Since I moved to Barcelona I hadn't travelled outside of Catalunya, besides the wee trip to Finland last year. Taking an advantage of my holidays I decided to go anywhere but somewhere! Unfortunately due the short notice all the flights were too pricey. So I called a friend to join me and bought the cheapest flights I could find. Destination: Porto, the second most important city in Portugal
The city center is divided in two main parts: the old town and the newer commercial area. By the first day we discovered the old town while the weather was chilly. Grey sky shadowed the city view and made it look dull. Small streets were filled with smell of mold. You mainly met only tourists in the old town.
The second day we managed to have a beautiful sunny day and we saw the city in a different light. You could see the pretty in the ugly. We rented bikes and cycled by the coast all the way to the beach. While reaching the Pacific ocean, beaches and outdoors we started to enjoy Porto and had the best day of our trip. Matosinhos Beach was so wide with plenty of surfers and the smoothest sand I've seen. Would've loved to dib in the Pacific Ocean but we were with cold.
Portugal was a new country to me of which I had no pre-opinion. I went kinda blindfolded. The city surprised me and I found myself with controversial opinions. I assume that the past recession and Portugal's economic problems were in sight especially in the old town. Although it seems like the country is recovering from it as many buildings were under reconstruction. Portugal is said to be a trendy destination at the moment and for sure there were plenty of tourists. Tourism is important to any city in the world! Would like to revisit Porto in few years to see how much has changed within the years
I definitely recommend to visit Porto atleast once! It's a different destination and has a lot to offer with low pricing. The beach and coast line are the gems of the city. Rent a bike and go for a day trip to the beach. The city is a dream for a photographer.
That's all for now folks! Going to a trip to Finland in few days and will be writing about it next time!
See you soon
xxx -millamartta
