Gigs from Abroad Part 21 Porto – Part 2

As Port is naturally Porto’s most famous export many of the bars have Port wine trails where you can purchase a selection of different local brands and choose your favourite and then identify if you can then actually revert back into a standing position after imbibing them!  

The next day after checking the weather and identifying the sunniest day of our stay we decided on a trip to the seaside and travelled out to Foz de Douro which sits at the end of the river adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. There are three remaining tram lines in the city from when they were originally built back in 1895. On one of those tributaries Tram # 1 runs to the sea from the city centre in a charismatic old carriage. We walked down the front before returning on the more modern metro train.  

Porto’s No 1 tram. Image Credit fotocommunity.de

That evening we headed into the atmospheric back streets of the Baixa suburb with many pop-up storefront bars, which I christened the ‘Northern Quarter’ end of town. Initially nearby to Livaria Lello on Porto Rue de Candida dos Reis we saw Marco playing some tunes.

We then gravitated around a couple of local bars, including the very inviting Porto Rue Tapas Restaurant Music Bar where they have live music every night and we witnessed Jules playing a set in the corner. The same night we also visited Porto Taberna do Pouca Roupa where Stefan was performing.

The following day we encountered monsoon conditions through to early afternoon, so we sallied off to have a quick look at Estadio do Dragao, Porto FC’s ground which was built specifically for the 2004 European Championship which took place in Portugal. Stadium gigs take place there and Coldplay and Rolling Stones amongst others have graced the stage. We then spent a bit of time in the adjacent but rather soulless Alameda Shopping Centre.

When the grey clouds deigned to clear we headed back on the metro to visit the extraordinary Mercado do Bolhao. There has been a market in place at this location since 1839, and the market building was erected in 1914 over two floors and extensively renovated in 2022. There are over eighty traditional stalls, and all food and drink options are catered for in this colourful setting.

Very close by is the Café Majestic, the most famous of all Belle Epoque cafes. It is a very grand setting with bevelled mirrors and wood panelling and waiters flitting about to the sounds of the Blue Danube. And the food they served was rather tidy too!      

Another of the main Portuguese exports are Pastel de Nata’s, an egg custard tart that is heavenly when served fresh from the oven, I do find it extremely difficult to just eat one in any single setting! There is also now a Macanese variant adopted by KFC and sold in the Far East.

The tarts were originally created prior to the 18th century by Catholic monks in a monastery in Lisbon. At the time egg whites were utilised in starching clothes such as religious habits and the remaining egg yolks used to make pastries. In 1834, the recipe was sold to a nearby sugar refinery whose owners opened the Fabricia de Pasteis de Belem in 1837, and their descendants still own that business to this very day.

In 2009, the Guardian newspaper listed the delicacies as amongst the 50 ‘best things to eat in the World’.  It is also purported that the original recipe is kept in a secret locked room, and quite frankly who can blame them!

Porto Se Cathedral. Image Credit portugaltravelguide.com

That evening we visited Porto Bar da Ponte Pensil where we saw Javiar playing. The European football championships were approaching their culmination when we were there, and we saw a portion of the first semi-final between Spain and France. I was a little surprised that the local bar staff were supporting their arch enemies Spain, but this was more to do with the fact that the French had controversially beaten the Portuguese in the Quarter finals.       

On our last day we visited a lot of the tourist hotspots including Porto Se Cathedral, which is the oldest surviving structure in the city, as it was originally built in the 12th Century. In the grounds with a panoramic view, we saw Miguel playing a set.   

We also grabbed the opportunity on one occasion to avoid the lung busting steps up from the river side to Praca de Batalha via travelling on the Funicular dos Guindais, which was first opened in 1891.  On that very hill lies a terrific bar with terrific views called the Guindalense Futebol Clube, which is a community run bar opened in 1976 by a group of football loving boys. The commendable ethos of ice-cold beers and Ruffles crisps was repeated!

Guindalense Futebol Clube. Image Credit week-end-voyage-porto.com

Outside Porto Sae Bento Train station we saw an impromptu performance from a Porto School band. As we were flying back early the following morning, we decided to book in at the hotel bar for an evening meal and watched England beat Holland 2-1 in the second semi-final. Now you may think the music would stop there but you would actually be incorrect as there was an established stage set up within Porto Aeroporto Terminal whilst we were waiting for our delayed flight, where an admittedly limp jazz duo were performing.   

