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In France, fall vacation has just come to an end. Normally, this would mean that families are just recovering from trips and kids are exhausted from traveling as they head back to school. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic many families opted not to travel this year and stayed home instead. However, my family decided that covid wasn't going to stop us, and that as long as we were careful and safe, there wasn't a big reason to cancel our travels. So, on October 24th, we packed our bags and drove to Frankfurt, where we caught a flight to Porto, Portugal.
The flight was quick and we landed a little more than two hours later (there is a time difference between Portugal and France of one hour). For the entire duration of the flight and at both airports we wore masks the entire time (unless we were eating or drinking) and we made sure to wash our hands and use hand gel frequently. We took the rest of the day to sort out our car rental, airbnb, and dinner. That night we ate at a delicious Portuguese-style tapas place called Tapabento.
The next morning we signed up for a free walking tour of Porto, to get a feel for the city and it's history. We met the tour guide at a beautiful building in the main square:
At first, we were worried because the current covid rules in Porto said that you cannot have groups with more than five people, and our tour guide said that more people were supposed to come. Luckily, nobody else turned up and we didn't run into any issues. We all kept our masks on, and the guide only took his off when he kept his distance from us so that he could talk more freely. As for the tour itself, it was really informative. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and kind. We went past famous landmarks, like the Lello Bookstore (which I'll come back to later), and into the old city where we learned about how the Jews were treated in Portugal and their secret synagogues. The guide took us to a tucked away spot with an amazing view of Porto and the city across the river, Gaia:
Finally, we went to the old train station to talk about the tile murals and then we ended the tour with a story at an old cathedral. After the tour guide left, we decided to walk across the bridge and go to Gaia, the neighboring city, so my parents could visit some port factories. We stopped off for lunch and then toured Ferreira, where my parents did a tasting. We also ducked into Ramos Pintos, where my parents bought some small port and tawny bottles and then we headed to Sandeman for my parent's appointment to tour the facility and taste some more port. Let's just say that we decided to call an Uber to take us home that night ;) .
The next day, we woke up excited for a food tour my mom had booked. We met the lady and began walking to a cute little shop that had been open since the early 1900s. We tasted a "Romeo and Juliet": cheese and quince marmalade-surprisingly good. We also got to try a whole fig with almonds in it. Next, we stopped off at a beautiful little chapel covered in Porto tile art:
We visited a chocolate shop, ate some traditional Portuguese pastries called Pastel de Nata, and visited a hole-in-the-wall sports bar for special bread and dried meat. Finally, we finished at a rooftop bar with an amazing view. That night we stopped at the famous Lello Bookstore, famous for two reasons. First, it is one of the oldest bookshops in the world and second, because of it's beautiful designs, it is often considered one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world:
The next day we drove over to the rainy, neighboring town called Braga to visit an amazing sanctuary called Bom Jesus do Monte. It has 116 meters of Baroque stairs and a bell tower:
After wandering around for a bit and taking many pictures, we stopped off for a quick lunch before driving back through the city to the lower area and visiting a palace and castle museum (both required masks and hand gel).
The next day we decided to take the scenic drive to the Douro Valley-a famed wine and port-making area where there are many "quintas" or wineries complete with vineyard after vineyard:
The drive was terrifying (especially for me) because it was so many blind curves and tiny roads with huge trucks, however the views were worth it. We stopped for a nice lunch in a small city sandwiched between the vineyards and then visited Quinta das Carvalhas where my parents did a tasting. Next, we visited one more beautiful vineyard where my parents tasted the Croft ports and tawneys.
The next day was also full of driving. We drove to a quaint little city called Ponte da Barca for a delicious homemade lunch and then we visited a castle with some special grave-like looking small buildings that were actually used for holding food. The whole area was littered with little purple flowers:
We did a little more driving that day, complete with more scary roads (some with no guard rail on the corners!), before heading back to Porto.
The next day was our last day. We started the morning by eating an enormous breakfast of custom pancakes at O Diplomata and then climbing the Torre dos Clerigos (great idea, right?), which has an amazing (if not terrifying) 360° view of the city:
We went through the little museum at the bottom, too. Next, we decided to take the tram. The trams in Porto were first constructed in 1895 and they are still running today! We hopped on and rode the tram all the way down to the seaside. We spent a little time there enjoying being on the beach before catching the tram all the way back:
Yes, it made a lot of noise! Later that evening we walked over the river again to the city of Gaia to watch the sunset from a small park at the top of the city and wow! It was beautiful. Take a look:
All in all it was a beautiful trip, since Porto is considered on of the most Instagrammable cities in the world. We flew back the next day (masks on and hands washed!) to Frankfurt where we drove back to Strasbourg and arrived very late. I would highly recommend going to Portugal for a vacation!
Now for the big question:
What was it like traveling during a pandemic?
I want to start off by saying that there are some people that might take offense to our trip for some reason or call me and my family out for being tone-deaf but we did not break any rules whatsoever. We were all tested before and after the trip and we wore a mask AT ALL TIMES, even when the Portuguese government had not yet made it mandatory to have one in public. We were constantly washing our hands and applying hand gel and when we were around other people, like on our tours, we kept a distance.
In all honesty, traveling during covid wasn't really that different. Since we are already accustomed to wearing a mask everywhere and following the safety precautions, it was pretty much the same. However, I did really enjoy how empty the city was. There was no lines for anything we wanted to do, restaurants barely needed a reservation, and we were able to get better pictures since there were less pedestrians. We did get covid tests, which were extremely painful (me, being the big baby that I am). Wearing a mask during the whole flight wasn't that hard, since it did get cold on the plane and the mask actually helps keep your face warm, so I didn't really notice it. I can't imagine having to wear it on a longer flight though, like to the States. The one thing we did notice was on our flight back: it was so empty! There were only, like, ten to fifteen people, which was a little eerie:
However, it wasn't all that different.
Hey guys,
Sorry for all the pictures, there were so many and I had a hard time choosing which to add! I hope you enjoyed hearing about our trip and maybe it will inspire you for after quarantine. Thank you so much for being patient with me during this time. This month we will be more consistent! Also, be sure to check out the photography section, where I will be adding new snaps from this vacation soon!
Thank you all,
Lorelei xx
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