Porto | Honeymoon Part 1
Nearly one year after we were married, Alex and I finally went on our honeymoon! When it came to our honeymoon destination, we came up with a huge list of possibilities all over the world and eventually circled back to the first idea for a travel destination that we’d had even before the pandemic, Portugal. We visited Porto and Lisbon, and since it was November, we also added the Canary Islands for shot at fpainta bit of warmth. Let’s jump right in!
We loved the hotel where we stayed in Porto, Torel 1884. There are only 12 suites in the main building, which is centrally located in the old town. Our suite was boldly decorated, and we were welcomed with a bottle of bubbly!
Our immediate first stop was for our first pastel de nata of the trip, a Portuguese egg tart! We also learned that white port exists, and it was great! We would later learn the four types: ruby, tawny, white, and rose.
First dinner: Cantinho do Avillez, conveniently located just down the street from our hotel.
We had their take on a traditional Portuguese dessert, the toucinho do ceu, and I liked it very much! It literally means bacon of the gods, but it’s an almond tart made with lard.
Our hotel came with multi-course breakfast we could customize every morning! On day one we were introduced to their very fancy piri piri, Portuguese hot sauce, which came in a perfume bottle on a wooden stand. Very fun.
Beautiful train station up the street.
These beautiful tiled churches!
Even the ground is beautiful.
Another pastel stop.
Tiles tiles everywhere! The Portuguese learned tile making from the Spanish, but the big Portuguese innovation was using the tiles as exterior decoration rather than interior.
We got to try painting our own tiles! Alex booked this workshop for us at Gazete Azulejos, where they taught us a bit about tiles and had different ways we could make our own. Their true mission is to document and preserve all of the remaining historic tiles in Porto, since they are constantly disappearing due to damage over time, reconstruction, and even theft.
Examples of more expensive tiles, including 3D tiles made with a ceramics mold. The fancier the better since you’re really trying to show off to your neighbors outside.
We had the option of using simpler plastic stencil templates, a more complicated carbon tracing method, or freehanding it. We both chose from the stencils. The fun thing about them is the designs are from real tiles, so their locations are listed for you to find later, which we did!
Two tiles per person.
The purple glaze will turn cobalt once fired.
Alex’s stencil was somewhat broken, but it still turned out great!
Final edits with the razor blade.
Bar food time at Cervejaria Gazela. I enjoyed the skinny sandwich, the cachorrinho. I didn’t really like the pica pau on the right though.
More looks at beautiful blue tiled churches!
Mercado do Bolhao is Porto’s historic food market, recently completely renovated and reopened.
Of course we stumbled upon a Gong Cha in Porto too. More Taiwanese still to come later in the trip…
There are many many little hills in Porto, but it’s still very walkable, and of course hills and water makes for great views!
Sunset from the Porto Cathedral.
Boutique browsing
Browsing the records at Materia Prima Material Audiovisual.
A delightful little natural wine bar with really excellent food, Genuino.
Another day, another breakfast at the hotel!
We went to the Douro Valley for the day (which will be its own post!), but we came back in time to pick up our finished tiles, and we went immediately to look for the real-lift tiles that inspired mine! One of our four tiles in the wild!
Gruta (grotto). Another wonderful meal.
The next morning, we were having breakfast as usual, when suddenly someone recognized Alex… it’s Allie, his coworker! Neither of them knew the other was in Portugal, let alone staying at the same hotel in Porto.
The Portuguese Center of Photography, housed in a historic prison. Interesting.
Then we stopped by the old fishing town of Matosinhos. They also have a remodeled historic market.
It was Thanksgiving! So we booked a very special meal at this two Michelin starred restaurant on the sea, Casa de Cha da Boa Nova. We went for a midafternoon lunch so that it would still be daytime.
Such a beautiful view at this house inset into the seaside.
Happy honeymoon and Thanksgiving!
A little series, as we watched a tiny dough ball rise throughout the meal, then bake inside this tiny stone oven, and finally become a tiny roll accompanied by seaweed butter.
Everything was wonderful, all flavors of the sea. We loved it all.
A quick sunset stroll through Parque de Serralves, a park with art museums inside.
And a nighttime scavenger hunt for my second tile, all the way out in Foz, on the western side of town.
Antiques shop! No mahjong sets, but we did look.
A travel favorite– a local grocery store. I stocked up on fun tropical juices. Part of the legacy of Portuguese colonialism and their close ties to tropical places like Brazil, I think.
