When you’re on vacation, you are on vacation. That means, you can just chill out and relax if you’d like. After the excitement of the past few days, I was a bit exhausted so today, and I decided to have a lazy day. Today was filled with coffee, good food and enjoying the beautiful viewpoints in Porto.
That’s one of the best things about travelling solo: you can skip your itinerary if you want to because it’s all up to you. I also usually wake up super early in the morning so I can be out & about, and beat the morning rush to the washrooms. But today, I slept in and #noregrets
Coffee and food
I love Porto’s hipster cafés! There are so many to choose from, even in the area where I’m staying—which is outside the city centre! After waking up late (because I can do that), I ventured out to a cafe nearby called Combi Coffee.
The cafe was small, independent and local, and the staff were really friendly. It was surprisingly busy at the time, but service was still good. Coffee was good, and there was wifi to do work. You’d find the typical “hipster” things like rustic tables, vintage bikes and their own roastery.
After my morning coffee, I walked towards the city centre to find something to eat for lunch. Always the hangry hangry vegan, I decided to visit my favourite vegan eatery in Porto so far: DaTerra Restaurante Vegetariano!
Man, I could never tire of that vegan buffet! Everyday is a new menu, the restaurant is very clean, and the food is always good! Plus, the price is really affordable for an all-you-can-eat & entirely vegan buffet (€9 for lunch, €10 for dinner & Sunday)!
Viewpoints in Porto
Porto has many viewpoints (aka miradouros) around the city, and you’ll never really run out of them! After lunch, I went to the Porto Cathedral (Sé) and admired the view of Porto from there. Blue skies with wisps of clouds; so beautiful!
The cathedral itself is impressive, but unfortunately, there was a confirmation ceremony happening that Sunday, so the cathedral was mostly closed.
From the Sé, I walked down the road towards the Luis I Bridge (Ponte de Dom Luis I). The bridge is a metal double-decker arch bridge that connects Porto & Vila Nova de Gaia over the Duoro River.
You’ll also get gorgeous views of Porto and Gaia from the second deck! Across the bridge is the Serra do Pilar Monastery (Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar). Needless to say, this is one of the best viewpoints in the city. I didn’t get to do this today, but the sunset views from here are equally beautiful.
Church time
In the late afternoon, I headed down to the eastern part of Porto to go to church (it is Sunday after all). It is a small non-denominational congregation called “Riverside International Church.” The church is Cascais-based, but they also had a branch in Porto.
The church was aimed primarily towards the international community in Portugal, so the services are in English. Though Portugal is primarily Catholic, it’s nice to see a church like this here. The congregation in Porto was small, but still faith-filled.
After church, the sun was setting and Porto becomes a different kind of beautiful. I walked back to the hostel, admiring the sun’s glow on the old buildings. A very calming end to a relaxed day. 🙂
