We had dinner in a beautiful Portuguese home overlooking the Douro river. The evening was fascinating as we learned so much about local food, music & traditions. We also got to practice a few Portuguese “expressions” & experienced first hand the Portuguese sense of humour😊 and hospitality.
The group shared with us some of their own favourites when it comes to eating out, going for drinks and what we should see and do in & around Porto. We will post as we discover some of these places but it will require us to come back to Porto to complete this list. YES!
During the evening we got introduced to a popular present-day fadistas, Ana Moura. She is part of the newer generation of Fado singers that has been catching the attention of many listeners in recent years. Ana sang alongside the Rolling Stones and Prince had travelled to Lisbon for one of her performances in 2011.
During our first week here we also met an interesting couple from Luxembourg 🇱🇺, Marcelle & Toni who have travelled the world. They have now purchased an apartment in Porto (what we would refer to as a condo back home) about 5 years ago. They live in a residential part of the city. They invited us to their place and then wanted us to have dinner with them at a restaurant where they go to eat once a week. It is a restaurant owned by a Portuguese mother and her two sons. When we arrived there it was packed with locals. The food is typical Portuguese, everything on the menu made from scratch. On the menu, you have a variety of fish and meat dishes. We ate very well, a main dish with veal, each couple had a bottle of wine, each had a dessert and coffee. It came to 45 Euros for Bernard & I. Not bad for this meal. The service was excellent as well, both sons are the waiters. It is no doubt one of the favourites for the locals in that neighbourhood. The name of the restaurant is Estrela do Lima on Rua da Alegria 961. If you come to Porto you should definitely give this restaurant a try.
Marcelle & Toni love Porto and the Portuguese culture and it has been fascinating listening to their experiences. They have seen the city evolve over the years to what it is now today and it is no doubt still growing mostly due to tourism.
It is obvious that Porto is on the move. You see the big cranes everywhere and this is the sigh of better things to come economically here for this city.