Late night Thanksgiving dinner after our big lunch feast: Alex found Taiwanese food and got it delivered! This seems to be a special skill of his, finding all the Taiwanese things in all the corners of the world. It was great! We got their beef noodle soup, a bao, and even a bottle of their own branded beer.
Alex’s first tile, in the wild! Actually in the neighborhood right by our hotel.
Ah sure, I suppose we should pay for admission to the self-billed “most beautiful bookshop in the world.” I do love bookstores and beautiful spaces!
Your ticket comes with a voucher towards a book, so of course you’re compelled to pay even more to get the cute tiny books they sell. Ah yes, I don’t like tourist traps, but I will oblige.
Another beautiful tiled church. We realized this one looks lighter than the others because there’s a protective white gauze over the exterior.
Walked by our Taiwanese spot in person! They weren’t open at the time, but I would go back if we ever find ourselves in Porto again.
Our first record purchase! A modern Fado singer, Fado being the traditional Portuguese ballade musical style.
Back at the Mercado do Bolhao for a snack lunch.
Alex’s second tile! This was pretty fun. I would recommend the Gazete Azulejo tile workshop to everyone!
Beautiful smoky streets…
Thanks to the chestnut vendors.
Then it was time to hop on the metro and cross the river to the other side, where all of the port houses are located.
Historically, the wines were grown and made out in the Douro Valley and then floated down the river to Porto where the temperatures were more moderate for aging in barrels on the other side of the river. The major port houses are all still there. We visited Taylor’s, which is one of the biggest producers to this day.
A self-guided audio tour takes you through the building. We had already learned quite a bit while we visited the Douro Valley wine country, but here was even more specific information about this company and the particulars of the history of port.
It turns out almost all port houses are actually British owned, and Brits are also the largest importers and consumers of port. Wine grapes are indigenous to Portugal and have a much longer history, but as far as I understand it, basically with various British-Portuguese trade deals and subsequent political turmoil against rival wine producers like France, Brits took over much of this specialized wine production in the Douro Valley and Porto and ramped up production and exports in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Of course at the end of the tour we got a tasting. As I mentioned earlier, there are four kinds of port: ruby, tawny, white, and rose. The white and rose are relative newcomers on the scene, whereas ruby and tawny are probably the ones you think of when you think of port. They are all fortified wines, which means they stop fermentation partway through the process by adding brandy to the mix. So they are sweeter and more alcoholic than “dry wines.”
At least half the reason to visit the port houses is to see the views of Porto back across the river. We timed it especially well with golden hour!
We walked along the river and back across one of the pedestrian bridges to get back into town.
And then we had the most memorable dining experience in a city that had already treated us to many great dining experiences: dinner at Taberna dos Mercadores. It’s an extremely small restaurant with a line out the door even before it opens. We were lucky enough to arrive before opening and juuuust made the first seating cutoff.
This is the whole restaurant! less than 20 seats total. And the whole staff is one person in the kitchen, one person running front of house, and one more that arrived at the end of the first seating to double up on dishwashing and front of house.
Classic Portuguese fare, done perfectly. Like eating in someone’s home.
The big show is the salt-crusted sea bass, which they light on fire and fillet for you at the table. It was not only a fun show but also very delicious. And for dessert, I got to revisit my favorite, the tocinho do ceu.
On our last night in Porto, we got to attend a symphony concert at the Casa da Musica, designed by architect Rem Koolhaas.
Very unique building!
An intimate feeling symphony hall. We had read about the special sliding seats that allow you to let other people through without getting up, since there is no center aisle. It turns out the chairs just slide slightly back and forth, but it was pretty nice and comfortable!
And it was a lovely concert featuring the Beethoven Violin Concerto.
Back at the hotel, we finally redeemed our free drink vouchers.
Somehow did not see this upstairs part of our hotel until the last night, but that’s ok.
Our actual room key! Very fun.
And one last breakfast and pair of mini pasteis de nata until we flew on to our next destination– Lisboa!
Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. She compulsively documents and blogs all of her daily adventures. Follow her on instagram and view more of her professional work at annawu.com.
Part 1: Porto | Honeymoon Part 1
Part 2: Douro Valley | Honeymoon Part 2
Part 3: Lisbon | Honeymoon Part 3
Part 4: Gran Canaria | Honeymoon Part 4
