Porto baby

Porto.

Damn what a fine place to chill. The moment we set our foot in Bolhao (the city in Porto) that night we arrive we notice that the city was very clean. Then that relaxing aura overcome us. The place was peaceful and beautiful, what a way to make a first impression. But first things first. We need to find our hostel. Punyalah bnyak pusing2 then finally we found it. The hostel was amazing. We had free breakfast every morning. The kitchen is open to all so whoever brought MAGGI along buleh masak. The rooms were massive and the living room area is the best place to chill and to watch Euro 08.

The guy's room


The veranda outside our room


The living room~

Kitchen~


There was a lot to do during our first day in Porto. We started off going to the central part of Porto then to the Crystal Palace Gardens. The gardens were filled with blossoms of flowers, beautiful peacocks and theres a lake in the middle of it. The best part was the sight overlooking the Douro River from the Garden. The 'Crystal Palace' itself is a venue for sporting events and concerts. Theres a museum also in it but we can't be bother to go inside.




Palace Crystal~











The whole gang- (left to right) Me, Dia, Syai, Ali, Yasmin, Aiman, Wani, Rabz, Rez, Farah, Lehin and Atiq.





Our next destination was the Torre dos Clérigos. Clérigos church tower was the tallest structure in Portugal when completed in 1763 (the national record is now Lisbon's Vasco da Gama Tower), and as the main feature of the city's skyline, ships used it as a guide when coming into Cais da Ribeira. The Ribeira is like River Thames, only better. The bell tower can be seen from various points of the city and is one of its most characteristic symbols of Porto. The view from the top was amazing. It wasn't as breathtaking as from the top of St. Peters Cathedral but it's still a pretty aerial view from up there.


Clerigos Tower.


Aerial views



Se Cathedral could be seen perfectly from the top of Clerigos tower.
Next destination was the Se Cathedral. Its one of Porto's most ancient and beautiful cathedral and a symbolise as a main landmark.



Eager to adventure along the river bank, we went to Ribiera. Luckily there was a river tour in service and the fee for each person wasn't quite bad. We took the tour along the Douro river up until we reached the neverending sea then pusing balik to the main point. It was a good way to relax since we had been walking for hours and the street in Porto are RARELY straight. It has to be either going up or down hill. This is because the main city of Porto is build on a valley base land where the Douro river flows between the valleys. This what made Porto beautiful and special.

Douro Bridge

Colorful old buildings contrasts the environment of the Ribiera.


The boat for the cruz













Santai bui~
Palace Crystal seen frm the river.


Belureh wang?


The open sea~

Our last stop for the day was Casa Da Musica. Its a major concert hall built as one of Porto's project for being European Culture Capital in 2001. The architecture is amazing but since there was no concerts of whatsoever, our entrance was limited. We didn't go explore all around inside.






We dined out that night. I ordered grill squid but yg datang was squid kebab. I told the boss instead of the waiter that i couldn't eat meat and kesian pulang the waiter kana marahi. Then the when the waiter had to serve our table again i bet he had to keep a staright face. Entah2 nyumpah kli ia dlm atinya lol.

One of the main fish dish in Porto, served with both rice and fries.

Bh tidur dulu~ Next post- Porto pt2