Life Insurance & My Trip to Porto - Chicandstylish Linkup

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog.

Hope you are good. 

I'm so pleased you stopped by today! The much anticipated blog post about my trip to Porto is here!

Do you remember I mentioned both David and I had our 60th birthday’s this year and we were elated to have been given this amazing present from our 5 kids and their partners.  Yes they’d planned a wonderful long weekend to Porto in Portugal where the Port comes from and what an interesting and memorable few days we had.

The older I get the more I realise how important life is!  Life is for living each day to the full, as you never know what is round the corner.  It's often hard to get out and do the things you want to do isn't it, but I'm a firm believer in making time to do something different it will fulfill you in ways you wouldn't imagine.  Some years ago I returned to ballet lessons and after that I joined a ballroom class, and I've got lots on my agenda to try out, I'd like to try painting, riding a horse and may learn to play the piano - these might not happen but it's all about setting goals or making some kind of bucket list!  I'm becoming more and more aware of losing people in my life - my dad passed away some months ago - we had an estranged relationship but it's still hard to accept things won't be the same. That's why I'd recommend some sort of life insurance.  Life can take an unexpected turn and leave loved ones stranded, not something I'd wish on anyone, affordable life insurance is easy to get and very much worth it.  Why not see what your possibilities are, it's never too late and really easy to find out all the details like monthly costs etc and would, in my opinion, be money well spent and give you peace of mind for sure.

Now let's get back to my weekend in Porto. We flew from Stanstead early on the Saturday morning and enjoyed the 2 hour 10 min flight watching a film on David's phone and polishing off a couple of drinks and a cheese and ham toasty.  After a bit of a hiccup with our transfer (the driver didn't turn up), we jumped in a taxi and were soon on our way to our little hotel.  The transfer was only a 25 minute drive, so before we knew it we'd arrived.  Check in wasn't until 3 pm so we dropped off our suitcase and bag and went off to explore.  

We'd arrived to a welcoming hot & sunny ambience and decided to stop for a drink by the side of the River Douro.  Now the Portuguese were typical Europeans so weren't, in the nicest way, particularly quick at doing things - a bit like being in Spain when everything is manana!  Once we'd settled into this way of living we just went with the flow and gained our patience waiting for things to happen!  We had a couple of much needed drinks enjoying the views and spotting all the Port Wine Lodges which were dotted about on the other side of the river and sported huge signs.  We noted Sandemans, Cockburns, Ferreira, Kopke to name but a few.

We decided to look for somewhere to have a snack, so proceeded to head into the sprawling streets and lanes that were nearly all uphill, it's definitely what you could describe as a challenge with hills either side of the winding River with deep escarpments either side. The pavements aren’t the best either making the terrain rather uneven! I'm so pleased I took my chunky sandals as they were a godsend - in fact I didn't even bother with the heeled mules I took, I only wore the chunky lotus sandals and the flat slip on sliders along with my trainers throughout the stay. 

We ended up in a little eatery that did tapas style dishes, we picked garlic prawns, garlic bread along with Portuguese sausages (which I didn't like) and enjoyed being in the shaded area inside albeit a little hot.

Retracing our steps were returned to the hotel and were shown to our room, it was a superior room which was on the top floor and had a river view - well it was if you stood on tiptoes!  It was roomy and had an ensuit bathroom with a shower, plenty of storage space, a tv and a welcomed fan.  We showered and changed and headed out to find somewhere to eat.  One of the narrower streets had many little restaurants which had little tables nestled either side of the road - it was just wide enough to squeeze through the middle so made a mouthwatering walk as we could see what everyone was eating in great detail. We spotted a delicious looking steak and tried to get a table, alas they had people waiting and we didn’t want to hang around risking not getting a table & possibly not getting a streak! 

So we headed back and took another turn in the backstreet finding a quaint little restaurant that boasted tables outside, above in the upstairs restaurant and below in the cellar area. We were guided to a table in that area and ordered steak with chips and a salad. They had a choice of wines & I soon saw one of the first wines we both drank many years ago … Mateus Rosé is a medium sweet rose that’s slightly fizzy, it’s absolutely delicious and I very much recommend a bottle or two! Needless to say that’s just what we had followed by a glass of Port back at the hotel as a nightcap!

