Soph’s Scribbles

Day 1: Hello Porto ✈️

A speedy flight to Porto and, before we knew it, we were on the metro heading straight into the city centre. Super easy, and our first proper glimpse of Porto was the absolutely gorgeous São Bento train station. Definitely not your average train station!

We were both starving after the early start, so headed straight for food. George had been to Time Out Market in Lisbon before and was very excited to discover the smaller Porto version. We kicked off the holiday eats with sardines and red pepper on toast, while George went for a classic pork sandwich.

Then it was time to explore. We clocked up thousands of steps wandering around the city, taking in the churches, Bolhão Market, the Chapel of Souls and a few different viewpoints. Porto is BEAUTIFUL, but also very, very hilly.

Eventually, we checked into our Airbnb and were very relieved to dump the suitcase. The apartment was gorgeous and in such a great location, so we headed back out to explore some more.

We stumbled across a gorgeous traditional Portuguese bar and stopped for our first glass of wine and were pleasantly surprised by how cheap it was! George also had his first Super Bock of the trip, which obviously needed documenting.

After all those steps, we had definitely earned our first pastel de nata. We headed to the recommended Manteigaria and WOW. Still warm, gooey in the middle, perfectly crisp pastry and without being burnt, genuinely one of the best things I’ve eaten!

We then headed across the bridge and over the river to Jardim do Morro to watch the sunset. We were so lucky to arrive to live music, with a guitarist and band playing as the sun went down. Hundreds of people were sat around with drinks, listening to the music and enjoying the evening. Such a lovely atmosphere.

By this point, we were hungry AGAIN and couldn’t wait for our first proper Portuguese meal. And wow, Porto started the food off with a bang.

We went to a steak restaurant, Carnicerio, which I was slightly hesitant about at first but trusted George and I’m very glad I did. The steak was SO tender it practically fell apart in my mouth, with triple-cut fries and the creamiest aubergine risotto.

Possibly the best meal of the whole holiday… and we’d only been there one day!

After a huge first day, we were absolutely knackered. Back to the apartment and straight to sleep.

Day 2: Douro Valley 🍷

Started the day with a very hilly 10k run… half marathon training doesn’t stop just because we’re on holiday! It was hot, sweaty and VERY hilly, but such a good way to start the day. The views definitely made the hills worth it, and we even ran past the stadium, which was pretty cool.

After a shower and getting ready, we headed for breakfast. I had cream cheese and salmon on sourdough at the cutest Ukrainian café, Yanetta, before we jumped on the coach for the main event of the day…

A pre-booked Port wine tour to the Douro Valley!

After around two hours on the coach, we arrived in the valley and started with a wine tasting accompanied by olives, cheese and meats… what a yum lunch.

My favourite was the white wine, while George obviously preferred the Port. We then had a tour around the cellars, learning about how Port is made and seeing the huge barrels storing hundreds of litres of wine. There were also some VERY impressive spider webs, although thankfully no actual spiders. Apparently the sweetness attracts all sorts of insects, so the spiders are actually useful little residents!

We bought a €5 bottle of wine and took it with us onto the Douro River cruise. We ended up making friends with a guy from Sweden, who shared all his travel stories with us while we shared our wine. Exactly the kind of random holiday interaction I love.

Such a great day! By the time we got back to Porto, we were ready for food again.

We headed to Time Out Market for dinner and had an absolute feast. Fish tacos, grilled pumpkin with burrata, pesto and pine nuts for me, and a burger for George.

Then came dessert and I discovered my favourite dessert of the whole trip: a Bola de Berlim, essentially a Portuguese doughnut filled with custard. SO good.

We also shared a carrot, walnut and ginger cake before rolling ourselves back up the hill towards home.

Day 3: Porto to Lisbon 🚂

Today we were on the move!

We started with a very sweaty hike to the bus station with our bags before heading off to Lisbon. We were buzzing to get there after hearing so many good things.

We arrived and checked into our new home, the cutest little yellow house. It was gorgeous… but also VERY hilly. Cue more sweating while carrying our bags.

Once we’d settled in, we headed to LX Factory. We started with a well-earned drink outside before exploring the area.

There are around 30 shops, loads of cute cafés, bars and restaurants, and so much to look at that you could easily spend a whole day here. The bookshop was probably the highlight, absolutely huge and so cool.

Of course, we were hungry again, so stopped for tacos. We shared birria and pork tacos and honestly WOW. So much flavour and definitely one of the best casual meals of the trip.

