Livin' La Vida Luxem: Oh, Porto.

Our lovely view this morning...

As I write this morning the snow is falling erratically in big-fat wet flakes. This snow will surely turn to sleet as temperatures warm above freezing today. The forecast is for 'heavy snow' after dark. Even though the sun officially sets at 5:24pm today, darkness will most likely fall long before that. Please don't think that these little meteorological tidbits will, in any way, color my opinion of our latest city hop to Porto, Portugal. It won't because the colors of Porto speak for themselves…three days of sunshine, however, do a lot to warm ones chilly demeanor.

...versus our lovely view last Saturday.

Jeni and I spent three glorious days wandering the banks along the mouth of the Douro river, and the weather couldn't have been better for a January sojourn. We actually had to stifle a chuckle when the girl at a souvenir shop lamented the fact that it had just rained, "three days ago!" In reality, January is probably the worst month to visit Porto if you're interested in tasting the famous fortified wines of the Douro region (and who wouldn't be?!?). As one sommelier told us, "January is complicated" due to the fact that the wines are transferred from the barrels to the bottle at this time of year. That said, we were more that satisfied with our 'limited' tastings, and we were even lucky enough to have a taste of an extraordinary 40 year old Tawny Port. Well…it was either our dumb luck or the fact that we were the only two people in the tasting room that day (indeed the bottle had already been uncorked). Regardless of how it came to be, we were fortunate enough to have a tipple of something someone created back in 1974! It was so smooth and almost warm to the touch with flavors of cinnamon, caramel and burnished oak that lingered longer than the charge from that gently aged liquor. Good stuff, but I could never justify the price.

Porto is not only about the booze. The port city is an elaborate tapestry of cobbled roads and of buildings stacked one on top on another as they scale the cliffs. Situated on pre-Roman ruins the architecture of Porto ranges from Medieval Cathedrals to Baroque churches along with a plentiful smattering of Art Nouveau influences and even a few contemporary pieces. On a macro scale these are all strewn across the hillside in a mosaic of colors and textures while each individual edifice has a unique tile façade that can be kaleidoscopic when looked at in detail.

By far the most iconic structure is Monsieur Eiffel's Luis I Bridge.

According to Wikipedia there are 1.8 million people residing in the metro region, and I think it's safe to say there are approximately 2.5 churches per person in Porto. Each one distinct and more beautiful than the next. If you don't believe me, here's just a small cross section.

Aside from the fine wine, the amazing architecture and the warm and friendly people, Porto is also a great place to eat! If you are a seafood fan, the city is a paradise, and for us vegetarians, their phenomenal food culture blessed us with not one, but two fantastic meals at Vegetarian restaurants! Everywhere we went the food was excellent, and we are just now weening ourselves off of our addiction to Pastéis de Natas. One would think that a port city just 3 miles from the Atlantic ocean might be a bit of a one trick pony, but the variety of restaurants, cozy bars and cafés perfectly compliments Porto's patchwork of towers, churches and residences.

Essencia - Fine vegetarian dining.

Portuguese+Tapas+Vegetarian = Pop 101 > Yum

After scrambling up and down the hillsides for a couple of days, Jeni and I decided to rent bikes and cruise out to the coast. There is a funicular to help and of course the Gaia Cable Cars, but that's not how we roll…at least not on the first day. After scaling the Barredo stairs, we turned the corner only to find…

…yes more stairs.

It was a lot of fun wandering these tiny back alleys, but the beaches beckoned. And, who are we not to heed their call? A short ride away over thundering cobblestones and dodgy seawalls and there we were once again facing the Atlantic Ocean…only this time looking west toward America.

On the way back we hopped a ferry to ride the south banks of the Duoro, and catch a sunset that pretty much sums up the beauty of Portugal's second city. If you can't tell by my gushing, we absolutely fell in love with Porto. I am certain we'll be back to drink up more of her culture and bask again in her colors.