My adventure in Portugal, first stop Porto

View from Jardim do Morro of the River Douro

This is the first of many posts of my adventures in Portugal. I’m staying in Porto for a couple of months and will be posting on my travels in country and around Europe (if my money holds out).
I’m living in a place near the University of Porto in an area called Asprela near Porto University. 

The leaves are starting to change here and it is very nice and more quiet than in the heart of the city.

View of Porto from Vila Nova de Gaia

I’ve seen several parts of the city in my first week. This first post focuses on a walking tour I took with some people from Internations, Susana (Portuguese organizer), David (recently moved from The Nederland's) and Nick (lived here for a year from France).

Walking Tour

Started at Jardim do Morro (garden/park) in Gaia walking through the port wineries along the Douro River.

We past one of the six Porto bridges, Arrabida bridge rumored to be the highest arch bridge of concrete in the world, spanning the gorge of the Douro River between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, traveled down the marina to Alfurada village. 

Arrabida Bridge

You can smell the Portuguese sardines and salmon on the open grill. In other foody news...sardines are the delicacy of the country but so is francisinha. It is supposed to be a dessert, but frankly it looks terrible but I'm sure I will try it at some point. I didn't think I would like octopus, once I tried it, I loved it!

  We ended up in Alfurada and ran into a local band.

Hanging out laundry

Houses on the hill above Alfurada

The tour took about 5 hours and was 10 miles round trip.

In other news…

No visa at this point as it is quite complicated. I've spoken to many US citizens that have moved and you need $$$ from selling a house, a lawyer and lots of time traveling back and forth from the U.S. and Portugal.  Although this dream won't become a reality for me, I am determined to enjoy my time here and see as much of the county as I can.

Check back for more posts. I'll be doing one Baixa (downtown), São Bento, Ribeira and Foz. So follow the blog for the latest news.