A Chance Encounter with... the most beautiful sunset

Jun 1, 2018

4 min read

To end the semester, Katie and I took off on an adventure across Europe. Our first stop was to Porto, Portugal. After waking up at 3 to catch our 6 am flight, we were at last in the city of azulejos after a short flight delay in Lisbon.

We were greeted with rain showers, but that didn’t stop us from getting out and about in the city!

Our first stops were to several cathedrals around the city. Igreja de Carmo is a cathedral marked with a side wall of gorgeous azulejos. This was our first spotting of the azulejos that Porto is known for. They make the charming city so picturesque. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I was traveling around with just a backpack, I am confident I would have filled up a suitcase with tiles to bring home.

From there, we traipsed through the streets and made our way to Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Vitoria. We were able to join in their prayer service which was so interesting to see in Portuguese, but what was truly extraordinary was the view of the city from behind. After seeing the city from that angle, we found ourselves winding through the streets to get to the coast.

Porto is a colorful city from the tiles to the orange roofs and everywhere in between. After a late night and early morning, we sat on the bank taking it in before heading back to call it an early night.

The next morning, we ate pastries for breakfast followed shortly thereafter by gelato… because why not?

We passed more beautiful buildings decorated in the traditional azulejos as we headed back to the river bank. Sitting down to take in the views once again, Katie and I always love our times to be still and know. Taking in the opportunities we have and the beauty of what is around us is such a surreal feeling. Now, a month later, I still pinch myself at the sights I was able to see and experience for those four months.

Wandering through yet another market as we made our way to the Dom Luis Bridge. This bridge may seem familiar as it was designed by Louis Eiffel who abandoned its construction to work on a more well known tower in Paris.

We walked across to the other side of the city which is home to many caves where various types of port wine are made. Aside from their azulejos, these Port wine caves are what the city is known for. We were able to tour one. The city’s conditions are perfect for the making of this particular kind of wine. I’m no expert, but they walked us through the fascinating process behind it. If I’m being honest, my favorite part is that all the tour guides wore capes and sombreros. It made the tour through the dark caves all the more intriguing.

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After our tour, we trekked to the higher up portion of the city. Since the Dom Luis bridge is a two story bridge, we wanted to walk on both levels. The walk was rather steep, but the views were well worth it. Once we reached the top, we found a festival of sorts was happening in the park. Smells of popcorn and cotton candy were wafting around in the open air, fun music was blasting through speakers, and crowds of people were all around. We wandered through the crowds before walking across the top part of the bridge and back. The weather was gorgeous, and it was wonderful to soak in the sun during our walks through the city.

After our walk across the bridge, we went back towards the city center, saw a choir singing in the streets, found a precious little puppy, and stumbled on the perfect place to watch the most beautiful sunset.

As we walked back towards our AirBnB, we stopped to take pictures at the Porto sign before calling it a night.

For our last morning in Porto, we picked up pastries for breakfast and walked past Livraria Lello, a book store that J.K. Rowling used for inspiration for the library in Hogwarts. We didn’t quite have the patience to wait in the line, but even the outside was beautiful!

Afterwards, we went on an azulejo hunt. We started in the Sao Bento Train Station. The inside walls were covered in the blue tile murals. I must say it was certainly one of the most beautiful train stations we saw on the entire trip.

From there, we went to Santo Ildefonso. It was blocked with gates, so we couldn’t get in, but I thought it was one of the most beautiful of all the azulejo covered buildings. While we were here, we saw the Porto trolley which is decorated in the azulejo style as well. We then walked towards the Capela das Almas, yet another azulejo decorated church.

The blue tiles were just as beautiful as I’d been told they were, and if you can’t tell, we could not get enough. However, that was the end of the tiles we sought out. We moved on to the crystal palace gardens where we saw beautiful views of the city, peacocks, and of course beautifully manicured gardens.