Porto

After our trip a few years ago to Lisbon which made us really like Portugal, we wanted to return and see more of the country. Porto seemed like the perfect fit, the second largest city and home to Port wine.

The city was similar to Lisbon in a lot of ways. It was hilly and scenic with good food and nightlife, but there is definitely a grudge between the people of Lisbon and Porto, the two main cities in Portugal.

We really enjoyed tasting and discovering different Port wines, and learned quite a bit along the way. One interesting fact was that the city of Porto doesn't play a single role in the process of making or aging the wine. It is known as Port due to the customs at the shipping terminals stamping "Porto" on the barrels as they were being exported to foreign countries from this city because it sits on the banks of a major river.

It was a quick and enjoyable trip that confirmed our initial Portugal impressions.Read more