This day we rode the mini bus to Porto (about a three hour drive from Lisbon) and spent one night there.
I actually straightened my hair this day and wore it down the whole day. I felt like I needed to take as many pictures as possible (since I don't wear my hair down very often.) 🤣
On the bus to Porto!
There was some pretty scenery on the way to Porto! It's hard to capture the beauty from a moving bus though.
Shortly after our rest stop, our bus broke down. We sat on the side of the road for about two hours before another bus came and picked us up.
At first they wouldn't let us off the bus because they said it was too dangerous (which was understandable with lots of fast moving cars passing by).
Eventually it got pretty warm in the bus and they let us take turns getting off the bus to cool down a bit.
We made it to Porto. Needless to say since we arrived later than normal, our plans in Porto changed.
Even with the changed plans, I ended up really liking Porto for multiple reasons!
Our first stop was Palácio da Bolsa. Construction of the building began in 1842 and was completed in 1909. It's a beautiful historical building.
The building had some really pretty rooms!
Sisters and Mom in Palácio da Bolsa!
Since we arrived late to Palácio da Bolsa, we had to join another tour group for the tour. But the group was so big, it was hard to hear the tour guide.
It was cool to see the different rooms even if I couldn't hear much of what was important about them.
I do know the picture above was the office of Gustave Eiffel (the designer of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France).
This was the Golden Room also known as the Boardroom. It was where important meetings of the owner of the palace would be held. (I googled to learn more about the rooms since I couldn't hear the tour guide.)
Look at those floors!
Room of the General Meetings. General meetings, dinners, and conferences would be held in this room.
Look at this desk and the royal crest above it in the Room of the General Meetings!
Portrait Room, on the walls were portraits of the last Kings of Portugal.
I think this room was my favorite of all of the rooms we saw in the Palácio da Bolsa. It was so pretty!
Arab Hall, inspired by Arabic design.
Apparently all of the gold colored designs in this room was actual gold.
Inside Arab Hall!
So pretty!
The whole building was beautiful!
After the tour of Palácio da Bolsa, we were supposed to have a walking tour. Instead we had free time for the rest of the day. We found food for dinner (our group went to three or four different places depending on what people were feeling like.) A few of us went to a Moroccan restaurant.
I really liked my Moroccan food. I don't remember what was in it, but it was delicious!
Many of us ended up walking across the Luis I bridge which had amazing views of the city! It was just about sunset too so it was extra picturesque. (It wasn't too far from where we ate or from where we were staying for the night).
The bridge was a pedestrian bridge but also a train bridge. (The next 26 pictures were from the bridge. It was hard to narrow down which pictures to post because it was so dang picturesque!)
There was a woman and a man dressed in wedding attire on the bridge!
Where the trains came from on this side of the bridge!
Read the sign above to learn more about this stone wall (in picture above and below)!
Porto Cathedral!
Another view of Porto Cathedral!
There were some gorgeous views from the cathedral grounds!
Sunset!
Porto Cathedral!
Annie, Heather, Mom and I! Our little group for part of the evening.
A real working telephone booth near where we were staying!
We made it to the river!
That's the bridge we walked across at sunset. We walked across the top of the bridge (Luis I Bridge).
Of course we had to walk across the bottom of the bridge!
So pretty!
We sat on the other side of the bridge for awhile to rest, walked back across the bridge, and then we rode the funicular up the hill to where our hotel was located.
We went back to the hotel and thought we were in for the night. Kristina texted, though, saying that a group of them were still wandering around and invited a few of us to join them.
I decided I wanted to find them if I could, but I didn't want to go by myself. (Mainly because the maps on my phone didn't work very well.) Annie was kind enough to join me in finding them (although I'm pretty sure that she was tired and wanted to stay in for the rest of the night, but she's a very kind person).
It's hard to tell from this picture but this hill was kind of steep and we had to walk up it. I was huffing and puffing by the time we got to the top of the hill.
Clérigos Tower, a church near where we found Kristina and her group.
This is where we found Kristina!
Igreja do Carmo has a beautiful tiled facade on one side.
The side of the building that Taco Bell was in!
Clérigos Tower again!
Clérigos Church, connected to Clérigos Tower!
The also had a fancy McDonald's in Porto!
Chandeliers in McDonald's.
Infinity mirrors in McDonald's.
A stained glass window in McDonald's!
We went back to the hotel for a few minutes and then Kristina and I went back out again.
Kristina needed to find some souvenirs before leaving Porto in the morning. It was like 11 PM at this point but there were still some shops open. And she did find some souvenirs she liked!
We also walked part way across the bridge again just to see the views at night time.
So pretty!
Kristina and I got back to the hotel around 11:45 pm.
This night when I laid down to sleep, I had a lot of congestion. I finally fell asleep around 2 am. It was hard to wake up the next day, but I survived. 🤣
Although this day did not go as planned, it was a lovely day with beautiful views, delicious food, and lots of walking!
