We rolled into the second largest city in Portugal today, Porto, with just a few plans and the general thought of exploring. We discovered half its 2.3 million population might just be cruise ship passengers! We made our way through the crowds for long enough to take a ride in the Guindais Funicular up the steep hillside to get a view of the bridge and across the river.
Afterwards, we took the steep steps back down to the river and walked along the water for a little bit. We found a restaurant on the water and had a nice slow lunch including Portuguese soup which, if I’m correct, is commonly eaten in this country twice a day at lunch and dinner. Now I could definitely get into the swing of that! Maybe that’s why the people of this country are so nice? They’ve been soothed each day by soup? I found myself so sleepy after lunch that I decided to take a break for the day while Colin went to the gym.
After meeting back together, it was off to a fancy dinner at the Yeatman Hotel. All in all, although we hadn’t planned on having such a simple day and never really connected with the city, we were glad we came and were able to experience it for ourselves. Tomorrow we head north once again!
This post is one in a series posts on my visit to Portugal. You can find all of my posts here:
- The story behind my journey to Portugal
- Day 1 & 2: Lisbon Portugal
- Day 3: Cascais, Sintra, & Obidos, Portugal
- Day 4: Nazare, Costa Nova, & Aveiro Portugal
- Day 5: Porto, Portugal
- Day 6: Soajo & Geres National Park, Portugal
- Day 7: Douro Valley & Aldeia Das Dez, Portugal
- Day 8: Monsanto, Portugal
IT'S ME, SERENA!
I bounced through the first years of my life in a hippie gypsy wagon, hand-built by my father, wandering the back roads of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. My family eventually settled into a tiny cabin in the woods on property that was once inhabited by Native American Indians.
I spent my childhood days searching for arrowheads, teaching myself to sew on a treadle sewing machine and to bake in a wood-burning stove, with no running water, refrigeration, or electricity in our home. My family lived frugally and early on, inspired by my parent’s thriftiness and style, I gained a knack for thrifty creativity and turning ordinary objects into something useful. And I dreamed of the home I would create for my own family someday.
Now I’m married to my husband, Colin, and our children are all grown. After 24 years of producing The Farm Chicks Vintage & Handmade Fair, I'm spending time visiting other markets around the world. You can watch episodes of Serena Goes to Market here.
I share more about my life story from time to time, here on my blog. You can also find me on Instagram, and Facebook.
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COPYRIGHT 2026
THE FARM CHICKS
P.O. BOX 9866
SPOKANE, WA 99209