Gigs from Abroad Part 21 – Porto (Part 1)

In July 2024, Gill and I made our debut visit to the intriguing and picturesque city of Porto (also known as Oporto), Portugal’s second largest city behind Lisbon. I can now see why it was pronounced as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1996, and chosen as Best European destination in 2012, 2014 and 2017 and also became the joint European Capital of Culture alongside Rotterdam in 2001.

In 1387 John I of Portugal married Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. The latter geezer has an old grungy pub named after him in the centre of Lancaster and I am sure you will be unsurprised to learn that I have seen a band there! At that time the world’s oldest recorded military alliance, the Treaty of Windsor was signed between the two countries.

Famous people from the city include Ferdinand Magellan the globe circumnavigator, Olympic marathon winner Rosa Mota, footballer Dioga Jota and Rui Reininho, lead singer of rock band GNR, whose most renowned album was ‘Rock in Rio Douro’ released in 1992 and it topped the Portuguese charts for a remarkable nine months.

The other famous ex-resident is the Harry Potter author JK Rowling who was an English teacher there between 1991 and 1993. It is said that the impressive art deco Livraria Lello bookshop inspired her vision of Hogwarts, and she began drafting the first novel while ensconced in the city. We only managed to view the shop from the outside as we shuffled past as there were astoundingly long queues.     

Livrario Lello bookshop. Image Credit pandotrip.com

The city centre suffered a dramatic loss of population between 1970 and 2010 before tourism breathed new life back into the area, the previously abandoned buildings being turned into shops and fashionable restaurants, and even a McDonalds is now contained within one of those grand structures. My pal Jason Bax captured it perfectly with his apposite description of ‘charmingly derelict’ when he visited the city to attend the Coliseum to see Nick Cave back in 2008.

On our trip, we left from Manchester on a brutally early Sunday flight and arrived in the city late morning and grabbed some lunch opposite our hotel located within a stone’s throw of the atmospheric Sao Bento train station with its 20,000 glazed tiles designed by Portuguese painter Jorge Colaco.  

Later that day we headed over the hugely striking Porto Ponte de Dom Luis I Bridge over the River Douro, where you can walk across either on the lower level or across the higher level with the expansive views and you amble in the shared space alongside the metro. Just prior to there was a chap called Carlos who was serenading the punters with some jaunty tuneage.

Ponte de Dom Luis Bridge I. Image Credit creativemarket.com

Now I must say I am very partial to a good bridge and there are some absolute crackers here with the first one being built in 1806. The Dom Luis I followed in 1886, and another was designed by Gustav Eiffel, the chap who built that other one in Paris! The additional impressiveness only increases when you consider the fact of the extremely challenging logistics of their design as there are such steep drops down to the riverbank. Later on in the trip we went on a river cruise under all of these structures, which was a visual treat.

On the far side of the bridge in the Ribeira area, we arrived at Porto Jardim do Morro which sits at a historically significant location as it was contained within the Serra do Pilar grounds. This area housed an Augustinian monastery built in 1670, that due to its elevated position played an integral role during the Siege of Porto (1832-34) in Portugal’s Civil War. It is also the location of Sao Joao Festival, a traditional event that takes place every June and includes a firework display set against the panoramic background.   

Jardim do Morro. Image Credit portomoments.com

It is a very bonny green space and as we discovered a really popular communal area with a posse of families basking on the grass in the evening sunshine. There were ice cold beers and Ruffles crisps on sale from a nearby kiosko, both of which we obviously partook in and joined the locals in watching the sunset. Whilst we there we witnessed a local singer called Tiago Macarata.  

What I became instantly aware of is that are singers/artists dotted everywhere across the city, thus I have honed the ones recorded in my annals down to acts witnessed outside specific bars and restaurants where we happened to be residing.   

Afterwards we left Jardim do Morro we headed down to the Ribiera riverfront to hunt down some tea at the swathe of restaurants in that area and post-tucker we saw Mick playing a set in Porto Theophilu’s Bar. Later on, outside another bar we saw Sally yodelling on the Porto Promenade.