Porto landing - Monday 25 February 2019

After a busy British Airways flight from London Gatwick to Porto there was time to explore the hotel's local area and dine on fish and visit a Cafe Macau for a glass of a port and a beer before bedtime.

The Flying Horse, Gatwick Airport

With an afternoon departure there was time for a beer at the Flying Horse in the departure lounge of Gatwick's South Terminal before heading to the gate.

After the 50p reduction for a CAMRA member's Wetherspoon voucher, a pint of Titanic Brewery White Star cost £3.85 and helped pass the spare time nicely.

The ceiling, floor and walls of the Flying Horse have been made over recently and it was also interesting to view the cellar housed behind windows with text describing the 'Making Beer' process.

At 18:00, after an uneventful flight, a coach transferred passengers from the aircraft stand to the terminal giving views of  parked planes and the evening sky above the Atlantic coast.

By checking the Metro do Porto website in advance I had made a plan to buy one Andante Azul ticket with 5 x Z2 (2 zone) fares for 6.60 euros total and a second Andante Azul ticket with 2 x z4 (4 zone - for airport to/from city centre) fares for 4.60 euros total. Each cost includes 60 cents for the rechargeable tickets that can only store one type of fare at any time.

Andante Azul (Blue) tickets - front and reverse

Uniformed staff in the ticket machine area can give assistance to tourists using them for the first time. Payment can be made by card or cash and receipts are also issued.

The Metro train would fill up after the photo I took on boarding at 18.20 having validated my journey by presenting the 4 zone ticket to a reader on the way to the platform. There was space under the seat for my carry-on cabin bag. Porto is in the same time zone as London and the light was now fading fast. The train headed inland and then turned south towards Porto.

I left the train at Trindade, revalidated my 4 zone ticket and found the platform for the orange D line train heading north west towards Hospital São João and travelled a further two stops to Marquês.

At 19.10, on the way to Hotel Grande Rio, I stopped to take a photo of the floodlit church of
Our lady of the Conception on Praça do Marquês de Pombal.

After checking in to the hotel, I walked downhill to Casa Paraiso 2 at 259 Rua do Paraiso and was reassured to spot a local police station at 82 Rua do Paraiso on the way! 

Casa Paraiso 2

At Casa Paraiso 2, I chose a bottle of (brewed in Porto) Cerveja Nortada lager (5% ABV) from the fridge and was shown to a table downstairs in a large room busy with other diners and a television showing a football programme.
I was able to make enough sense of the menu to order vegetable soup which was served with bread and a half portion of fish. 

When the fish course arrived it was several pieces of battered fish fillet served on a bed of thick potato crisps and with a separate bowl heaped with white rice. Even a half portion was too much food for me to finish so do not underestimate the amount of food you might receive here.

My bill, including beer and coffee, came to 12.85 euros before adding a tip for service. 

Leaving around 21.15, I went in search of a good local bar and stopped to get a photo of a bicycle shop - Intemporal Bikes at 226 Rua do Paraiso - that had some interesting items on display including Ossby Curve folding bikes and leather bags.

Cafe Macau

After 22.00, I entered Cafe Macau on the corner at the western end of Rua Santa Helena, the other end from Hotel Grande Rio.

For a local drink I ordered a glass of white port and after some searching a bottle was found. There was a football match on the TV to watch. 

Cafe Macau has a small selection of bottled beers from major domestic breweries in fridges that customers can take to the bar to be opened. The Sagres Bohemia Trigo (5.5% ABV) wheat beer had too much medicinal flavour for my taste but was worth trying.

The final score in the televised Primeira Liga football match, which had kicked off, at 21.15 was Lisbon's S.L. Benfica 4, Chaves 0. 
When I went to the counter to pay my bill it came to 3.50 euros for the two drinks. 
There was now only a 100 metres uphill walk on a quiet street to reach my hotel.

