including these two by artists we had admired in the past – Rafi and Fedor.

While I find the pixo ugly and meaningless, murals like these always made me happy. The “art on the walls” brightens the cityscape and adds a touch of good humor to what could otherwise be bland, grey stone.

As I continued my walk, I found more art and slowed down to appreciate it up close.  No getting to the conference on time for me today!

One of the murals was aspirational.

Here is a transcription and my amateur translation.

Some were overtly political, like this one by the stencil artist filho bastardo. 

Then there was this ambitious series of portraits of famous rappers by @kilosgraffiti.

Here’s your pop culture quiz for today: Name all six of the artists shown below.

(Answer at the bottom of the post.)

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I did eventually make it to the conference venue on that last day. It was a very successful event where I learned a lot and met many interesting people. Getting to visit Porto again was great fun and reminded us of how much we enjoyed living there.

Maybe we’ll live there again one day.

What’s your favorite city to visit? Tell us where and why in the comments below or with a note via the Contact Us form.

Until next week / Até a próxima semana

Mike

The Writer

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Answer to the pop culture quiz

Left to right: Tupac Shakur, 50 Cent, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Ice Cube

Here’s one way to score your results:

• 6 correct: Your Spotify playlists are more interesting than mine
• 4 – 5: You Googled “images of famous rappers”, like I did, and got them mostly right
• 2 – 3: At least you’ve been paying attention
• 0 – 1: Maybe you need to go back to school

Thanks for playing!

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