Fell's Porto

Fell’s Point is a historic waterfront neighborhood in Baltimore, MD (where Annie is from, hon!).  It was established in 1763. 

Porto is a coastal city in Portugal that was founded in medieval times.

Although Porto is significantly older and larger than Fell’s Point, after being here for two days we feel like both places share the same charming, gritty energy.

In Baltimore, crab cakes are a “must have”. In Porto, it’s the cachorrinho and the bifana. Bruno, our fantastic guide, made sure we had both.

Michael enjoyed his cachorrino from Gazela which locals agree, is the ONLY place to get this Portuguese version of a hot dog.

The “go to” spot for this delicious, thinly sliced pork sandwich with pirri-pirri sauce is at a restaurant called Conga.

Bruno also hooked us up with another type of pastel de nata from Manteigaria. We’re realizing that there is a lot of pride in, and competition around, who makes the best pastel de nata.  We think it would be rude not to try them all. 

The secret is to eat them HOT - right out of the oven. With a delicious port, of course! p.s. Bruno specializes in Porto food tours.  If you are coming to this neck of the woods – we highly recommend reaching out to him to schedule one.  (Bruno Carvalho; hello@amasscook.com. www.amasscook.com)

Also like Fell’s Point, Porto is filled with historic buildings, narrow cobble-stone streets, and a ton of tourists!!!  A few pics from our day being two of them.

We are eating so much that we almost didn’t fit down this narrow street for this photo.

The Porto Cathedral (Se de Porto) is a Roman Catholic church in the historical center of the city.

So many tourists.  We really can’t imagine what it’s like here in the summer months at peak season.

Porto is located on Douro River. Lots of Douro River cruises stop in Porto…and bring more tourists.

After walking around the Old City, we jumped in an Uber and went to Serralves, the contemporary art museum.  Like Fell’s Point, Porto has something for everyone!

This picture sums up how Annie is feeling at this point in our journey.. Credit:  Joan Miro, Personnage, 27 Jan 1960.  Oil and wax crayon on cardboard.