Riu Rio

Portugal was the fourth country I have visited so far, living in España. It's something I've always dreamed of doing, traveling to Portugal that is. I almost opted to study in Portugal, but none of the programs suited my fancy. After visiting, it's definitely not a place I would want to be for 4 months, since it's not excatly centrally located, but it really is incredible.

I was in Porto, which lies in the top of Portugal, surrounded by the coast, a river, and wine country. Although it seems obvious, I didn't know that Port wine can from Porto, which was a pleasant surprise when i stumbled upon this on the internet. With really no itinerary before the trip, six of us ISA students hopped on a bus and prepared for an amazing trip.

Driving in to Porto, after being landlocked for as long as I can remember, was like seeing Disneyland for the first time. I was a flawless coast, palm trees, beautiful vineyards and terraces, and to top it all off, a river and breathtaking bridges that split Porto from the bodegas (wineries) in Vila Nova de Gaia. Portugal looks like California, but it also has shares many of characteristics. Shortly after arriving, we toured the city to find a city well preserved and a cornicopia of old and new buildings standing side by side. Most European cities of this caliber hardly resemble what they looked like hundreds of years ago, but Portugal has kept Porto as authentic as possible. I didn't have to go searching for any of the history as it popped up every few minutes in the form of a barroque cathedral or the town hall building that stood outside of my hostel.

Some of the highlights of trip: Drinking Port wine for the first time. It gives you a killer headache the second you drink one glass because of the sweet taste and the high alcohol content (20%). Visiting the bodegas, (one of them was named Barros and is family-owned, though I didn't have the guts to ask for a share of the family fortune.) They give free tours and tastings, which make the walks very interesting from bodega to bodega. GOING TO THE BEACH! Although the main Porto beaches are located right next to the industrial zone, the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean it hardly overshadowed by few smoke towers. Getting on national television. My other favorite part, clearly. There were elections for mayor, which had been hyped everyday we were in Porto by party buses and fiestas that compare to the hype of Obama's election week. Rui Rio, the eventual winner, rode the party bus right outside my hostel and it was parked across the street for about an hour. M

y friend Jordan and I went outside to try to get on camera with Rui Rio....we were successful! I touched the mayor-elect of Porto and we danced to "I've Got a Feeling" in front of all of Porto, courtesy channel 4. Brian and Theo stayed behind to get the evidence, but nobody had a camera handy. I promise it happened!