Walk, drink, walk, eat, walk, drink some more

Last night I couldn't get the idea of bed bugs out of my head so I felt itchy all night.

Obviously this place doesn't have any… at least I certainly hope it doesn't… but just thinking about it made me scratch all night.

Today we did a walking tour, then a wine tour. The walking tour was beautiful, I learned a lot of stuff I didn't retain. Like about Kings and boats and special holidays, about convents turned train stations, and cafes that cost too much. Apparently JK Rowling wrote portions of Harry Potter in one of them.

One fun fact, when they were decidedly getting rid of certain convents and monasteries, they had no issue throwing the Monks to the streets, but for the Nuns, they restricted no more entry, and waited for the last ones to leave or die off. The last Nun in this one particular convent lived there BY HERSELF for 17 years. It took so long that it got to the point where people in the city were praying for her to die.

Talk about savage.

Porto is really beautiful, but it's also quite the hike. So if you plan on coming, make sure you're ready to trek. It's elevation is not forgiving.

It is worth it though, especially going to the other side of the canal to the city of Gaia, where the Port is aged and you have a picturesque view of Porto. There really isn't that much water between the two, but it is a clear dividing line, and one is taxed a lot more than the other. Something about a Bishop, or a King.. I don't know, I wasn't really listening.

One thing though, is Porto feels very safe. I haven't seen a sketchy individual once. I also haven't seen any police men. It's so weird.

Today I had this ridiculous meal called a Francesinha. Actually, I only had half of one but it was basically over 1000 calories. Not that I'm counting, but this thing was insane. Bread, cheese, different kinds of meat, egg. It was a heart attack in a meal basically. I don't honestly know if I would recommend it. It was kind of like the Portuguese Poutine.

The wine tour was nice. We drank 7 different types of Port. Learned how to smell it, taste it, swish it like pros. The best was the "Ruby" with dark chocolate. Mmm.

If you come to Porto, you have got to do a wine tour. You GOTTA.

Tomorrow we leave Porto for a smaller town more North called Apulia. My wonderful friend Diane from home has set me up with her Grandparents for a few nights before I move on to Madrid. I can't wait to experience a small town Portuguese homely experience. What a perfect way to seal off this part of the trip.

Today was really beautiful. And I walked over 14k steps!!

Finished the night with a in-hostel dinner of bread with oil and vinegar, olives, cheese, and some cured meats. Being vegetarian, even my version of "flexitarian" hasn't really been a thing here. I'll try harder next country… hopefully.

AML

Here's a bunny...