See links below for further daily blog posts with details of breweries and bars visited on the rest of my late February visit to Porto / Oporto:
Sunny Porto - Tuesday features Cervejaria do Carmo - Craft Beer House, A Fábrica da Picaria
Porto & Guimarães - Wednesday features Letraria Craft Beer Garden, A Fábrica da Picaria, Cafe Macau
Porto - Thursday features Cerveja Nortada, A Fábrica da Picaria, Catraio Craft Beer Shop

Rua Santa Helena

After this visit I would recommend an off-season visit to Porto / Oporto to anyone who doesn't mind walking around a city built on slopes! Public transport is efficient and good value and it is worth paying the premium for a ride on the classic trams. The streets are kept clean but there may be narrow pavements and speeding traffic to be wary of. People are helpful and there was little evidence of poverty or crime. Prices for food, coffee and alcoholic drinks are generally very reasonable. The language has a nice sound and it is worth learning some Portuguese words as English may not always be understood.

Porto - Thursday 28 February 2019

A full day in Porto / Oporto would include tasting Calem port in Vila Nova de Gaia and end with a free concert by Still Life in the Casa da Musica cafe.

A return to O Fumeiro (Marques), uphill from Hotel Grande Rio, for coffee and croissant was a good start to the day. To go anywhere in Porto usually involves going up or downhill and this may partly explain why there are relatively few cyclists.

On the way downhill, towards the river Douro, I stopped to take a photo of the (closed) tiny Bar Santa Cachaça which I had passed on my first night in the city and not dared to enter!

Another photo stop was for a row of buildings at Praça de Almeida Garrett, opposite São Bento station.

Pelourinho (ornamental pillory) and cathedral beyond

Just down and up from here is the Sé do Porto (cathedral) in an elevanted position where you can enjoy views of the city and the river Douro.

CAL, Av. Vimara Peres 56

I passed CAL, a (closed) bar with bottles of port and beer in the window and a 'craft beer on tap' sign on the northern approach to the high level of Ponte de Dom Luís I metal arch bridge, designed by Gustave Eiffel.

Crossing the bridge, which is also used by the Metro, there are good views including the river far below. Looking back to Porto you can see the ancient stone walls, a funicular railway and the steps that I would later climb from river level.

On the Vila Nova da Gaia (southern) side are the various port wine lodges including Calem which I would visit later.

Having reached the south bank there are good views of the bridge showing also the lower level which is used by vehicles and pedestrians.

It is a steep descent to river level and after lunch at a cafe I joined an English language tour of Calem port lodge. John (João?), our professional guide, finished the interesting tour by presenting us with a selection of ports for a tutored tasting. This tour is recommended and the standard tasting (13 euros) includes Cálem Fine White and Cálem Special Reserve Tawny. Our group of five, which included an American / Australian couple, would stay on for some time here learning about each other's trips and origins with IT backgrounds being a common thread for three of us.

Emerging into the daylight the riverside views include the traditional Rabelo boats once used for transporting port down the river Douro. 

I crossed back to Porto on the narrow pavement of the lower level of the Ponte de Dom Luís I.

A long climb up the steps of the Escada Dos Guindais was made easier by the central handrail to pull on. 

A stop for coffee on the shaded first floor terrace of the bar of Guindalense Futebol Clube provided a welcome break. I hear this is a lively place to enjoy beer and music in the evening but did not have a chance to return.

After reaching the top of the steps you arrive at the Batalha end of the funicular and a little further on is Praça da Batalha with a view of the church of Saint Ildefonso at the northern end of the square. Rather stupidly I forgot to visit Cervejaria Levare at Praça da Batalha 12A, which had been closed when I walked past here on Wednesday.

Fábrica Nortada

However, I did walk another five minutes to reach Cerveja Nortada at 210, R. de Sá da Bandeira, for my first beer of the day at 4pm. 

Most of the beers are listed on a blackboard behind the bar.

I ordered Nortada Weiss Bier which was 3 euros for 30cl and served in a tall glass from a tap connected to one of the many horizontal stainless steel tanks in the spacious bar.

The beer range and menu is also available from clipboards at the tables.

I picked a table near the copper brewing vessels and was rewarded by the sight of steam when a brewer came to check on brewing progress.

