Partying in Portugal

20/03/2025 - 28/03/2025

Writing overlooking La Giralda, the magnificent Spanish-renaissance tower, at the heart of Sevilla's old town, I have realised that my time in Portugal has caught up to me. While the phenomenon of not knowing what day of the week it is, and honestly not really needing to, does enable spontaneous outings in Iberian cities, eventually this takes a toll on the body. A sore throat has plagued me for the past few days with a headache and runny nose joining the party today. Good times. 

Speaking of good times, the phase of my journey in Europe's western most country, Portugal, was full of them. Prior to arriving in Portugal's second city of Porto, I spent a night in the Spanish city of Merida, or as it was called during the time of Imperial Rome, Augustus Emerita. Being the history geek that I am, this place was full of fascinating Roman artifacts, sculptures and architecture. I'm sure just a taste of what I can expect to see in Roma itself in a month's time. My journey from Merida to Porto involved three trains, some delays and tight turnarounds, but ultimately an interesting adventure, arriving in rainy city on the banks of the Douro River in time for dinner. Anthony Bourdain had said to try the fried whole sardines while in Porto, so that was what was on the menu for that evening. Yes Anthony Bourdain did personally say that to me, it was definitely not a YouTube video. The sardines blew me away, I enjoyed them much more than I expected. Cheers Tony. A few beers out with some lads from the UK (one each from England, Wales and Scotland - good diversity I guess) after dinner was nice, even though I fully slipped on my arse on the steep, wet streets of Porto, finding out in the morning I had lost one of my airpods in the process. Brilliant. 

A solo day exploring what Porto had to offer was next, with some incredible bridges, colourful but also grey buildings, and a general cool vibe. That evening I reluctantly signed up to a pub crawl organised by the hostel, however, given the fact I arrived back to the hostel at 4.30am after several bars and clubs visited and meeting an English girl who took a particular liking to me, I would say it was a wonderful evening. Hungover the next day, I explored Porto's cathedral with a lovely bunch of people I had met the previous evening from the hostel, the Porto Pirates; shoutout to Val from Sweden, Kat from Canada and Bridget and Laura from the US (as pictured above). Finding out that King's Cup is an international game, as well as enduring several rounds of "Never Have I Ever", the night ended in Porto's Time Out Market with a delicious cheeseburger (yes it is definitely authentic Portuguese food). 

Val and Kat accompanied me on the train ride down to the Portuguese capital, Lisboa, the next day where we gossiped the three hour journey away, even though both of them went to throw up following a rather dodgy seafood risotto. An early night in Lisboa was followed by a day exploring with Anni from Germany before another pub crawl with the hostel group. While I did enjoy Lisboa, the vibe was different to that of Porto which I think diminished my overall enjoyment of the city. Still a wonderful place, and I suspect I will back there one day. Hungover the next day (yes, again...), my sore throat began to rear it's head. I called short a day trip to Sintra given I wasn't feeling it. Another plus of solo travel - if I'm not feeling well, then it's just me I have to consider, so I'm gonna leave. A laid back afternoon, with a cheap kebab for dinner, somehow I found myself on the hostel pub crawl. Again. 

Frantically searching for the right bus stop for my bus to Sevilla was not exactly how I envisaged the next day to begin, but I made it with four minutes to spare, and only 70% of my shirt soaked in sweat. I call that a W. Seven hours on the bus from Portugal to Spain went by somewhat quickly, before I arrived in the capital of the autonomous region of Andalucia for a night in an apartment as a little treat and respite from a week in hostel dorm rooms. Sevilla has possibly been my favourite place I have visited thus far, with a really unique blend of Moorish (Islamic) and Spanish (Christian/Catholic) architecture. Some touristy vibes but a nice charm to it, with windy walkable (no cars!) alleyways, and some lovely sunshine. Oh and great cycleways. I managed 25,000 steps yesterday, seeing a lot of the city, and also meeting up with Thijs, my Dutch friend, who I met in Madrid for the Atleti v Barcelona game, for a few beers and some tapas. An alcohol free day is very much needed today, along with an early night before heading to Cadiz on the coast for a night tomorrow. After that, Cordoba and Barcelona will be my final stops in Spain before heading to a country where I can say a bit more than "a beer, please"; see you soon France.