Day Two of our mission to tear up Porto continued by visiting a really fun area on the coast, which was about 15 minutes from town. These Florida girls needed some ocean views with drinks in hand! Ann found this really cute place called Ibar Praia do Aquário that had the BEST sangria. We got a kick out of the prices being different for inside vs. outside (thank God this isn’t the case back home!). After climbing some rocks for the sake of a group selfie (without any injuries), we walked the pebble beach for a bit and eventually stumbled upon a little restaurant named after my home state. Funny how “home” can find you so easily from across the ocean.
After the cliffsides, we Ubered back and had a little retail therapy for our real European sports outing later that night – an FC Porto soccer/football match! None of us know shit about soccer but I was advised by a few people to go for the experience. We also stumbled across a cool little market that had lots of jewelry, cork accessories, and the neatest bags made of old records, radios, TVs, etc. I also popped another postcard in the mail for my niece and nephew that was made of actual cork!
Before we knew it, it was time for these super sober soccer fans to head to the big match – FC Porto vs. A.C. Milan! If it tells you anything about how deep our soccer fandom runs, we had our own version of tailgating that took place on our terrace and with wine. Hey, we tried! At least our little soccer scarves looked cute.
The experience was really eye-opening considering I’ve been to more than my fair share of stadiums and sporting events. First of all, there’s really no “fan experience” other than the soccer match itself and maybe the mascots. Even the concession options are barebones (with cheap beer so yay for that!). The fans weren’t sitting down and getting up every five seconds which was a nice change from American sporting events. They also kept the opposing team’s fans in a little corner in the nosebleed seats (and I think Lucus Oil Stadium should totally copy this amazing idea). And people loved to smoke during the game too. In the stadium. So strange.
I’ve got to give major props to the fans – they were INTO it from the beginning all the way until the end. Cheering, chanting, and paying attention the entire time. They were literally there for the love of the game. It was awesome. FC Porto ended up losing but we had a blast at our first real “football” game. :)
Lastly, trying to leave the stadium to get back home became a shitshow. We ordered an Uber and then couldn’t find him. We tried to take the metro and got on the wrong train going in the wrong direction. Finally, we just got off at the next stop, ordered another Uber and made it back in just time to run into the mini-mart to grab our hangry asses some frozen pizzas and junk food for dinner before it closed (which we would all regret later). That was the only mishap of our trip, which was actually pretty impressive, all wine considered.
Part 3 coming up…
Amor e luz (love and light),
MW
I am having a hard time writing anything back to u! But finally I think it’s going through???
Nothing like the “Girls” loose in a new City in Europe!! Looks like u are having a blast!! Enjoy every second!!