A visit to the downstairs toilets revealed a sign showing that I had reached the 'Empty' stage and views into the lower level where there are fermentation tanks and a bottling plant.

There are other graphics in the main bar in a similar style.

Bottles of the various Nortada beers are on display.
Cerveja Nortada is a slick operation but my impression was that the focus of attention here was on diners rather than beer enthusiasts. Although the large space had some interesting features, especially the brewery, the rest of it was a bit too bright and modern to be cosy, especially when there were only a few customers inside. 

A Fábrica da Picaria

It was only another 10 minutes walk west for a third visit to A Fábrica da Picaria at Rua da Picaria 72. There is a step up to the entrance which is well worth remembering for the time that you leave or a surprise may result!

With the beer of the month offer still available and complimentary peanuts I settled in at 5pm in the room at the back with the long table and a view of brewing tanks.

Marta had not yet left for the evening yet and I was able to present her with some CAMRA magazines including West Berkshire 'Ullage' that has featured Quinten Taylor's article about beer in Lisbon and Porto and Reading & Mid-Berks 'Mine's a pint' with Quinten on the cover. She kindly posed for a photo wearing the Hop Stuff and West Berkshire Brewery badges that I also gave her.

With my next beer she gave me a dish of marinated Tremoços / Lupini beans to try and showed me how to remove the skin first. There are popular as a snack with beer in Portugal apparently.

There is a shaded elevated terrace with tables accessible from the back of the room. 

On the wall behind my long table is a brewing infographic. The simple limited menu now includes
Bifanas no Pão / Hot pork sandwich: 1,90€ and Cachorrinho / Hot Dog with Cheese: 2,90€.
I liked the small scale and good value at A Fábrica da Picaria. It will certainly be my first choice bar to visit in Porto next time and hopefully Marta will still be there to welcome me back!

Catraio Craft Beer Shop

Another ten minute walk west led to Catraio Craft Beer Shop at Rua de Cedofeita 256, a pedestrian street.

In contrast to the minimalist feel at the previous bars, the dimly lit interior (from lights in bottles) included more decorative features and seemed cosy.

The tables were quite busy so I sat at the bar. My first beer was the reasonably priced and refreshing Ora et Labora Pilsner by Post Scriptum Brewery located between Porto and Braga to the north (1.5 euro, 1/2 pint, 4.5% abv).

An 'In the pursuit of hoppiness' map on a blackboard shows the location of various breweries in Portugal. Ronaldo makes a cameo appearance just above the island of Madeira. Arrows point to Portugal for good beer, Spain for good tapas and Morocco for good hash.

A second beer here was Atlantida by Cerveja Bolina based north of Lisbon (6.5% American IPA, 2.50 euros, 1/2 pint).

Up to 13 beers from the Catraio Craft Beer Shop draught beer range are displayed on untappd.com and details are also fed to a flat screen by the bar. The latest untappd check-ins at the bar are also displayed at the base of the screen. (My untappd.com account name is timofnewbury.)

There were shelves of bottles and leaftlets near the entrance so I left my remaining copies of Ullage magazine there on the way out at 8pm.
With a cosy ambiance, knowledgeable staff and a wide range of beers, Catraio Craft Beer Shop can be recommended but note that it does not uusally open until 4pm.

With a mission to reach Casa da Música by 10pm for a concert it was time for a meal and although it was not my first choice, Migalhas 2 provided excellent value with grilled fish and a half bottle of wine for less than 10 euros. 

With good timing, it was 9.45pm as I approached Casa da Musica, Porto's new concert hall. 

This gave me time to order a drink and find a good seat near the stage of the cafe for a memorable (free) performance by Still Life Trio featuring Margherita Abita (vocals), João Silva (violin) and Claudio Marrero (sax and keyboards).
A late finish but an easy journey back to my hotel by metro. This had been a 19000+ steps day!

Postscript:

Many thanks to Marta who kindly gave me A Fábrica da Picaria branded glasses as souvenirs for Quinten's visit in 2018 and my visit in 2019. 

While I am looking after Quinten's glass until I can hand it to him in Reading one day, my glass was put to good use on Easter day!