After that, we walked even more steps back towards central Lisbon, exploring Green Street and the main Baixa area. Lisbon was already living up to expectations. We also had to go into Zara, which was absolutely HUGE.

We finished the day with a very hilly climb to Duque, one of the most gorgeous Portuguese restaurants.

I had tuna steak, George had cod and we shared a bottle of white wine.

After dinner, the waiter pulled us into the bar next door to experience Fado, a traditional Portuguese style of music. It’s usually performed live with a singer accompanied by Portuguese guitar and is known for its emotional, storytelling style.

A very spontaneous end to the evening and such a cool experience to have while in Lisbon.

Day 4: Beach Day 🏖️

We woke up and braved the run down the hill towards the seafront, the main objective being to find some FLAT land to run on.

Success!

We started the day with 5k along the waterfront, while George carried on for a little longer and I enjoyed a coffee afterwards. A pretty good way to start the morning.

We were so surprised by how hot the weather was for September – 33°C! So obviously there was only one thing to do…

Beach day.

We jumped on the train to Cascais and spent hours at the beach. George fully committed to the beach day, while I eventually braved the Atlantic. It was VERY cold.

We enjoyed a sangria in the sunshine, explored Cascais and, because apparently we hadn’t eaten enough already, stopped at McDonald’s for a little snack before heading home.

After showering approximately half the beach off ourselves, we headed to watch the sunset. Such a lovely area with live music, food and drink stalls and a great viewpoint over the castle in the distance.

For dinner that evening, we went to O’Porto, recommended by Isla, for a proper traditional Portuguese meal.

And wow.

The food was exquisite, definitely tied for the best meal of the trip.

We started with salted cod fritters and crispy duck parcels with peanut butter sauce. I had steak and chips, George had pork belly, and then we shared tiramisu and chocolate and banana cake for dessert.

All washed down with a bottle of red wine.

An absolutely gorgeous evening and, yet again, ridiculously good food.

Day 5: Sintra 🏰

Started the day with coffee and breakfast at Honest Greens. I had tomato toast and a taco with scrambled eggs and burrata, plus a very good coffee. Such a lovely spot and somewhere we’d been wanting to try.

And obviously we had to stop at Manteigaria again for another pastel de nata.

Then we were up and on it, taking the train to Sintra!

From Sintra station, we jumped on the hop-on-hop-off bus to explore the surrounding area.

First stop: Moorish Castle.

The castle was SO high up and honestly felt like something out of a fantasy film. We walked across the ancient walls, climbing what felt like hundreds of steps to reach the highest viewpoint, with incredible views across Sintra and the surrounding landscape.

This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me. It felt really special and peaceful up there.

The only downside? I looked like an absolute clown.

I’d stupidly left my Salomons at home and was walking around Sintra in CROCS flip-flops. Not exactly hiking attire.

Next stop was Pena Palace, and wow.

The colours, intricate tiles, patterns and architecture were incredible. We even went inside the palace and the detail was amazing. There was also so much surrounding parkland and greenery to explore.

It was another really hot day, around 34°C, but watching the sun glisten off the colourful palace genuinely made it feel like we’d stepped into a fairytale.

Such a brilliant day out.

For our final dinner, we headed to Time Out Market in Lisbon, which was MUCH bigger than the one in Porto.

We went slightly crazy with the food, sharing salted cod and potatoes, croquettes, a cuttlefish sandwich on black bread, tacos and a bao bun.

Basically, everything.

And because it was our last night, we obviously needed dessert. Another Bola de Berlim.

We were VERY full by this point, so walked it off by climbing the hill back towards home and stopped for one final glass of wine at a gorgeous traditional wine bar.

A pretty perfect final night.

Day 6: One Last Run 🏃🏼‍♀️

Our final morning!

We woke up and headed down the hill for one last run along the seafront, passing some of Lisbon’s final sights along the way; the castle, cathedral and arches.

We grabbed a coffee from Copenhagen Coffee Lab on our way back up the hill, then showered, checked out and headed to the metro for the journey home.

And just like that, our six days in Portugal were over.

Porto and Lisbon were so different, which honestly made the trip even better. Porto felt smaller, more relaxed and incredibly atmospheric, while Lisbon had so much going on; beautiful viewpoints, beaches, historic streets, nightlife and endless places to eat.

I genuinely don’t think I could choose which one I preferred.

What I do know is that both completely delivered on the things we wanted from this trip: beautiful cities, incredible food, plenty of exploring, sunshine, wine and a much-needed break.

And as two people who basically plan holidays around food, we were very much in our element.

Portugal, you were a good one. 🇵🇹