summer

The beaches of Porto remind me of the beaches back home in Australia – particularly from the South Coast (where I come from). The sand beneath my toes and the warmth of the sun was simply amazing!

We caught the bus that goes along the river (sorry I don’t remember the number…) and we made our way to Matosinhos beach. It wasn’t over crowded yet there were quite a few people at the beach. There was a little bit of wind, but the locals had that covered – I noticed that when people first arrived at the beach they would erect “wind stoppers” and sit on one side, brilliant idea! We walked along the coast and we encountered a fishing area – there were loads and loads of restaurants along the street that were barbecuing the seafood. We wanted to get away from the smoke, we finally found a fish restaurant and had one of the best lunches ever! The seafood was amazing: SO FRESH!

The next day my friend wasn’t feeling so well, so I left her at the Airbnb and medicated her and made my way to Sao Bento train station. I bought a ticket Miramar (didn’t cost much and it only took about 20mins to get there!). Miramar was absolutely beautiful!!! The first thing I noticed was a tiny chapel on the beach. People were scattered and this beach wasn’t as busy as the previous day. I settled down and had some lunch that I’d packed. During this time, my feet absolutely burned (it was only 20mins!!!). There were a few cafes and restaurants on the promenade, so if you don’t pack a lunch you can always find food close by….

The beaches of Porto were very beautiful and reminded me of home – too bad my feet got burnt…

I went to Porto in the first week of July to attend my friend Dani’s wedding. She is from a town of Porto called Gondomar and Joel is from Porto itself – hence when a Portoan met a Gondomarian…

It was a beautiful day: the sky was bright blue and the sun was shining – perfect day for a wedding!

The ceremony was held in the gardens of the reception venue with rows of white chairs with a gazebo at the end, and a red carpet through the middle of the chairs. Dani walked down the aisle, looking absolutely stunning, and met Joel at the gazebo. The civil ceremony was performed, a kiss sealed the wedding and husband and wife walked down the aisle whilst guests fluttered the potpourri over their heads.

We then made our way over to the lounges for drinks and nibbles. The venue was absolute class! I felt like I was in LA, white leather lounges were scattered all around the gardens with a pool in the centre of the main outdoor area. It was such a sight!

As the sun came down, we were ushered into the reception lounge and we all took our seats. There were multiple courses, we ate and ate and ate some more! Really late into the evening, we were asked to stand around the pool while the bride and groom cut the cake. We were also each given a white balloon with a twinkling light inside. We all released them at the same time – it was such a sight!

We all then danced the night away….

It was a really enjoyable wedding, I wish my friends Dani and Joel a life full of happiness together….