Time Out editors and experts revealed: “the 50 coolest neighbourhoods in the world you have to visit right now”. Cedofeita, Porto was voted one of those 50 neighbourhoods, ranking 31st on this list.

No news to us!

As we say farewell to Porto we are taking a few minutes to reflect back on this past month and on the neighbourhood which became our home while we were there.  Staying in this neighbourhood gave us an opportunity to be better connected to the Portuguese community and to its culture.

We had a pretty unique apartment which was located on a rooftop. We rented it through airbnb. website. We had a great view that included a beautiful sunrise in the morning and we had a unique visitor at our window every morning.  We nicknamed him, “gully”.😊(See a photo of gully below). This is the review we made on the Airbnb website for this apartment.  “The view is amazing in the morning, especially with the sunrise. Big space. The location is great as you get to live amongst the locals yet you are only walking distance from everything touristic. Easy self-check-in. If staying during winter months as we did consider that there is no heating in the kitchen so some days it can get pretty cold in that space otherwise the other rooms are warm as there are heaters. Overall we were very comfortable and enjoyed going back to this apartment after being out & about. We stayed here for a month and would book here again if we returned to Porto”.

We quickly developed a daily routine which included a visit to our little café down the street every morning, on our way to the gym. It was always fun to see the same familiar faces that greeted us with a smile. Thanks, Oporto bakery on R. do Pinheiro 86.

Trying to keep up with our fitness program was part of our morning routine. We joined a fitness center, Fitness Hut for the month and Liane was very helpful in assisting us with the registration and orientation process as all the information was in Portuguese.😊

I loved going to visit my little “fish” lady as she always had fresh fish, daily. Her little “hole in the wall” fish store was right next to our apartment building. The first time I went there she made me laugh as she insisted I take the head of the fish with me even though I kept saying with my hand gestures that it was okay, I didn’t really need it. Oh well, Bernard will probably eat it! 😊

Thumbs up!Always nicely prepared for me! 😊🐟It was always fun cooking at the apartment and going to the small local food market to see what new and interesting things we could find for our next meal.

Hum…do I have a chicken feet recipe for this?

Who said red wine doesn’t go with fish!

We loved to see Mr. & Mrs.Portuguese going down the street every morning, often hand in hand. 😊By mid to late afternoon as the locals do, we often had to go sit at a café and enjoy that second coffee with a little “pâtisserie” on the side of course. Our “go-to” spot in the afternoon was often at la Chouquette, a Patisserie, Café on 78, Rua de Miguel Bombarda. This café only opened a few months ago. A young French couple who have moved to Porto and they are hoping this little café will keep them living here.

Another favourite (see below) was Café Moustache on Praça de Carlos Alberto 104. It didn’t look like much from the outside but when you brought your coffee upstairs to the second floor you were in another world. To our pleasant surprise, a poster of “life is beautiful” hung on the wall. How appropriate!

“La vie est belle”

It was always fun walking around the neighbourhood and discovering cute little artsy shops and things.

We would sometimes stop at a nearby hostel for lunch. I would stay here anytime. It was called the Pilot Design Hostel.

Okay, so this was a neat place (see below), called Cookery Food Bar. You can also find a little more detail on this link- Cookery Food Bar.  When you walk into this place it starts out as a store – they have even kept the old railway tracks on the floor.  You continue walking further down the store and you come up to a little food bar with tables where you can sit to have a bite. Then, even further back in the store is a cooking workshop station with a full kitchen where they do cooking classes. Workshops Pop-up. We were there twice for lunch. The soup was to die for. They use old iron pans for trays. Pretty cool!

In a hurry, we often opted for a quick sandwich and glass of wine at Lareira ,10 euros for everything. (see below) Thanks, Della & Jean 😊

Happy hour was sometimes spent at the little Taverna Aduela, R. Das Oliveiras 36, {see below} as it was just a short walk away from the apartment. 🍷

So in closing what did we love about Porto -❤️

1. The culture.

2. The food.

3. It’s just the right size.

4. It’s safe.

5. The weather.

6. The wine, coffee & port.

7. The transportation system. Day trips to quaint little places in & out of the city is so easy.

8. And we saved the main reason for last; the people. Even in this time of expansion, the authenticity and friendliness of the Portuguese people is one of this city’s great trademark.

What else could we have asked for!

Porto, we will miss you tremendously! 😔 ❤️

Next adventure, Montenegro!

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