We arrived in Lisbon, rented a car (giant bright white Fiat) and immediately set off for the city of Porto. Porto is the second largest city in Portugal, located on the beautiful and majestic River Douro. It was an easy drive to Porto, with practically no one at all on the roads, and took about 3 hours from Lisbon.
On the way, we stopped in the town of Obidos to break up the drive. According to the guidebooks, Obidos was a not-to-miss town where you could easily spend an afternoon wandering along the charming, winding streets. When we arrived, we realized immediately that the guidebooks had led us astray. Perhaps it was once charming and alluring but Obidos now exists solely as a tourist town, and has the feel of walking through a Portugal-themed village in Disney's Epcot Center. We would not recommend wasting precious travel time here. We did however, manage to find a lovely restaurant a little off the beaten path, called Adega do Ramada, where we enjoyed some simply and expertly grilled fish.
Once we got to the city of Porto it was around rush hour, and driving was stressful and awful. But all stress was forgotten when we turned a corner and saw the stunning view of this surprisingly magnificent city. Houses with red tiled roofs, staggered along the hill on the banks of the river made for a picture perfect setting and we were both totally shocked at this unexpected beauty.
This city has a great vibe, down to earth, easy going, a little gritty. Definitely would recommend spending at least a couple of days here if you are in the country.
We had a great, relaxed dinner at A Grade. Located in a cute little side street about a block from the river, this is a small family run restaurant with excellent food and quick service. The highlight was a house specialty, Matt's braised baby goat, which was absolutely outstanding and a must if you come here.
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