For the final leg of my trip to Portugal, we left Madeira and headed to Porto, a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for the port wine of the Douro Valley. Our flight to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport in Porto was in the early morning hours. Upon landing, we took a taxi to our Airbnb on one of the main streets for tourism in the city. Once settled in, we explored the city on foot before heading to dinner to enjoy some good food and wine.

The following morning we got up early for a tour of the Douro Valley, where we stopped at two vineyards for a taste of Portuguese wine and took a boat tour of the Douro River. It was an especially hot day, so it was refreshing to get into the shade of the wine cellars.

After the tour we returned to Porto and had a nice dinner before heading back for the evening. The next day we were leaving in the afternoon, so we dropped our bags off at a storage locker so we could enjoy a short tuk tuk tour of the city and check out Livraria Lello, the oldest library in Porto and said to be J.K. Rowling’s inspiration for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series. After stopping for gelato, we headed to pick up our bags to head to the airport and say goodbye to Porto.

At the end of our trip, I reflected on how much fun I had experiencing Portugal with some of my best friends. While it’s always nice to return home after a long vacation, I wish we had a few more days to explore. We’ll just have to go back and see the rest!

— Aly Evans, administrative assistant