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Christine and I wake pretty early, usually around 6:30 am. We have our strong espresso on the balcony and then met the girls for breakfast around 8:30 am. This morning we found a visitor using the infinity pool as a birdbath. We soon realize it is a regular occurrence.
We were scheduled to have our Harry Potter tour at 10 am but Nicola got an email around 9:15 am saying that the tour guide had a family emergency and had to cancel. We were a little bummed but decided that since we had some specific points we knew we wanted to see we would create our own tour for the day.
Our first stop was the Livraria Lello bookstore. This was the bookstore that was the inspiration for the architecture of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books. JK Rowling lived in Porto when she first started writing those books — thus the reason behind the Harry Potter tours. The bookstore was one of the stops. We discovered when we got there that it is best to purchase tickets ahead of time. We were shocked to see a huge line! Plus there were multiple lines based on the time period for your ticket. So we were able to purchase tickets online using their QR Code. Katie got the last slots for the 11 am viewing. So we moved into the 11 am line and waited.to be granted admission into the store.
The store is quite amazing; when you enter the first thing you see is the winding staircase that takes you to the second floor. Every surface has ornate and intricate carvings. This store has printed its own versions of classic books but interestingly I did not see any Harry Potter books.
The next stop was the Clergios Church & Tower. It was billed as a beautiful 360-degree view of Porto which did not disappoint. First, we went into the church [which was free to enter] as the organist was scheduled to play a few songs at noon. Then we thought we would climb to the top. But we learned that we had to get a ticket for a designated time slot so we had to wait. We bought tickets and then went and had a lovely lunch at a nearby sidewalk cafe.
We ordered a “King Board” which had cured meats, cheeses, grapes, and fruit spreads. After lunch, we went back to the church to go up to the tower. There were 240 steps up to the top but those were broken into 4 floors you walked around that provided lots of history of the church. Once on top, the views were pretty spectacular.
As we made our way down from the tower, we couldn't resist the temptation of treating ourselves to some delightful gelato. It was the perfect reward for conquering all those steps.
Then we worked our way down to the waterfront, through the winding streets to the Riberia, and the Ponte Luís I bridge.
Once by the water, we looked to find our next destination, the Porto funicular. It is located right at the base of the bridge and takes you from the Riberia to the top of the hill.
Once on top, we walked over to the Ponte Luís I bridge and took in views of the river from the top…again pretty spectacular!
Then we decided to go back to our hotel, walking through the streets with lots of cobblestones, up and down and around. Sometimes you really weren’t sure if things were streets or sidewalks. We went by a huge church that we later found out we should have gone into since the interior is entirely of gold.
Once back at the hotel we again did a pool break to cool down.
We had made dinner reservations at a highly acclaimed restaurant called Semea, located to the west of our hotel. It was quite different from the other places we had visited so far, which were all to the east of the hotel. The restaurant was just a short 15-minute walk along the river, and although it was downhill, I couldn't help but worry about the uphill walk back after our meal. But sometimes you just have to go with the flow and enjoy the experience. It was a Michelin Star restaurant so the food was amazing! All the meats were cooked outside on a wood fire that was right where all the guests could observe. The wait staff were charming and attentive.
For starters, we had a shallot pie, a codfish salad with four layers which consisted of caramelized onion on the bottom then a low temperature (soft cooked so there is a yolk) egg, codfish, crispy thinly shredded potatoes. Then the waiter slowly and gently mixed it at the table and a pesto tuna with herbs that are put raw on a hot plate and cooked from the bottom up on the hot plate.
For the main course, we had porco preto (black pork) ribs, sea bass with leeks marinated with cucumbers, and a prawn paella that was brought out in a large pan. The waiter took the heads off the prawns, moved them to the side, and stirred the rice with the hot red peppers. He delicately put rounded spoonfuls of rice onto the plates and placed the prawns on the rice to complete the placement. He was going for art!
Of course to pair with the meal we had some delicious vinho verde. This was an alvarinho grape and was delicious. After that, we had to walk back up the cobblestone hill to get back to our hotel. We had some beautiful views of the city at night from there. After all that food there was nothing else to do but go to bed!
