Portugal - Day 4
September 11, 2025: Churches, picnics, parks, markets and a progressive dinner! Today was a fun filled day. We started the day with Jimm running across the street as soon as Manteigaria (one of Lisbon’s most famous bakeries for pastéis de nata) opened at 8:00AM. Jimm had been watching the the entire manufacturing process through the windows since 7:00AM when the lights turned on. They are know for making the process visible to their customers. They were warm and absolutely out of this world delicious.
Next up was making the trek to Porto Cathedral, which is one of the oldest and most important monuments in Porto. Perched high above the city, Porto Cathedral is a striking blend of Romanesque, Gothic, and Baroque architecture that tells the story of Porto’s long history. Built in the 12th century, its fortress-like facade with twin towers reflects its medieval roots. Inside, ornate Baroque chapels and altars contrast with the heavy stone, creating a space that feels both grand and intimate. From its terrace, we were rewarded with sweeping views over the city and Douro River.
We planned a picnic up at the Parque de São Roque for lunch. Before we headed to the park we stopped at a Casa Guedes to pick up some “sandes de pernil” (roast pork sandwiches). I had learned about these from some bloggers I follow. Once we had acquired our lunch, we grabbed a taxi and headed up to the park. We brought along a bottle of wine and found a little spot in the park to sit and have our lunch. It was so quiet, we felt we almost had the part to ourselves. When we finished our lunch, we even got in a game of Five Crowns. Then we walked to back toward our neighborhood and the Mercado do Bolhão. Mercado do Bolhão is Porto’s most famous market housed in a beautifully restored historic building. Known for its traditional character, it brings together vendors selling fresh produce, flowers, fish, meats, and regional specialties, alongside stalls offering artisanal goods and snacks. It is a huge, multi-level market. We really wished we had stopped on Day 1 here in Porto and we would have bought of the food but we will be leaving soon, so we just enjoyed looking at all the offerings.
When we got back to our flat, we relaxed a bit before getting ready for our Porto Progressive Dinner Tour that we booked through Eating Europe, a company that does food tours in Europe. We met our tour guide at a church nearby and proceeded to visit four restaurants and tried a number of traditional Portuguese foods and wine included bifanas (pork sandwich), mushrooms and cod croquettes, francesinha rainah and cod & potato balls with tomato rice. Our tour guide did an amazing job sharing the history of the foods and restaurants and facts about the city along the way. We thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend this tour! We finished up after 10:00pm and that was it for the day. Another busy day planned tomorrow. We need sleep :0)