The next morning there was no rush for breakfast as it wasn’t included which I believe is a good idea. When we’ve stayed on a B&B basis it’s sometimes annoying to have to get up for breakfast so this was perfect. We left the premises and went off for a wander catching the little ferry which cost €3 euros each and took us across to the other side. It was earlyish morning so we stopped in a little cafe for coffee, a croissant and a toasty. It was cooler on this side and we watched people go about their business before heading to the waters edge and to take a few photos. The views are stunning especially of the Dom Luis Bridge that was designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel, who built the well known Eiffel Tower. 

We then took a trip around the Sandeman lodge reading all about how the company was established and where Port was shipped to, it’s incredible to read all about how Port became household name and how the advertising evolved! Do you remember the caped man known as 

‘The Don’?

When you’re faced with the option of having a port cocktail in Portugal what are you going to do? Obviously we had to have one each didn’t we!

 

Once we’d had a look around the area at the beginning of the enormous bridge we headed back down to ride the cable car, the surrounding views were stunning and also reminded me of our skiing holidays, although the area were very different than the snowy setting we’re used to!  

It took us to the highest point by the beginning of the top  the bridge - we stopped for a drink before heading up to the viewing point on top of the hill, it really was a cracking view. 

We made our way down and finally crossed the famous bridge. It’s remarkable that on the top pedestrians can walk right next to the train that crosses over, it baffled me that they are so close without any barriers or fences. Numerous steps followed in order to get back down to the riverside and I can honestly say I was exhausted and very much needed a drink to quench my thirst! 

That evening after freshening up we headed back out to see if we could get into ‘the steak’ restaurant, alas that was full again and we heard the waitress saying you needed to book! Guess where we ended up? Yep back it the same venue we’d frequented the night before. The waiter was so friendly and was thrilled we’d returned! He shook our hands and quickly showed us to a table where we ordered the same meal as the previous night, complete with the same wine! Heading back through the streets we again stopped for another glass of port at our hotel which went down rather well. 

Monday morning arrived and we’d decided to take a ride out on the open top bus! 

It was an interesting journey that took us round all the sights and we eventually got off to have a wander around one of the many churches that are dotted around Porto. The ornate Igreja do Carmo church was stunning & full of gilded statues and frames, stunning paintings and museum memorabilia. They really do have some amazing sights in Portugal. Upon leaving we navigated the various roads - some that were narrow others rather wider with a multitude to shops. We found our way into a shop selling Port which was filled top to bottom with bottles of the local nectar. We came upon a shop that sold the well known Pastel De Nata and just had to buy a couple along with a yummy chocolate ice cream that was in the most delicious waffle cone - I’d be happy with just that to be fair. 

We must have made an impression on the waiter from the previous two nights as when we left he gingerly explained without trying to be too presumptuous that the restaurant was closed the next night (Monday). So after showering and getting changed we made our way to the other side of the river to have a drink and watch the sunset. We noticed earlier in the afternoon that the sky was quite smoky with specs of ash dotting our clothes, the local bar owner we’d stopped at told us it was the wildfires that were South of Porto and that it was quite a problem for the locals! I’ve never experienced anything like this and although we weren’t in any danger I felt worried for them all! 

Once the sun had set the area took on a whole new vibe, the sultry music that the DJ had been playing changed to an upbeat clubby vibe so it was a shame to leave, but we needed to eat and set about finding a restaurant. 

Soon we found an Italian and was directed to a seat on the second floor on the balcony, we had amazing views of the River along with a little stage that had a few singers on entertaining the crowds. We ordered a wonderful meal along with … yes you guessed it a bottle of Mateus Rosé of course!

Our final day gave us the opportunity of strolling the backstreets and visiting one of the churches situated opposite our hotel. Another stunning venue covered in elaborate and decorative designs and was truly a majestic place to visit. 

After we’d looked around the church and museum of Sao Francisco we attempted the narrow roads behind it and found a quaint little restaurant offering the traditional dish Francesinha which is a sandwich filled with ham, chorizo, sausage and beef steak covered with cheese and topped off with a tomato and beer sauce which is baked and served hot with fries. We washed it down with a couple of bottles of Super Bock beer, which is typically drunk in Portugal! No sooner had we finished it was time to pay the bill and return to our hotel to recover our bags and wait for the transfer - he arrived on time and we were swiftly transported to the airport to catch our flight home.  This all went really well and without any hitches, we had plenty of time to bag a couple of goodies in duty free (two big bottles of Mateus and a bottle of port) we headed to the bar for a last glass of the sweet rose fizz, a bottle of Super bock and my last Pastel de Nata.  Until I return again Porto, you were good fun! ❤

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Time to party? It's Linkup time as I know you're all Chicandstylish. 

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Catch you again on Monday.

Bye for now. X