When I went to Madrid, I didn't expect myself to do as many weekend trips as I had done. It is very common for study abroad students to take advantage of the fewer class days to take weekend trips and since I have been lucky enough to have gotten a glimpse of Europe, I wanted to stay in Madrid as much as possible. I do regret not visiting more cities in Spain, but at the end of the day I was studying abroad in Madrid and I plan on going back to Spain one day anyways.
I was really happy to find good tickets and a great Airbnb in Porto, Portugal with my friends. Just upon arriving I could tell this city has lots of charm and great places to see. The vibe of the city was bustling and full of history. The buildings were tile-ridden and the streets sloping.
Our AirBnB was a great apartment with Zenith, a wonderful and busy brunch spot right door. After eating and dropping our bags off, we started the day out by visiting Livraria Lello, which is where J.K. Rowling was inspired to write Harry Potter! I totally geeked out and splurged on a few copies of Harry Potter. It was amazing to see where the inspiration from one of my favorite book series came from and we even had a short line to get in.
We then continued on to walk around the city. We walked by the cathedral and then on to bridge over the river. It was stunning and gave great photo ops. The city is very hilly and basically everything is within walking distance; we never once used the local transportation there.
I had misjudged the weather so it was a bit chillier than expected but not unbearable. The first day in this dynamic and scenic city was just the start to amazing yet short trip!
Hmmmm I wonder whose birthday it was :p <3
ReplyDeleteGreat post, hope to see more :)