A few years ago my folks travelled to Europe. One of their absolute highlights was Porto. So we were always on the way there, but even better, we had been offered a place to stay, from a Land Rover fan online. He had an apartment near Gaia, a suburb across the river from Oporto, and a workshop close by. Who were we to refuse?

Can someone tell me what community to post travel posts in now Pinmapple has stopped curating?

Whilst it can be awkward to accept a total strangers invite, one must just trust the universe. And Paulo's apartment was gorgeous, full of books, art and even a little statue of Shiva. He seemed our kind of person. And he was so insistent. Before long he'd bundled us into his car for a tour of the city he was born in. Like my usual posts, I won't be detailing the history and landmarks of this stunning city, only my personal impression of it.

It was awesome to get a personal tour. We headed straight for the highest point for views of the city, straight where there were hardly any tourists. I fell in love with it immediately. It was the kind of city you'd draw if you were dreaming of drawing a city in a dream. Higgedly piggledy and the crammed houses shaped and squished together beyond reason, under bridges, nudged up against churches.

Unlike Lisbon, too, it was much more walkable. In fact I read an article that said it was Europes most walkable city. Of course, there are hills, but nothing like Lisbon. And the city was so darn pretty with different colours. Of course, I loved the ragged corners, with broken buildings and graffiti. It's expensive to renovate a house in Portugal which is why so many are in disrepair.

Whilst many streets are gentrified and their facades newly tiled, there's still an edginess. There's still dealers in dark alleys and squats and homelessness and the dark city things. Dogs still bark. Paulo laughs and tells us, slightly abashed, that the northern, Porto version of his countrys language is uncouth and peppered with swearing. Much like Australia, I joke back.

The train station is gorgeous. There's massive walls of historical scenes in painted tiles and windows that let in warm light.

Like everywhere, Porto has increasingly expensive real estate. Paulo tells us a river front house is easily upwards of a million euros. Some 30,000 French have immigrated in the last year alone. It's cheaper here than in many parts of Europe and the cost of living is good. Of all city places in Europe, I wouldn't mind living around Porto.

And of course, the Douro valley extends from its outlet here and into the wine heartland. The port industry here is famous, but I'll talk more about that later.

With Love,

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