Portugal

---

The bus ride from Santiago to Porto is about 3 hours, but I enjoyed looking at the beautiful countryside. Both Spain and Portugal are known for their wine, so there were many vineyards to see along the way. There were even small vineyards in people’s backyards. I learned later that many people grow their own grapes and make wine once a year.

Essie and I met up with Joana once we arrived and Joana showed us around the city. It was really different from what I expected. I just assumed that it would be about the same size as Santiago (about 93,000 people) but it was much bigger. They already had Christmas decorations up. At first I thought it was early for that, but we are almost half way through November. There was so much open space, so even though Porto has more people than Santiago, it didn’t feel as crowded to me. I couldn’t get over how clean the Metro station was (pretty much the opposite of the NYC subways).

We ate a traditional Portuguese dish called Francesina for lunch. It was like a sandwich with all sorts of meat inside with a fried egg on top. It came with French fries and a spicy sauce. Yum!

After stopping by the supermarket (and trying to read the food labels in Portuguese) we dropped our bags off and then we went to dinner with Joana’s family. Communication was a little difficult because her family speaks Portuguese and Essie and I don’t, but Joana was a very good translator, and we had a nice time. Her family was so warm and hospitable.

The next day we walked down by the river and saw a bridge that was designed by Gustave Eiffel (he also designed some tower in France…don’t know if you’ve heard of it 😊 We also saw this watercraft (for lack of a more exact term) that is on a trip all around the world. I looked on the map where they had plotted out their route and it looks like they will be coming to Maine (maybe Bar Harbor???) So keep an eye out for that.

We said goodbye to Essie (who is going to travel for two weeks before heading home). Porto is definitely a city I would like to visit again, there’s a lot to see there. Hope y’all enjoy the pictures!

---

Photos

Train Station
This is one of Porto's train stations. Look at those tiles!

Christmas so soon?
Here are some Christmas decorations (it's nothing compared to what we saw at the mall...winter wonderland).

Beautiful
Here's the view from Joana's favorite park.

Francesina
Can't really think of an American equivalent to this, but it sure is good!

The River
This was our last day in Porto, we couldn't have asked for better weather.

Wine Boats
These boats used to be used to transport wine across the river. Now their just there for the tourists.

Earthrace
I think this vehicle has already been around the world, but is continuing it's journey and visiting new cities.

A nice visit outside
Visiting outside a cafe before catching the bus back to Santiago.

Comments

[Kelly Skehan]

hello again from Ellsworth
Hi Abby! Just wanted to say hello and let you know that I'm thinking of you. I am enjoying your blog and am glad that you are getting a chance to see some other places. Hope you are enjoying the holiday season. We are expecting a snowstorm tomorrow --maybe no school? :) Take care and keep writing and posting those pictures!! Your friend from Sign Language Class, Kelly Skehan